Teaching: An Act of Worship

Teaching: An Act of Worship?

I enjoy philosophy, especially when it involves learning. Questions like, "What is a school?" and "What is education?" have fascinated me for a long time. As I've explored them, I have learned that people have very different ideas about the role of students in schools, and what education is supposed to produce. If education is an industry and schools are companies, then who are the customers? What product(s) do they receive?

• Some people say that the teachers are the workers, they produce an education, and the customers are students. In this view, students go to school to get an education.

• Others say that the teachers are the employees, they produce students, and the customer is society. This view acknowledges the value of students to society, but is rather dehumanizing to students.

• Others say that teachers and students are coworkers, they produce knowledge, and society is the customer. This view works in graduate school contexts, but is much less applicable in K-12 settings.

So, what is the right answer? Well, it's debated for a reason. I think there is some truth to each of these, but looking at it from a strictly secular perspective misses most of the point.

As believers, we are supposed to work as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23), using His gifts to improve those things He entrusts to us (Matthew 25:14-30). Thus, teachers are co-workers with Christ and the Holy Spirit. God entrusts the students to them, and they return a more educated version of them to Him at the end of their time together. Students participate, and society benefits, but God is the customer. As such, we are not merely transferring knowledge or even a way of thinking, but maximizing each child's physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual welfare and growth capacity. That encapsulates the heart of the ChASM Project. We help young men develop into the strong leaders God created them to be.

In short, teachers are co-workers with Jesus and the Holy Spirit; they all (along with the students) co-produce maximized student welfare and growth capacity; and God is the customer. Teaching, then, is not merely a profession, or even just a calling, but an act of worship to God Almighty. It is no wonder that Jesus, the perfect example of a worshipful life, was so often called Rabbi.