PD, In-service, and Little Children

Professional Development (PD) and in-service come with the territory of being a teacher. Professional Development consists mainly of conferences and workshops designed to help us be better teachers through learning different strategies, new research, etc. In-service happens within a teacher's school and communicates state guidelines/requirements as well as information that is relevant for that district and specific school.

These meetings and workshops can be very boring and sometimes repetitive. I imagine the repetitiveness will be particularly frustrating after one has been teaching for several years. However, as a first year teacher, I have the advantage of feeling "fresh" and "curious" and "excited" about everything! I take notes, I try to be attentive, and (dare I say it?) I enjoy learning these things! I'm very open to suggestions and advice from others. (Granted, I don't always follow them, but I'll gladly listen :)) Wouldn't it be awesome if I were always like this? Certainly I don't want to always be a first-year... I'll be very thankful when my big "firsts" of teaching are over for a little while! But I want to keep this freshness and curiosity. I want to listen well and to be open to new ideas.

As I was thinking about this post, God reminded me of the verse in Matthew 18:3 that reads "And he said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Jesus loves little children! He encouraged them to come near to him and to spend time with them. One characteristic of little children is that they are always curious, always asking questions, always AMAZED by something... even the simplest things. Perhaps this is one of the characteristics He was thinking of when He said we all need to become like them. What if we were always curious about Jesus? Always asking questions to learn more? Always AMAZED by His greatness?!

Oh Father, teach me to be continually amazed... Help me to become like a little child.