Passion and Faith
Picture and Article by Thadeus Roberts
I learned through my teaching career that a career given to god takes you on more adventures than a life controlled by oneself. From the very first job out of college, I learned God has both a plan and a sense of humor. I swore from the get-go that I would.
A. Never work in the SDA system,
B. Never Teach elementary, and
C. I would never work in California.
Well, wouldn't you know it, my first job out of college took me to Armona, California where I taught at Armona Union Academy and had the best year of my life! I grew closer to God and began a relationship that would lead me to my wife. From there I taught at several other schools, but always in large school settings teaching 5th and 6th Grade having from 20-32 students in a class. To be honest it became a bit routine, as routine as teaching can feel. So as life taught me I started praying to ask God where he wanted me to teach. And my wife and I could have sworn he was pointing us to Texas, the warm beaches, and hot summers. Which to my wife who is from Mexico sounded amazing. Then last minute I saw a listing for a job in Sioux Falls South Dakota, a city my sister had moved to a few years prior. No place we had ever even considered moving to, and most certainly not the year-round warmth of Texas my wife was seeking. But oddly enough it was her who encouraged me to pursue it. Long story short God once again took control and guided us to Sioux Falls, where I have the honor of teaching a group of 5 students between K-8. The transition from teaching just two grades to teaching all nine opened my eyes like never before. To greatly appreciate my fellow educators for the unique challenges each grade level presents. But more than that the ability to spend so much one-on-one time with my students rekindled that joy for teaching that I had missed teaching larger groups. What has surprised me the most is the joy I get from teaching Kindergarten. It catches me off guard every day because I always thought I would teach High School history. Yet it is those young students that remind me why I teach. They LOVE to learn, always so excited to ask questions and try new things. I think all good teachers love to learn, and it is this passion they wish to share with others. However, after the past couple of years of crazy stuff going on in the country and communities, I think we all felt overloaded. God knew this passion needed to be relit and knew exactly how to do it. If I had chased what I thought I needed I would never have the honor to teach these students and be reminded daily about the passion for learning and how it needs to be passed on.