What would it take for Christian educators to not only survive but even thrive in the challenging circumstances of the public school? To make a difference, in students' lives, educators must realize that lives are changed through relationship, and such relationships are built on grace. The big act of grace is to treat students as image bearers of God.
In many ways, this book has been a wonderful resource for considering how to cultivate a classroom environment that is distinctly gospel-centered. The author provided many insights that were challenging to me as I think about how to engage my students in the learning process as well as in how I manage my classroom. While I feel like there are definitely things I will do differently as a result of having read this book, I wish the author would have focused more on the topic at hand and left out some of his more generalized thoughts and beliefs. I would have loved if he had spent more time fleshing out how a Christian worldview should affect how we teach, as opposed to spending so many chapters fleshing out the Christian worldview itself. That being said, I still enjoyed the way he articulated his views and am grateful that a book like this was written by an educator who clearly knows, follows, and loves the Lord.
My class went through this as one of the texts that streamlined through our weekly discussions. I loved how it reminded us to perceive the students through the eyes of God. This broadens the focus from only the teacher deserving respect, and extends it to the reality of students deserving respect too. This book reminded me that being is more than taking charge and keeping the class under control, but loving them. This explains how a Christian educator can communicate God's love with their attitude and conduct without explicitly speaking about their faith.