Hard and Holy Work

Y’all. Last week.

I teach at a University-Model® School, which means our parents are doing part of the teaching and coaching and mentoring at home. And that means we do parent training at the start of each year. Parents new to our school (and the model) have an extra day, then we have a full day with everyone – plus a Back to School Night where the kids are invited to come meet their teachers and see their classrooms.

On top of that, of course, is the regular staff training and workdays that always start a school year. There are policies and procedures to review and update, security protocols to practice, professional development to help us grow and improve as educators.

So, last week. Last week was that week. We have one more day of staff training this Tuesday, but otherwise, it was all last week. 

Add to that the fact that I am an admin and I was involved in leading a lot of that training myself. I ran meetings and made presentations all week long.

Add to that the fact that our school is not yet able to move into our new building for the year because of hold-ups in the building permits and all. So, we had to rent space at churches in town for our meetings – and also for our first few weeks of school. Four different churches we were hopping between last week. Are we grateful for their hospitality? Absolutely.

But y’all. Last week. It was exhausting.

I ended the marathon Friday evening listening to a recording of a livestream symposium I missed while I was at Back to School Night. They were discussing an ethical, Christian approach to AI – a topic I need lots of info about as an English teacher. One of the presenters made the point that the greatest appeal AI has to most of us is that it makes things we need to do easier, more efficient. And then she spoke this convicting gem: “We have worshipped the god of productivity for too long.”

Oh, my, Yes, friends. Some things are SUPPOSED to be long and hard – that’s the only way they work.

It takes time to bake a loaf of bread. It takes time to create a piece of art. It takes time and effort to build a relationship with somebody. The real meaningful work of life, the stuff that makes us human . . . not a machine or a beast . . . made in the image of God . . . those things have nothing to do with efficiency or ease. 

This is something we often have preach to our students. School takes time and effort; it is supposed to be hard. Not overwhelming, not insurmountable, and not drudgery. But if everything you do in school is easy for you, then you’re probably not learning anything.

I had to remind myself of that this week. My job is hard. I love what I do, and I genuinely feel called to it, but it is difficult, exhausting work sometimes.

But as my principal reminds us often, it is hard and holy work.

It’s going to be a challenging year. But honestly, every year is challenging. If it weren’t, I suspect we wouldn’t be doing it right.