But our kids are anxious. They don't know how to handle hard things as well. And I know the social media aspect and being on their phones all the time, that's not helping with their anxiety at all. But I do notice a difference in willingness to grapple with hard things.
This is the Transform Your Teaching podcast. The Transform Your Teaching podcast is a service of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio.
Hello, and welcome to the Transform Your Teaching Podcast. In today's episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Dr. Jared Pyles speak with two educators in the private school space, Becky Stelzer, who's an English teacher at Calvary Christian School, and Christina Jones, who is also an English teacher at Grove City Christian School. Thanks for joining us.
Thank you, ladies, for coming on. Why don't we start off with some background, how you guys got into education or Christian education specifically? And, Christina, let's start with you.
I feel like I've always wanted to be a teacher. So I went to Liberty University for my undergrad and then got a job right away in a Christian school after graduation. And I then, about eight years into teaching, decided to get my master's and try administration. So I did the principal thing for eight years And right in 2020, when COVID hit, I decided I just felt like God was saying, go back to the classroom. Go back to the classroom.
So I did. I left being an administrator and went back to teaching, and now I love what I do. I teach AP Lit and Lang and British literature to twelfth graders, and I feel like I get paid to book club every day. So it's it's fantastic. I I love my I love what I do.
Becky?
I graduated from Pensacola Christian College. I knew for a long time that I wanted to be a teacher, so that wasn't really a question when I went off to college. My first primary field was actually history education. And so when I got into teaching after getting married right out of college, I started teaching history, and English was my minor. So I started teaching English as well, but only one class at the school in North Carolina where my husband and I first lived.
And then my husband, through different circumstances after three years in North Carolina, we moved up to Northern Kentucky where my husband worked for the Creation Museum in their graphic design department. And so then we started having and I worked for Answers in Genesis as an editor and writer for them for a number of years. And then we had children. So, we have three children and from that point, I started staying at home but I homeschooled them for a couple years and then when my son, my oldest son, Ethan, who's going to be graduating this year, got into, I think, second grade. We sent him to Calvary.
And after that, I was looking to see if they'd have a job open to get back into education, and they happen to have a job opening 2016. And so I started teaching then in 2016. And so this is my ninth year here at Calvary and then I got back into coaching the year after that. So, like 2017, the fall of that year. So, I've been coaching and then I teach and teaching English.
I teach English ten, eleven, and 12, and then AP literature, I teach as well. So, yeah, I love it too. Yeah. I make you know, students read and write stuff a lot. So but I love it.
One of the reasons why we wanted to have a conversation with you, we we've been having these conversations with different folks. One of the things that we've looked at is background, like where they're coming from. And if you would, could you just tell us what kind of background in terms of students are you experienced or have you experienced? Because it doesn't necessarily need to be this particular school because I think, Christina, you said you had administrative, I'm assuming principal jobs somewhere. Was that was that in a private Christian school, or was that in a public school?
It
was. Yeah. It was private Christian.
So I'd love to hear any kind of, you know, information you had on the background of your students, where they were coming from. Christina, why don't you go first?
Okay. Well, I think because of the Ohio voucher program, we're seeing a lot more diversity coming into our schools now. So even being a private Christian school, I think it's not one size fits all anymore. We definitely have a lot of kids who have either grown up in private Christian school or have tried the public school system, and it's failed them. So now they're here seeking a better opportunity.
So I that's why I would just say there's really not a one size fits all anymore. It's it's very diverse, and which is a great thing, but it is it you know, it's a different and shift, I guess, in culture too. I've seen a lot more kids get an opportunity to be in Christian schools than ever now, which is a great thing. So
So is it predominantly suburban kids?
I would say predominantly, yes. But you you definitely we bus in kids from inner city as well.
Okay. Becky?
Most the majority of our kids are first from suburbia, parents working and paying tuition. So four or five out of a class of 20 who are on accommodations or some kind of modification for learning. And so that's added a different realm of educating and how to educate so that we're preparing even them to just kids with their different learning styles and different challenges to be ready for college as a college prep school.
Christina, what about you? Are you seeing anything like that as well?
Yes. Yeah. That would give the same statistic probably for our school as well with students that have IEPs or five zero four. Or because it's a private school, they will often write plans. They'll call them academic plans for a student. So it's not legally an IEP, but you have students that are on those plans that we follow just like it was an IEP. So that that is increasing slightly.
Okay. So you'd say
Especially since COVID.
Four or five out of twenty, which we're talking twenty percent.
Yeah. I mean, it's significant.
For private school, I would say so.
Yeah.
I would expect the numbers to be higher for public. As a matter of fact, I know they are.
And a lot of times, this is me speaking from limited private school and teaching experience, but a lot of times it then becomes an issue of resources to support those students. Mhmm. Is that would you guys say that's the case as well?
Yeah. I mean, you have to be selective in the admissions process because you can't take the students if you can't judiciously service them the right way. So that's a tricky part of Christian education because obviously you want, you know, nobody ever said that Jesus especially never said that Christian education is just for the elite students. You know, I'm sure he would want it to be for all, but the funding that has to go into servicing special needs students is not there. It's not present in a Christian school, and we don't get the federal funding for it.
So definitely, you have to be selective because you don't wanna then take that child and then not be able to service them properly. You'd be doing them a great disservice.
So. Yeah.
Yeah. We have we have a couple people specifically on staff full time as accommodations teachers, and they work with those students individually and then make sure that we, as teachers, are adding modifications to their learning and to their testing and assessments and things like that so that we're working within their IEPs and within their other plans so that we, as individual class teachers, can help do what we're promising to do and educate their child. So it definitely is a challenge as you're dealing with the numbers that you're challenging you know, that we're dealing with, but it's a great way of adding, you know, within my own lesson plans, how to accommodate and to work within that and to help them achieve their goals. So
So speaking of resources, another resource that can sometimes be an issue in private schools is technology and accessibility to that technology. You know, Christina, I know that Grove City, like you said, you've got majority of suburban. So some students this is a huge assumption, know, but some students come in with some sort of device that they can use. I'm curious about tech accessibility and what you're doing to help students when there is that disparity between access and ability.
We're one to one at Grove City, so each student has a Chromebook that they keep, and they, use them a lot. Like, if they forgot their Chromebook, it would be a really bad day for them. So we don't have to deal with, I guess, students not having, because we provide one for every child. And then we have tried to supply other kinds of technology in the classroom as well that everybody can use. The the cell phones are gone during the day.
They can only have them out at lunch, so that's not a tool either that they can use anymore. So
We're the same way. We have a one to one. We provide a Chromebook for the students, and they have that for the the school year. If they have their own device, then that's up to them. That's fine. But, yeah, their phones are not allowed out during the school day, often away. And then we have their Chromebooks. They use them during class, and we use and access our Smartboards and Google Classroom and some of the technologies that are available to us for review and videos and things like that. So
Is the assumption then that they have access to Wi Fi at home, for students to access as well?
Yeah. Most of our students will have it directly at home. And if it's been a problem, then I'd I'd I'm not sure how the administration has dealt with that because I'm not involved in that. Sure. But, you know, with any public place, there's Wi Fi you can access. And so I think suggestions have been made that way, and I'm like, hey. You can take your Chromebook. If I can take mine, you can take yours and
Yeah.
Sit somewhere and access Wi Fi and get some work done. So
Okay.
I have not heard of anybody not having Wi Fi, but I I know during COVID, that was an option. The administration had bought some hotspots for students in need, but I don't know. I mean, I don't ever hear of anybody not having it or having access. But my I would imagine, though, if that was the case, the school would definitely help them on a case by case basis.
Gotcha. Okay.
Well, Christine, we had one of your colleagues on. It's been It's been quite a while ago, hasn't it?
Yeah. The previous series we did.
Yeah. And and Nancy talked about the fact that you guys were looking at removing cell phones out of the classroom for your students, and she had tied it to anxiety. And that's kind of one of the things we wanted to also talk about. So it's interesting both of you, both of your schools have removed cell phones from the classroom. I'm curious if you've seen any positive results in that removal.
And then also just in general, speak to stress, anxiety, mental health in terms of what you're seeing in your students. Has it gotten better? Is it about the same as what you saw, you know, post COVID? Where are these students?
Well, I'll start with the first question about good things from having the cell phones off. I know last year when they were allowed to have their
cell
phones, at the end of class, if you gave the kids, you know, three or four extra minutes, like if you finish early, they would go straight to the phone and there wouldn't be a peep. It would be dead silent. Now they talk to each other. And I feel like that's such a big difference because they're losing the art of conversation because of the cell phones. So that's been a good thing.
The bus drivers have noticed that the behavior of the buses has exponentially gotten better because, they've been so deprived of their phone device all day that they're now, you know, too busy to engage in shenanigans on the bus that they are now looking in silence. And so they like it. I
like that. That's a good title for the for the cell phone now. The anti shenanigan device. The anti shenanigans.
But in terms of anxiety oh, that's a big one. I feel like our kids are more anxious than ever, and it's it's weird because I don't feel like their lives are getting harder. But I I do think it's because they're constantly fed dopamine all day that they don't know what to do without it. It is creating a sense of anxiety in their little brains. I, you know, I check-in with my kid.
I do something called circle time at the beginning of every class, and it's just I pick four random questions. But one of them I sneak in is usually about gauging their mental health or gauging how they're feeling that day or what's going on in their lives. You know? And it can be as simple as share a good thing that's going on in your world, and they'll, you know, go around the room and we listen to each other. But that's my way of checking in to see, like, who's really struggling, who's, you know, who's doing well, who do I need to keep an extra eye on.
And that's been very fruitful, I guess, in the last five years, just to gauge that anxiety level and to see as an educator, how can I help you? And the relationships that I can build with them by doing that is great. Like, I see so much from Like, I just feel like I get to know each of them all because of these dumb questions that I had set at the beginning of class. And yes, it takes time, and my younger self, I probably would have been like, that's five minutes times one hundred and eighty school days. That's a lot of minutes.
But honestly, the relationship building and the way I'm able to gauge, well, this kid's got something going on. Then I could tell Nancy, like, what's going on with this one? And we can watch them together, and that's been helpful. So but our kids are anxious. They don't know how to handle hard things as well as my generation did.
And I know the social media aspect and being on their phones all the time, that's not helping with their anxiety at all. But I do notice a difference in willingness to grapple with hard things versus how I did it when I was a teenager. Becky?
I would say the same thing. It's just middle schoolers and high schoolers have anxiety and are stressed and worried about stuff, and they're just overwhelmed all the time with different things that pop up. Helping take that distraction away during the classroom has been beneficial for the classroom as well as, you know, for them during the school day, but they don't have to be on their phone. They're not checking the latest, you know, Snap or whatever. I don't even know.
I'm too old. But it's like, they're checking their devices so often for stuff, and you're like, why? You don't have to. So giving them that little bit of reprieve has been beneficial. But I think Christina is right.
Like, I I totally agree where these students don't want to deal with hard things because they've never they don't really have to. A lot of our students, you know, they're have some privilege or they had they come from the type of homes that they come from. And so life itself is generally easy. So when life comes at them that's difficult, you know, they can distract themselves and put the phone, like, in front of their face and ignore everything that's actually happening. So being able to discuss the hard things and when you can't get away from them and to be able to talk through that with them has been good.
And it's like, alright. Let's discuss. Let's talk. And let's bring up real issues in class through and, you know, the best of both worlds in literature, you know, talking about books, but real life and connecting those two things. And then bringing it and driving it home to scripture, and what does the bible say, and what's our worldview supposed to be like, and are we supposed to handle these things according to scripture and what does the bible say and where is our foundation supposed to be.
Mhmm. But in some of the mental things that students struggle with is just their identity because it's been so made up of social and culture and, you know, what does their friend think that they are? What is their group or their club? Or who does that group say that they are? And but when that's not set and rooted and grounded in who Christ has made them to be and who he's designed them as, it just throws everything into turmoil in their minds.
So, taking some of those distractions away, helping them remember what the scriptures say about them, add some calmness to it. Doesn't take it away. I mean, because they struggle with those issues but it definitely gives us as teachers opportunity to focus in on, okay, who does the bible talk you know, tell us about? Who does it say you are in Christ and as his creation? So taking away distraction is a good thing.
And kids have their cell, like, cell phones so early nowadays. Like, it's it's crazy. You know? Elementary kids are walking around with their cell phones, and I'm like, oh, okay.
So it seems like you're both saying that you do see these health challenges or mental health challenges, anxiety in your students, but the removal of cell phones, you're seeing a reconnection to one another and yourselves. Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay. Well, that's a positive thing based off of previous conversations we've had in this area with several. Including Nancy. So that was that's very helpful. So the how, I think, real simple for those who are listening, it seems if there's a way for you to disconnect students during the day from those little individual dopamine producers, as Christina called it, then do so.
Yeah. I mean, they just they're losing the skills, like I said, to converse with one another. If you ask like, if I ask my seniors to make a phone call right now just to call call the DMV and ask a question about how to get your license, they would freak out. Like, they just don't they don't know what to do. And it's just such a different world.
So social connection wise, we've had a couple we interviewed some students. We also interviewed some public school educators, and a commonality between them was there are some students who want to have that common social bond with their educator. One public school educator, Garrett, mentioned that he had a student who they made a common bond about golf. Garrett didn't really care as much about golf, but he saw the student did, so he immediately started Googling golf things and became a golf expert. Are you seeing that desire for your students to make a social connection either with their peer I mean, obviously with their peers, that's just but do you see that with, other educators as well?
Like, do you see that wanting to make that commonality or make that bond? Christina, go ahead.
Oh, absolutely. I just got back from Tennessee with our seniors. They had to take their senior trip a little bit early this year because of the way the calendar worked out. And just just the way they cling to the different chaperones that were there. I I mean, I had kids that just wanted to be in the kitchen with me cooking for the I made all the food for them the for the week, but just that they just wanna hang out in the kitchen with me and just talk about life and things like that.
I'm like, I'll take it. I you know? I I feel like they want they want, I think, that relationship. That's, I think, one of the things being in a Christian school that we can do best is build that relationship with each child. And I feel like we just have more opportunity because of the nature of what we can do.
I don't know that, you know, big public schools are taking big trips like that with their kids, with the entire grade. I think that would be really difficult. But when, you know, when you put 57 of them in a cabin together for the week and they're worshiping together every evening, you know, that's, those are big memories that they make together. And the adults there, I mean, they really saw the benefit from it because the kids want to be near us. They want to hang out with us.
They want to know about this and that. And I think I love that part of this job. And they're always going to crave, I think, that social connection with their educators. Obviously, you have to be really careful with it too, but Sure. Yeah. Keep your boundaries appropriate.
I would agree. I don't know if I've seen increase in that, you know, because of a disconnection with social media like, with that as an influence. But there's always you know, as an educator, it's part of our job, right, to, you know, educate not just for college and prepare them that way, but to influence them for the Lord. No matter what school we teach in, we're supposed to be impacting them for Christ. And so developing relationships with them and knowing and reaching them on their level is part of what we do, you know, to make those connections, to be able to speak truth into their life.
They have to trust you. They have to know you. And so being able to talk to them on a real level, it's just part of the job, but it's a super important one. And then, yeah, you have to maintain your boundaries where, you know, they wanna be your friend. And I'm like, not your friend.
I'm your teacher. So after you graduate, you can call me Becky. You can, you know, hang out at my house, but until then, no. You know, like, this just it's it's a boundary, and you have to keep it that way where you speak truth to them and you're real in front of them, but you are trying to impact them for their lifelong mission of serving the lord with what he's called them to do. So relationships are absolutely necessary in this job if answering questions and being real and, you know, admitting faults, you know, but not, you know, vomiting all over, you know, everything of what they you know?
They want all the details, you're like, yeah. I'm not going there. But, you know, but just being real with them has been one of those yeah. You have to build relationships with your students. If they're gonna trust you and if they're gonna believe what you say, you present to them Christ in your in your classroom, and you have to ask questions and be willing to get to know them where they are. Yeah.
Well, this has been excellent to hear from you both. Thank you for coming on. I'm I'm encouraged.
Thank you to both of our guests, Becky Stelzer of Calvary Christian School and Christina Jones of Grove City Christian, for their insights on the current status of high school students in the private school space. And thanks to you, the listener, for Don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. Also remember to connect with us via LinkedIn, send us any questions that you might have or any comments. And finally, don't forget to check out our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog. Thanks for listening!