Continuing with the time theme, the late historian David McCullough made a great observation - a contrast between the digital clocks of modern society and the analog pieces of yesteryear.  What comments might you make regarding his observation that will apply to our class? ​

When a teacher gets a nomination letter to the Golden Apple Award committee from the chamber of commerce, it is probably not because that teacher reads a script or follows a pacing guide.  On the contrary, parent letters that contain the following quotes or something like these are the result of going beyond the norms.  Teachers who only do what the administration expects never touch students' lives like this.

These are real quotes from a real nominating letter for this year's award.  There were also some personal comments about this teacher that are very touching.  The nominating parents understand that education goes beyond successful testing scores.  It goes beyond data walls and state standards.  The magic includes instilling the desire and the joy of learning.  It's about the ability to make mistakes and learn from them.  It includes respect for other human beings and the acceptance of people who have different personalities and quirks.

Let's continue to support these types of teachers - the ones who don't accept the status quo, the ones who care about students and want to teach the whole child.  That doesn't come from being on the same page as everyone else and playing things safe.

​Certain smells bring about specific memories.  The next generation will probably never smell a freshly mimeographed stack of worksheets in elementary school.  Many in large cities have never smelled freshly cut alfalfa.  Certain food smells can remind us of Grandma.  Certain tobacco smells can remind us of Grandpa.

It is the sense we probably appreciate more when it is gone, and yet the sense of smell is certainly important to God.  One thing we have in common with our God is that we both have a sense of smell.    All through the Old Testament, we are shown demonstrations of sacrifice to God, and when done correctly, the sacrifice provides “a soothing aroma to the LORD”.  Over and over again, the aroma (the scent, the smell) is soothing (or pleasing) to the Lord.

And yet, we no longer burn our best animals, grains, or oils.  And God no longer receives the soothing aroma.  Our brother in Christ, David Sargent, writes, “Due to our sin, you and I don’t have the right ‘scent’ to be accepted by the holy God…and we are left as needy orphans destined to die.  But God loves us so much that he provides a remedy to our predicament:  He gave His Son – the Lamb of God (John 1:29)…to die on the cross for our sins (Ephesians 1:7)…[taking] upon Himself the sins of the world, paying the price for them.”

We just don’t smell right.

Sargent uses the illustration of sheep.  When a ewe dies while giving birth to a lamb, the newborn lamb desperately needs the care of its mother, but that is not possible.  The problem is you can’t just introduce the lamb to another ewe.  A ewe recognizes her own lamb by its scent, and when a lamb has the wrong scent, the ewe rejects it.  

Because of this, shepherds know they must find a ewe that has recently lost her lamb.  They take the skin of the lamb that died and wrap it around the motherless lamb like a sweater.  Then the “clothed” lamb is presented to the mother of the dead lamb.  The ewe sniffs the lamb, recognizes the scent, and accepts the lamb as her own.

You should know that, like the lamb with the wrong scent, I can be acceptable to God.   “Jesus said to him,” in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

We are more than thankful when we realize that “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

As the lamb that was clothed in another lamb’s coat, Galatians 3:26f completes the illustration by telling us, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

By clothing ourselves in the sacrificed Savior, we  can once again present “a soothing aroma to the LORD”.  We should close with 1 Corinthians 2:14f.  In this part of his letter, Paul writes, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.  For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…”

And there you have it.  Do you smell like Jesus?

​Yes, it's time for another round of advice for student teachers.  You're sitting at the end of your stint in college, and you're about to enter the world of education officially.  I'd like to tell you that all of those things that you've learned in your education classes are going to jump any hurdles that get placed in your path, but we all know that simply is not true.  There are certain things that just are not taught in college but that you will run into in your first days on the job.  That's right:  they just didn't teach you some of the most important parts.  Obviously, I have some important notes that could be of service to you at this crucial juncture in your life.
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• Act and react.  People have different personalities, demeanors, and resting faces, and you need to be tolerant of these things.  I, for example, am a person who does just fine in front of a crowd, but I do not operate very smoothly one-on-one (I know that's backwards from most of you.).  In the past, that awkward quietness has been taken as me being stuck up, but that's not the case at all.  People may think that I'm mad when I'm not, simply because I inherited what we lovingly call the Hoggatt frown (Thankfully, it has become less and less pronounced in later generations.).  I know individuals who are perceived as loud and mean, when they may simply be trying to be heard over noise in the room.  Their tone can be grating, but their tone does not always indicate their mood - in spite of what you may think.  So what I'm saying is this:  give people the benefit of the doubt.  Don't assume they are trying to attack you and boss you around.  The fact is, they may struggle to navigate around your personality, as well - and you may not be a walk in the park yourself. You see, that's just the nature of humanity:  we're all different.  Sometimes we need to be patient with each other, not because the other person is slow, but because the other person processes things and responds differently than we do.  Step back and reevaluate how you react to them, and give them a break. With any luck, they will do the same for you.

 

• Learn how to run the stuff.  Do you know how to run the electronic equipment in your classroom and in your school?  Can you use the laminator?  Do you know how to effectively tear the butcher paper from that big roll they keep in the hallway?  Do you know the process for making copies?  Are you aware of the best medium for sticking posters to the painted cinderblock wall?  We could include computer tech in that list, as well.  It's best to figure those things out before class starts in the fall.  You need to know how to make clean cuts, how to leave a proper edge on the laminating film, and how to safely wrap an extension cord.  They should have taught all of this in a college class, but they didn't.  They figured these are below them to teach, but they shouldn't have.  They should know that these basic operations in a teacher's life are essential to getting you through a basic day.

 

• The adults are people, too.  As much as you've gotten ready to teach kids, you may forget that there are also adults in the school.  While you undoubtedly realize that personal relationships with the children are important, these other adults are also important to your professional comfort and safety.  Most of you haven't been adults for very long and these relationships can be pretty tough.  Those older men and women may not be ready to except a whippersnapper like you are an equal peer.  Some of them taught your parents, and your young age can be taken in many different ways.  They might resent your energy.  They may be envious of your ability to connect with kids.  They may see you as lazy and problematic - entitled to special treatment because you are new.  For them, you may have come late in the race.  When you burst out of the starting blocks, you came with a bunch of pie-in-the-sky ideas and ideals.  They don't want you trying to take over their castle.  Then, there are administrators and parents, coming at you from every possible angle.  if you're not prepared to talk to them like an adult - with poise and dignity - you're stay in the educational world may be short indeed.

We should probably say more about the adults, and we may just do so in another posting.  Until then, please don't neglect to think about these issues.  Professionalism is very important in any job that deals with such a precious commodity as you will.

What's that?  You need to catch up on the Takeaways series of articles for student teachers?
You don't have to go far to find them:  they're right here:

Amen: An Endorsement of Praise or Prayer
“Amen,” in both Testaments, could be employed as an affirmation of endorsement as a concluding pronouncement in connection with either praise or prayer. Note Psalm 41:13. “Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, From everlasting and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen”.

Amen: The Truthfulness of the Inspired Documents
“Amen” was used on occasion at the conclusion of a letter, the design of which seems to have been to emphasize the integrity of the writing. It would be the equivalent of: “What I have written is the truth!” (see Rom. 16:27; Jude 25).

Amen: The Faithfulness of God
The term is used to stress the reliability or faithfulness of God. Listen to the prophet Isaiah. “. . . [H]e who blesses himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth . . .” (65:16), or as the New English Bible renders it: “He who invokes a blessing on himself in the land shall do so by the God whose name is Amen . . .”  “He is the God of truth, for in the carrying out of all His promises of blessing and threatenings of judgment, He has been successful and has shown that what He has spoken is true”.

Amen: Spoken by Christ
“Amen,” as found in the Gospel accounts, is employed by Jesus alone. In the Gospel of John, it is always used in the double format, rendered in English by “verily, verily” (25 times). It emphasizes the authority with which Christ spoke, and it takes on the essence of a “thus says the Lord”.

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One of his greatest contributions to the fledgling nation was to blaze a trail across the Cumberland Gap and bring pioneering and adventurous families into the wilderness.  This allowed for an expansion of the United States into the rural areas of what was then the western frontier.

​Israelites preferred to live in the mountains.  It is where God led them to inhabit the Promised Land.  Why?  Maybe it is because chariots didn’t do well in the mountains.  They were less likely to be attacked by armies of chariots. Read Acts 17:22-28.  We usually focus on God no longer “winking” or overlooking ignorance, but look at verse 26f. God is a boundary around us just as the mountains surround Israel.

As you add the mountain range to your hand-made map, consider that water flows two ways from here - west to the Mediterranean Sea and east to the Jordan and ultimately to the Dead Sea.  Place those water features on the map as well.

This one's on the other side of the map.  It's the last one for this class session, but it is undoubtedly the most famous (or should that be infamous?).  Now, let's label it:  Nile River.

Some Questions:

• Who did the shepherds tell about he angelic prophecy?
• What is the response of the people who heard their testimony?
• Who is present at the stable?
• What do the words of shepherds mean to Mary?
• What do the shepherds do with the information they have been given?

Let's Think:
These are shepherds talking - probably not the most eloquent of preachers, and yet the reaction the receive to their testimony is pretty remarkable.  "And all who heard it were amazed..."  The passage says the people are amazing by the message of the shepherds; it does not say they were amazed by their excellent preaching abilities.  Even the mother of Jesus beams with pride.  After all, the shepherds are confirming what she already knows (They're not the only ones who have seen angels!).

I am taken aback by the idea that there may be people standing around who are not related to the family in the stable.  It sounds like there are others in the scene, perhaps curious as to the commotion in the stall.  Even these curious bystanders are impressed by the message the shepherds share.  This baby is actually someone important?  That is now confirmed by the shepherds.

And important to note:  the shepherds returned to their flocks, but they are so much more than lowly shepherds in the field.  Now they have become evangelists.  The last item of not for our present purposes is the idea that the shepherds only tell others what they have been told.  They do not appear to add anything to or subtract from the Word of God.

I am always impressed with the amount of work that goes into putting together a 21st Century show choir.  Ms. Reynolds, former music teacher at Cecil Floyd Elementary, makes it happen.  It's also great to be able to reminisce with her about the shows we used to put together at the elementary level - some of the most epic Christmas programs ever performed.  I was even able to be on stage myself, playing Santa Claus in one and Grandma (yes, Grandma) in another.

​On Thursday, the Joplin Show Choirs performed their post-season showcase, and I was thrilled to attend.

The first group to perform was the all girl group, Touch of Class.  I can't believe how energetic and coordinated the group is throughout the show.  Hoggatteer alumni,  ALY, MACIE, and SOPHIE, are in this ensemble and they rock every minute of the show.

New Sounds is the new middle school group.  They have 25 on their team (up from 8, last year), and LIAM is one of only two boys.  They had a cute, fun show.

Two of my boys, JOSIAH and TAYLOR, are performers with Sound Dimension, Joplin's coed show choir.  The special effects, lighting, props, and makeup put this show over the top, and the boys do a good job of dancing and playing to the audience. 

I hope more of "my kids" audition for future seasons.  If they do, I could have seven more years to watch Hoggatteers grow up and cut loose on stage.

RAMONA represented the Hoggatteers well in last Monday's regional spelling bee on the stage at Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School.  That's not to say that she won the competition, but it is to say that she successfully represented the mature, mannerly values of interacting with other human beings.

For all the time I was present (I had another obligation on the same day.), no other fourth, fifth, or sixth grader in the group said thank you to the spellmaster and the judges before leaving the stage, but RAMONA did.  That single, simple moment hit me with a burst of pride.  So much more valuable than the ability to spell tricky words was the ability to express oneself with kindness and respect.  For that, I can be prouder of my former student than even the teacher of the spelling bee champion.

When adding cardinal directions to the map, consider the Hebrew words for the directions.  The Hebrew word for in front of is the word that you’d see translated in the Bible as east.  God even gives directions based on this. The word mizrach (מִזְרָח) comes from the root zarach, which means to shine.  East in Hebrew is the direction from which the sun shines.   Cemeteries still incorporate eastward-facing burials in most cases.

The word achor (מַעֲרָב,) means behind and is a synonym for west.  In Isaiah 9:12, the Arameans are to the east and the Philistines are on the west, which could be translated as “the Arameans in front of you and the Philistines behind you”.

The word yamin (יָמִין) means right (the right-hand side), and it is used as such in the Bible, but it also means south.

Tsafon (צָפוׄן) means hidden, as in the direction in which you will never see the sun.  Another word, smol, means left and is based on the default direction, oriented towards the east.  In Genesis 14:15, the phrase “smol of Damascus” means left, or north, of Damascus.

Stand and face these directions as we hear the explanation:  The Hebrew words speak as if God sits on a throne in the temple or tabernacle looking out the door.  In front of Him is east, behind Him is west, to His right hand is the word south, and to His left hand is the word north.

Fill in the blanks:  “Behold, I go __________, but He is not there, and __________, but I cannot perceive Him; when He acts on the __________, I cannot see Him; He turns to the __________, but I cannot see Him” (Job 23:8f).

When people speak of left and right in the Bible, do they always mean left and right, or do they sometimes mean north and south?