Shannon Beezhold

Education 302
Professor Sjoerdsma
October 5, 2014
Faith Integration
Breton Downs has the sensation of a private school. This is seen through the many
parents who are constantly willing and able to help around the school, the lack of harsh
discipline seen in the classroom, and the socio-economic status of the children attending this
school. Breton Downs is a school I am rather comfortable in because I was in a private school all
of my life and it feels so parallel here. There is a large difference, however, being that this is a
public school and here I am not able to simply share my faith when I find it necessary. Because
Breton Downs is a public school, I must be that much more intentional about showing my
Christian love and perspective through my actions and words.
I asked my teacher how her faith plays into her teaching and she responded with saying
that it drives everything that she does. She said she would not be able to do this job without her
faith because each day she depends on the Lord for her strength and direction. I hope to do the
same. If faith is really what keeps me going throughout the day, it will be so evident without me
saying exactly that. Through my actions, my love, my words, my lessons, everything will be
coated with the grace and forgiveness and love of which I have been coated.
My unit is going to be a math unit and that makes for a difficult time when integrating
faith, especially in a public school. I believe that the students will still be able to discover a

greater presence and being in the universe through the study of numbers. The order of math is
incredible and so often directly points to a God with like attributes.
My unit is on representing and interpreting data. One way I see this fitting in with my
faith is the data we look at and how we interpret it. The things we look at should be glorifying to
God and when we look at harmful data the way we interpret it should be that of one who knows
this is our Fathers world and see ways we can help His world. Another way I can integrate my
faith is looking the patterns and order we find in our world. This order is one of the great aspects
of our God; He is orderly and we can trust that. This is one way I can directly integrate my faith,
indirectly. The idea that the world has order and has a way of running brings forth the questions
of why that is and how we can be sure of that. Through this students will begin to develop their
own worldview and figure out what they believe for themselves.
Another way my faith is brought into the classroom is by acknowledging the gifts that
they have all been given, whether math related or not. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:11,
Encourage one another and build each other up. Encouragement is an attribute of the Lord, one
that He has given us to bless others. As a teacher, one of my purposes is to encourage these
children as they grow and learn. They will know I am a Christian through my encouragement. I
plan to encourage each student so they feel the love of Christ directly and so that I shine out His
love.
This idea of encouragement shall not only be played out by me as the teacher, but also by
my students. I want my classroom to be a place where, whether or not they are a Christian, their
actions are Christ-like. I envision this with a classroom where encouragement, love, and
helpfulness are readily available by my students.

My classroom is to be one where each student is valued as a child of God by both me and
their peers. My students will encourage each other. I will be leaning on the Lord for each move
so I can be His eyes, His ears, His hands and feet. I strive to act like Christ and to encourage my
students to do the same regardless of if they know my role model or not.