One of the perks of being a principal is that I get to visit and evaluate teachers. I get the benefit of seeing our teacher’s preparations and hard work come to life. We truly have amazing teachers here at Iroquois.

Recently, I observed a lesson on 1st and 3rd person perspectives. In 1st person, the narrator is in the story (I, my) and in 3rd person, the narrator is outside the story (they, him, she). A lot was discussed about how 1st person perspective will include more details, and how 3rd person might miss details as they aren’t necessarily experiencing the story. 

Perspective is so important in our work to reveal God’s Kingdom. When we share our own experiences, we should get the story straight. But how do we know about other people’s experiences if we don’t listen to them? We can try to imagine another’s experience, but we’re simply not going to get it right. I can try to explain skydiving to you, but since I’ve never done it, I’m not going to be great at explaining it. However, if I listen to someone who has done it, I’ll be able to relay that experience to an extent. The same goes for those who walk a life that is different than ours. When we listen to others, we get a glimpse, we can then support, help, lament with, celebrate with, grow in relationship, and ultimately, further reveal God’s Kingdom.

This teacher I observed shared with her students in this lesson on perspective Psalm 119:18 which says, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” The hope is for each of her students to open their eyes to others’ experiences. What a valuable skill for our students and each of us as we seek first God’s Kingdom!

—John Barkel
Iroquois Campus Principal