Did you know….
….on the island of Papua there are many schools, but more than 33% of teachers are absent every day?1
….only 46% of high school aged students in Indonesia attend school (98% in the US)?2
….only 37% of teachers in Indonesia hold proper qualifications (undergraduate degree)?3
Every single day, in villages all over this beautiful country, children eagerly run to the gates of their schools, hoping that today their teacher will come, hoping that today they will learn something. These classrooms are not just spaces for learning; these classrooms are laboratories where discipleship can take place, where future leaders can be nurtured, and where the next generation of Christian influencers are being raised up and prepared every single day.
If one teacher teaches 20 students, disciples them, really digs into their lives and invests in those 20 souls, and does that for 20 years, that one teacher is worth 400 souls. Every day we are training teachers to go out into villages and disciple the next generation of Christian leaders. Last week we gathered all of our students in our teacher training program and asked them two simple questions: Why are you here? What are your dreams for the future? One of my students gave this response:
“Teachers who are smart are in large supply. But teachers who are smart and who also teach with their heart are hard to find. Here, we are learning to become teachers like that: teachers who’s work hours are as long as they live, not just from 7am to 3pm.”
I can’t wait to see this group of teachers rise up to be teachers who teach with their heart: teachers who invest their entire lives into loving their students.
1 http://www.partneraid.org/blog/2012/09/06/indonesia-bringing-health-to-schools/
2 http://dds.bps.go.id/eng/aboutus.php?tabel=1&id_subyek=28
3 http://edisicetak.joglosemar.co/berita/60-persen-guru-belum-sarjana-1457.html