- Environment and animals. 
- Traveling and having new experiences and exploring new cultures. 
- Teaching and providing a safe learning environment for all students to achieve success, academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually.  

-       Contributing to the community through service and caring. 
-       Helping one another and making a difference. 

-       High standards of teaching and excellence

-       Working with a strong partnership with parents 

-       Nurturing the development of the whole student. 
-       Identity, personal identity and worth 

-       lifelong learners with developing worth and Christian values

-       Core values 

-       Grace / gracious place

 

https://www.lutheran.edu.au/teaching-and-learning/devotions/ 

What references can I refer to or resources to guide me through teaching Christian Studies? 

How can I continue to grow and learn in this area to improve my teaching and learning?

-       Don’t follow religion back are intertwined and interested in a spirit and follow their own spiritual pathways

-       Although faith / religion / spirituality may differ, it is understood and respected  

-       God in case of an emergency

-       customized path 

-       Indigenous spirituality impacts western people – respect for the land 

“Grace is unconditional love toward a person who does not deserve it.” (Paul Zahl)
 

This article defines that through Grace, people are given hope of resurrection. We practise this at Good News Lutheran through the positive way we interact with peers, colleague and other state holders of our school community. Through pastoral care and Restorative Practises, students and teachers are given a chance to restore their wrong doings and/or broken relationships with one another.

 

“Grace is the opposite of karma, which is all about getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve.” Justin Holcomb.

In what ways might the concept of grace inform the understanding of my role and contribution here? “We, as people who work in schools, are welcoming our students as pilgrims: Travellers on a journey of meaning: guests with a story to tell…As each person is human so each little story is part of the bigger human story.”  - Geoffery Butler

Resourced from the following Padlet.
https://padlet.com/LuthEdAus/connectsession1
https://www.goodnews.vic.edu.au/academic/behaviour/restorative-practice

 

Restorative Practice fits in nicely by showing forgiveness and understanding to others. This helps us as teachers and students practise Grace each day. It is also an aspect that we can apply to our own lives regardless of our believes of spiritual journey. 

 

How might this thought colour my practice? Bringing out the students gifts and talents and using this as a service to others e.g. teaching others how to do things, celebrating and commending the differences within our classroom and school. 

Grace can be difficult to understand, but it is something that we all deserve and are able to access. Grace is woven through my daily interactions with colleagues, students and parents. 

There are joys and challenges with each new day while working with children. I find the most challenging thing is dealing with the uncertainty of each day and never knowing what you are going to get! You can be planned and organised, ready for the day ahead then one small curve ball throws everything out!

I also see that as a joy, to be present in the moment and not have expectations on how things are going to go or what a day might bring. I also adore how innocent and creative students are.  They see the good in every situation and remind me on a daily basis to not take anything for granted and be thankful for each experience. 

I believe Lutheran education stands apart from the rest with our ability to engage and reflect with all teaching staff and students. Our ability to share a daily devotion together to set goals and focus on the important things. As well as our ability to forgive and restore relationships with one another despite any wrong doing. 

 

The Lutheran perspective on creation can help form and maintain through our Restorative Practise model, focusing on strong communication and reflections with students, teachers and other stake holders of the school.

Daily devotions are important where students and teachers are invited to join in a morning worship, but also a reflection and direction on their goals for the working day. 

Show Grace to each one other, and each day start is a fresh start to make positive change and restore any broken relationships. 

It confirmed a lot of things we at Good News are doing to help foster, nature and create a positive environment for our teaching staff and students. There is a large influent on Grace and restorative practise, which links directly to key concepts of this session.

Extend:
 What new ideas did you get that extended or broadened your thinking in new direction? 
I love the strong hold Lutheran Education places on Earth care. I would LOVE to take this and imbed it in our school a lot more to develop more respect and love for our environment and animals within our teacher community and school community. 

Although we teach Christian studies, how can we intertwin this in all areas of our teaching and learning for. Strong embedment. 

- Teaching 

- Taking care of my pet 

- Communicating with my friends and helping them with problems 

- Being friendly with my neighbours 

- Charity work 

  

What do I seek from this community?  

·       Communication, connection and building of relationships 

·       Acceptance  

·       Respect from colleagues  

·       Contributing towards shared goals.  

 

Blue is to signify Earth – sea and the sky, the colour of the world  

Red – is sacrifice – shed his blood – he agreed to take the suffering of the world. 
Sash – eternity  - turned the suffering into resurrection. 

  

- We can have multiple ways to serve and it doesn't necessarily have to be a paid job.  

- Your life doesn't just belong to you, you belong to family, friends, human race and they belong to you as well.  

- Demonstrating values 
 - The bible reflects and revolves over time with the same messages to be shared but interpreted in many ways.

2. The world OF text 
GENRE, & LITERARY DETAIL 
The words on the page 
 

3. The world FACING the text 
INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION 
 Perceptions of the reader 

 

The Bible Project: The book of Jonah 

Nineveh was apart of the Assyrian Empire near Iraq.  

 

Jonah challenges us to see that God, may want to use us to reach out to the very people we tend to despise and see as beyond redemption.  

 

Unknown.  

 

Israels Nobel kingdom was restored by the Assyrians by asserting themselves in increasingly ways.  

 

785-750 BC  

 

To tell the story of God's concern for even the enemies of his people, this book also shows how God used a reluctant prophet as a vehicle of his grace.  

 

God will forgive you. God's compassion for all people and earnest repentance regardless of what people have done.  

 

Who are the characters in the text?  
Characters:  

o   Jonah  

o   The fish  

o   The King of Nineveh  

o   The people of Nineveh  

o   Sailors  

 

Where does the story take place? 
We know that Jonah was near Joppa and had to go to Ninevah, but instead travelled in the other direction to the city of Tarshish 

 

Is the text verified in other books of the bible? 
It is also mentioned in the Islam text/Korhan 

Regardless of our struggles or intentions, God ensure we are exactly where we need to be at the right time and are on our individual path. 

 What aspects of this text might not be relevant to our lives and time?  

This text asks us to examine how we are acting like Jonah in our lives and how we can feel the same concern for their forgiveness as God.   
   

  This also connects in with our democratic rights in today's time.  God's brief but harsh response to look at Jonah provides flexibility for each person in their interpretation within the context of their own life experiences
  

There are many story books on this particular story of the Bible, can be found in youtube and by searching the web. 

 

Since partaking in Connect, it has provided me with the confidence to engage in more regular conversations arounds different attitudes and perspectives of faith. I have been inspired to ask more questions and seek clarification when discussing Christian Studies with my team and make suggestions towards areas in my link my authentically. Prior to Connect, I would just sit back and listen as I felt I wasn’t knowledgeable enough I the area. 

 

This was evident while recently planning a unit on Christianity in the World that we ran alongside our IB Unit of How we express ourselves. Although I still needed support on the biblical aspect of this unit, I was able to provide some ideas on how to incorporate some hands on and concrete activities for students to not only explore what spirituality is, but express their own spirituality while they connected and compared it to how we do so at school, from a Christian perspective. 

 

We facilitated a safe and supportive learning environment that allowed students to reflect and appreciate aspect of their self, including their strengths, hobbies, gifts and talents and recognise their uniqueness from one another. This activity referenced the theological perspective that God created us and gave us our gifts and talents. It also alluded to Grace and Relationships in the perspective of "we should reach out and be inclusive to others and their unique traits". 

 

Students were not only able to identify and use their unique gifts and talents but see everyone in the classroom / world in a different way by valuing them for their individuality, as God does. It gave students the perspective that we should be understanding and grateful for other individuals, as they all have a purpose in our world, in which we can learn from. Students then gathered information about how God helps all people and describe how God equips people to help others. 

 

 

The Lutheran theology in particular Grace and Relationship are concepts which thrive within our school community and help shape our students. As teachers we form and build relationships with our students as one of the fundamental things we need to do. We show our students grace and enrich their uniqueness so that they can be the person they are and express their talents and gifts within our school. The Lutheran theology is a great way to teach values we wish for ourselves to identify and to nurture our students within. 

Lutheran theological perspectives, such as Grace can shape who we are as a school community, as this helps to shape relationships and connections with God, staff, parents, students, and other members of the wider community. In our community unit we talked about how an effective community function by living core values. 

 

Finally, I think that Lutheran perspectives helps to shape how and what we teach in our subjects, by making the connections with the students to Christian Studies where we can, as we are a Christ centred school who shows service through all that we say and do. I also think that the Lutheran perspective of relationships it also the core to living with grace and connection with ourselves and those around.

 

My aim moving forward after Connect, is to develop my understanding within my current teaching level of Christian studies to be better prepared and confident with teaching the content. Christian studies can be overwhelming with content and I hope to become more confident within my knowledge when teaching Christian Studies to my students. I understand that this is an ongoing learning process for me to continue into the future to further develop my own understanding and teaching practices. I look forward to working alongside my colleagues to collaborate on how to best teach the key units for students to best understand the concepts. It will also be nice to gather artefacts and evidence of the teaching and learning journey of Christian Studies. 

 

How can I use the Bible more often with students during teaching sessions? 

How can I as Team Leader, better incorporate CS into our panning to allow all teachers to comment, add and question our practice? 

How to best incorporate different religions into the classroom teaching while still holding a Christian perspective? 

What other ways can I allow students to express their faith?