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The National Educator of the Year 2001 The CEAI National Educator of the Year Arlene is a much sought after speaker! She is available to come to your school to speak.
Please contact JUDY for schedule. The CEAI National Educator of the Year Message... In the book of John, Jesus is giving his disciples their marching orders as he sends them out on their first preaching mission. His orders are tough and scary, sounding more like a military mission. "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." For a number of years I have been dividing my time between teaching and speaking about education to professionals, parents and educators. When I use the word "educators" my intent is to include everyone worthy of the title in public and private schools - teachers, administrators, classified personnel and parents who are interested in schools. Education is one of the biggest businesses in the United States. Buses and books, food and films, computers and calculators, this county is engaged in a mighty effort to take children and lead them from kindergarten to graduate studies. This is no mundane task. The same problems that confront the rest of society imperil our schools: drugs, alcohol, violence, teen pregnancy, eating disorders and mental illness. Today's educator is asked to be a combination parent, counselor, nurse, computer operator, special education expert and also be proficient in every subject. As if it isn't enough to be an educator in the year 2000, I want to address the Herculean task of being a Christian educator in today's society. My goal is to help Christian educators make a difference in this profession. How can we do that? First, I want to break down walls that separate us. In times of extreme tribulation I don't believe we would care about what divides us. What's important is what unites us. Public or private school? It doesn't matter. You're my brother, give me you hand! Administrator or teacher? We are one in Christ, give me you hand! Baptist or Lutheran, we're both educators. Let's work together. Solidarity! That's the key. Can you remember when teachers were the most honored and respected members of our community! Not true any more. How do we recover our self- respect? We need to identify the Christian educators in our midst. Many times I have attended a church function and found out to my amazement, that two or three people I meet are educators. I've seen them many times in the church but had no idea they were my Christian colleagues. We need to meet each other, validate each other and map strategies to bring Christ into our profession. We need to get our churches behind us: to celebrate our profession, respect us, support us with prayer, and make it easy for us to connect with each other. Churches may not realize that a young kid fresh out of college with the ink hardly dry on his teaching credential is brought into a school, given 35 or 155 students and told, "Here you are. You're on your own!" That teacher is like a sheep. Luke 10:2-3 reads: "And he said to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into this harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.'" Our churches need to support new teachers; Christian educators need to adopt them. They are like sheep in the midst of wolves. Is it any wonder that new teachers are dropping out of education after only two years of teaching? During WWII the whole country heartily supported our service men and women. If your dad, son daughter, sister or brother was in the service you had a flag with a star on it displayed in your window. You prayed for them, you wrote to them, you sent them cookies. The entire country out-did themselves to show them honor. Let' s honor our Christian educators like that. What better organization is there than CEAI to address these issues? Through their guidance churches can receive help in becoming more involved in public and private education. Corporate memberships are available to church that support educators. CEAI sponsors chapter meetings, regional conferences, and national conventions. There are publications that keep educators informed of their rights and responsibilities. Finally, CEAI can offer educators inspiration that lasts for a lifetime: inspiration that comes from the scriptures, that comes from sharing the opinions and enthusiasm of millions of fellow Christian educators in America. The world showers respect, honor and money on rock stars, sports figures and actors. We shouldn't be surprised. But we, who are Christians should make heroes and sheores out of our Christian educators! They're the modern-day saints and missionaries. They need the support and encouragement of their Christian sisters and brothers as that they can be more equipped to follow the Lord's marching orders. My message to Christian educators and churches is clear: there is work to be done and CEAI has the best strategy for mringing Christ's mission to Christian educators throughout the world. Arlene Kaiser PAST HONOREES , Educator of the Year from Oklahoma , Educator of the Year from Connecticut Teachers of the Year
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ARLENE KAISER