In my first-year teaching math at a school for at-risk students, I had one class of four incredibly energetic 7th grade boys. Having raised 5 kids myself, I was used to the noise and ruckus boys create, and I worked to make my classroom a place where noise, activity, and engagement were part of the learning process. But while I had fun with these boys in class, I quickly noticed that one of the boys was not quite part of the group. Mark (name changed for privacy) wasn’t included, and he was even sometimes mocked or teased by the other boys. It was time to intervene.
I began praying for ways to help these boys see each other as valuable and important, the way Jesus would. I got a post card in the mail for a local math competition. You wouldn’t think 7th grade boys would be interested in a math competition, but when I mentioned it to them, they all jumped at the idea, except for Mark. The convenient part was that a minimum of 4 members were required for a team to compete. I gratefully saw the three boys talk Mark into joining the team!
We began meeting once a week after school where our math practice also included a healthy dose of snacking: popcorn, chips, pizza. Once I even brought in a waffle maker and made waffles, anything to keep the boys coming to math practice! I took the boys to some team building activities, and enjoyed seeing the group begin to gel. By the time the date of the competition came, Mark was a fully included member. Because there ended up being only 2 schools competing, the boys walked out with a trophy haul!
A few months later, a few new boys joined our class. Mark looked over at them and said, “You guys are part of the group now. That’s just how we are here.”
Teaching kids to appreciate each other’s differences and treat each other with kindness isn’t always easy. But it is always worth the effort. Teachers have a unique calling and opportunity to shine the love and light of Jesus in their classrooms. Parents and grandparents plant seeds in the hearts of their children at home through their teaching and example. Schools everywhere will be safer and brighter, happier places when there is kindness, compassion and inclusion. Let’s teach kids to shine the love and light of Jesus at school!
If Jesus Came to My School (Multnomah, 2025)
In this whimsical tale, a young girl imagines what it would be like if Jesus visited her school as a boy her age. She would show Jesus around her classroom, introduce her friends and teachers, listen to story time, and eat lunch together! But Jesus wouldn’t stop at learning and sitting in class. He’d invite the lonely to join in on games and find a way to love and get along with everyone. Soon the young girl realizes that even though Jesus doesn’t attend her school, he can live through her.
Find all of the retailers here: https://onehappyhouse.org/if-jesus-came-to-my-school/
April Graney is the mother of five grown children, a wife of 30 years, a children’s book author, and a middle school English teacher at Cookson Hills, a children’s home and school for at-risk students in Oklahoma. She is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, and the author of 3 children’s books. She wrote her newest book, If Jesus Came to My School, to encourage parents of children who are sharing the love and light of Jesus in their schools.