Bravery in the Classroom

This last week at Sir John Lawes we have been spending time with the year 11 students, looking at the topic of 'Sanctity of Life'. This is a huge topic that provokes and prompts questions and curiosity.

Where some students were vocal with their opinions, others sat quietly thinking deeply about what they were hearing. A few things stood out to me from these lessons - Questions and Bravery.

Questions.
Within these lessons we ended up having multiple questions asked as we were walking around the room - not always on topic - but completely relevant to the Christian faith. We had questions about when life starts to God's omnipotence. It was interesting how as we looked at a 'big' topic, which holds emotive view points, this opened up the space to become a place of curiosity and questioning. As we prepared for these lessons and went into this space, we had the word 'Compassion' written in large letters across our plan, and this felt like the banner we held over these lessons. I believe the compassion we taught with, enabled young people to feel comfortable enough to start exploring with us their thoughts.

Bravery.
Secondly, I came away from these lessons with a sense of amazement at the bravery of young people in the classroom. In 3 out of 4 of the lessons we taught, there was a student who spoke out about their personal belief that God has created life, and therefore it was a gift to be cherished. Each time this happened, I felt a deep joy for this student, who was confident enough to declare their faith in God and to share the character and works of God with their class.

I wonder if you remember the last time you shared with 30 of your peers your faith?

Maybe you can join me in praying for more young people to be brave in the classroom as they share their faith with their peers!

Mary :D