There is a battle for good and bad within every classroom. Schools across America battle darkness with light in ways not even they perhaps realize fully. I have been lucky the past few weeks to have a few spiritual conversations within my new workplace and have found it extremely practical, which is what theology is meant to be – lived out on the ground floor. We have talked about setting a classroom environment that is “safe”, setting a culture that brings the “light” in, without getting all overly “Jesussy” of course. But perhaps the most theological matter that has struck me, and one that has changed the way I view both kids and adults (as well as matters of race and justice, but that is for a future post), is this idea of “good” vs “bad”.
My 5th graders have seen a lot in their lives. The majority are at or below the poverty line, they come from less than stable homes, and some even raise countless siblings leaving them exhausted by the time they get to school in the morning. Many do not get meals at home, or their parents are absent working multiple jobs and bouncing through the public transit system to try and provide. Because of this survival mode these kids experience, small things like missing a pencil or snack has the potential to throw them into a complete panic, displayed by anger, violence, and disobedience.
Their behavior is not their fault. While we aim to teach them a better way to live and how to treat others with respect, many kids like these have never been patiently shown the respect they deserve as image bearers and children of a higher parent. Their lives are in disarray, violent, and in need. Under these circumstances, any of us would act the same exact way.
It hurts me when kids are labeled “bad” or even “good”. If life has taught me anything, it is we are often a result of the decisions made to us. These kids didn’t ask to be placed in their situations. They didn’t ask for their parents to break up or to become incarcerated. This is way too much for anyone to handle, let alone a child. By God’s grace, I am learning that when a kid displays anger, while it is not okay, he/she is trying to get something out. They are silently screaming a deferred pain or situation they are incapable of explaining fully. The situations they have seen are bound to come out eventually. In a weird way, I find it an honor, though a frustrating one, that it comes out with me. At least I can see the spiritual matter behind it.
After all, we are all broken kids looking for the love we lost.
Praise to the Father who sees past our broken grasps at healing.
Jesus, come, soon. Make right what we have wrong. Heal us kids desperate for you.
Matt simon blog 