Clear Focus - Following the Eyes of Jesus

The growing demands placed upon teachers are considerable: lesson preparation, grading responsibilities, parent conferences, administrative duties, special education documentation, behavior management, professional development, technological advancements, etc. It is easy for teachers to become overwhelmed and distracted from their primary calling and purpose—their students. Ironically, all of these things are necessary for effective teaching, but without clear focus, teachers can miss who they are serving in the process. How many students are in our classrooms, on our sports teams, or in our fine arts programs desperately needing our focused attention? How can we possibly meet their needs while keeping pace with all of our additional responsibilities? The answer is simpler than we might imagine. When we focus intently on who, we began to escape the tyranny of what that steals the joy from our lives and service. When we remember who all of those lesson plans are actually for, why we meticulously grade their assignments and partner with their parents, and how we work hard to improve our teaching techniques to meet our students' learning needs, our focus becomes even clearer. We remember to focus on who, not what. This is the essence of biblical discipleship—what we have been commissioned by Jesus Christ to do. A former teacher, school administrator, and adjunct professor, Dr. Stephen Reel currently serves as ACSI Vice-President USA. He is the author of "Clear Focus: Rediscovering the Most Important Aspect of Christian School Ministry."