Joel Pepin-How to Help Preschool & Elementary Children Thrive

Helping children find success in school takes more than strong academics—it requires understanding the many pressures children face as they grow. In this episode, Kendra sits down with Joel Pepin of Rejoice Christian Schools to talk about what truly helps preschool and elementary-aged children thrive.

Drawing from his experience as a teacher, parent, and Head of School, Joel shares insight into the many factors shaping children today—from academic expectations and big emotions to the growing influence of technology and social media. Together, he and Kendra discuss how families can support their children through these challenges while building confidence, resilience, and a love for learning.

The conversation also highlights the importance of simple but meaningful rhythms at home—like family dinners, open conversations, and strong connections—that help children feel supported both in and out of the classroom.

For more Aha Moments visit https://buildingallchildren.org/podcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:01

Welcome. My name is Kendra Morgan, and I'm the host of the Rise and Build Podcast, where we hope to empower you to rise up and build a strong family, knowing you have to strengthen your hands to do the good work. Come with us as we rise and build. Hey you guys, welcome to the Rise and Build Podcast. Today we are talking about preschool and elementary and how to help those children thrive. I am setting across from Joel Pepin. He is the head of Rejoice Christian Schools, and we are gonna dive into this topic. Hi, Joel.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

Hi, how are you?

SPEAKER_04 0:38

I'm great. I'm so excited to set across from you.

SPEAKER_02 0:41

It's gonna be fun.

SPEAKER_04 0:42

Well, I know that I have a lot of questions, a lot that I want to pick your brain. The way this topic came up is we had, we just have a lot of families not knowing how to even what to look for in a school, what to even think about for education. And when we were talking about it, I was like, I knew you were the person that I wanted to interview. Um so will you, before we dive in, will you just tell us a little bit about you?

SPEAKER_03 1:07

Yes. So um my name's Joel Pepin, head of school at Rejoice Christian School. I've been there now. This is my sixth year there.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:15

Um I'm married to my beautiful wife, Tanya, which I know you know a little bit about her.

SPEAKER_04 1:20

She works at Guts, and so we work together quite a bit because we help serve those children also.

SPEAKER_03 1:26

She's the early learning program director there. So we're both educators at heart. Actually, we were both at O'Roberts University. It's where we had met, and she was in elementary education degree, as I was as well too. And we're both from the north, and now we have southern Oklahoma kids, which my two children are uh Whitley, she's 12. Okay, she's in sixth grade at Rejoice, and then my son Drexel, he is nine, and he's in third grade at Rejoice. So that's a little bit about me, but yes, love being here. And and thank you again for this opportunity to speak.

SPEAKER_04 2:00

Yeah, and then tell me, tell us about how you know about building all children.

SPEAKER_03 2:03

So we actually got connected. I know kind of go way back a little bit through family connections, obviously, but we actually at Rojas Christian School, my early childhood, my preschool principal, as we call her, Dietra Harris. Yeah, we were looking for a resource, biblically based resource, okay, just to help with our teachers, our kids, and professional development. And I mentioned to Dietra, I was like, what about building all children? We beforehand had worked, our son, when he was little and he had struggled with some speech things, we came to you guys and how you guys just led with prayer and just hearing us, listening to us, and just trying to help because as even as educators, we know we can't do this alone. We just, and as parents, we can't do this alone. And to have a resource to help with that and has been such a blessing to us and our personal family, but our school as well, too. And you coming and speaking to our teachers about the variety of things, strong-willed children through all the different things you need help.

SPEAKER_04 3:12

I just did one on executive functioning and then it was so good. And your teachers were so engaged and asked questions, and it was a fun time.

SPEAKER_03 3:21

And our preschool teachers are just, I tell them was like this is when we get a lot of our families. Yeah. And the reason why we have a 95 to 96% reenrollment rate in Rejoice is because of the foundation that they're already setting. So we're like, we've got to get it right early on, and but we need help with that. So we're so appreciative of building all children.

SPEAKER_04 3:40

And building all children partners with the schools and churches. And so we have become a partner of Rejoice, and uh, we're so grateful. So we're helping um serve some of those children that need the extra resources, but then we're also helping the teachers so that we're helping the overall classroom, which I love.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

They need that help and support. The more voices we can help speak into that is good.

SPEAKER_04 4:01

Yeah, no, I agree. I agree. Okay, so let's dive into this.

SPEAKER_02 4:04

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 4:05

So I guess my first question that we hear all the time here is so my son is about to enter preschool kindergarten. What do I even look for in a school? I feel like when I was a kid, I'm from a small town, there was one option. It was public school.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 4:22

Um, now there's homeschooling, there's public, there's private. There, I mean, there's just a lot of options for families, and it's confusing.

SPEAKER_03 4:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 4:31

What where would you even start to guide someone?

SPEAKER_03 4:34

First off, I'd just say to parents, it's so important that you're really thinking this through, praying this through, because it's a big decision. Yeah. And I tell this to parents. So part of our mission, it has the biblical worldview lens. And I know even part of your mission is to develop that. I always tell parents there's four influences in your child's life. Number one, you as the parent, you're the biggest influence in child's life. Scripture talks about this. And I tell parents, we're not taking that place for you in that. But two and three, based upon hours, is social media and the culture. Okay. And then also where you send your child to school. Yes. Has a huge influence. Think about the amount of hours that they're spending with their teacher, with other kids around. You add it up, it's a lot of hours that they spend. And then number four, obviously, is the church. Right. Those are the biggest, four biggest, because every child has a worldview. And typically they say, this is Barner Research, yeah. By age 13, it's much harder to change that worldview later on. Now, God can transform anybody's heart, like He can do. But if you get that foundation right, and I remind them of that and how important that it is, where they're sending their child has a big influence on their worldview. And so I always start with that, but I also too, as we go forward, share we're not trying to take the place of you, but we want to partner together and be unified together in this so we can help grow your child to what God has ultimately called them to be. So we get the opportunity and the privilege every single day to do that at Rejoice. It's an honor. Um, but I know it's so vitally important that parents are thinking about that. Yeah. Of knowing who is my child around.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:26

The teachers they're around, what are they speaking to them? And I was a public school kid all my life. I know it's not easy. And my parents have a family of 10. So there's a family, I'm I'm the ninth of of 10. Yeah. And I know that it was a big thing our my parents, and that they knew as they go, especially as we go forward, that the influences that they try to set in the home are vitally important. But to have other people, and I was fortunate to have other people in my life that spoke into that. And that's why when I came down to Old Roberts University, having that foundation was so vitally important. But even now in the culture, it was different back then when I went to high school and public school. And it it looks a little bit different, but it's very important that they're thinking through those those type of things.

SPEAKER_04 7:14

I love it. So I love the fact that because I don't think families think about that's who they spend the majority of the time during the day with is those educators. What are some things that they should look at like education-wise? Do you do you have open houses? Do you have take tours? Like, how does that look? I feel like as the spirit, you walk in, you're like, oh, this is it.

SPEAKER_03 7:38

Yeah. Right. Well, a lot of families are looking first and foremost a safe environment, which is so vitally important. You want that. But you also, too, especially in early learning programs, you want it where they have the academics, it's important, but also the play-based is so critical. I know you know and speak a lot to this. We have to, in a world that we live in with technology and computers and phones, that they still get those foundational skills, those social emotional cues, especially when they're in a young age of preschool, and even as they go through elementary, and honestly, with our middle school, high school kids as well. We've had to adjust our schedule to where they are relational with one another and that they're putting those things away and looking people in the eyes and interacting. And they need that even as they grow because we know, and when I look in teachers and people that want to bring on to Rejoice Christian School, I'm looking for those that are humble, those that are hungry, and those that are smart. And I don't mean smart, yeah, but the social emotional reading cues, doing things like that. And that starts at such an early age. Yeah. But especially for us at Rejoice, we're looking for that as they grow and as they go into elementary, as they go through. But also too, for our sake, is the biblical worldview. Yeah. Parents want that. And especially if they're looking for that for their child to have that strong biblical worldview, it starts very early. And we're starting very early on as they start in three-year-olds to even if especially with younger families, we see a mom that's pregnant. Well, God is does it we talk about Genesis 127 and go all the way through that and they hear that same consistent message. It's vitally, vitally important. So, but you do. I know they're looking for safety, the academics, but also too. I know some families they look for the programs, the clubs that we have. That's important.

SPEAKER_04 9:41

Sports, I think it is. Sports is a big deal. It is, it's football in Oklahoma's big.

SPEAKER_02 9:46

It is very big, which we're our schools doing pretty well. Hopefully, we'll repeat as state champs. We're hopefully, you know, I know we had to get in time.

SPEAKER_03 9:54

Yes, we're gonna do that. But it's truly, and this is uh something we have in our it's again, it goes back to our mission statement, but is that whole person development? Yeah, we're looking for all of that. But part of our vision too, not only that, is the social part too, and them developing that because look, it doesn't matter where you're at, when you're doing interviews, things like that, it's those skills that they're gonna need later on in life that is is vitally vital.

SPEAKER_04 10:20

Can we talk a little bit about that? Because we are seeing now. I work with littles, so I mean we birth to fourth grade, but I would say, and we did a podcast on pragmatic language just because kids are missing social cues. So we have these second, third, fourth graders that we are seeing they don't know how to greet, they don't know how to make eye contact, they don't read social cues. Um, are you guys seeing more and more of that?

SPEAKER_03 10:47

Especially since COVID, we're seeing it a lot more. Again, this is my 22nd year in education, and what I saw maybe 10 years ago, it's very different from when and how that has changed and how the need of that is so important to have. Yeah, we one of our core values that rejoice is relationship. And we want kids, and we we have you ever heard of Kagan cooperative learning? If you ever heard of it. So we've really implemented that over the past few years at our school because we want kids interacting with one another. We do not want the teacher just standing up there, standing and delivering, saying, Here you go, here's a worksheet, good luck, go off. Education has looked and has to look so different because kids are and they want that socialization. But with phones and things that they already have, especially as they go forward, that's hard to do. But we really stretch that again, especially through our middle school, high school, we've adjusted our schedule to have those times where kids can breathe a little bit and to be able to interact. And we we have a it's called a modified block where a couple days a week we've got, okay, you're gonna hit a lot of your classes, but two days out of the week, we're doing a block schedule. It's a kind of a hybrid side where we have times built in the day. We have this thing called um uh take off Tuesdays where we just get to recognize kids, just kids can do different things. It's a 10-15-minute thing where kids have time just to breathe throughout the day and build some of these relationships and recognize kids. It has been so great. And we have the chapel services we do every week, Bible classes, but to be able to have that and then inside the classroom as well, too, is so important for our kids to have that opportunity every single day to do that.

SPEAKER_04 12:42

I love it. Well, I love that you sounds like to me you kind of put the phone cell phones away.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

We the more we can do that, the better.

SPEAKER_04 12:50

Well, I feel like it's just it's an easy thing to go to. Any downtime, they just their faces go down into the phone. Um, and so if they don't have it, then they have to learn to connect and have those social interactions. So I love that you guys I feel like a lot of the even the public schools are doing that.

SPEAKER_03 13:07

They they are, and I think I don't know if you've read The Anxious Generation, but the book is incredible. It's very eye-opening and how addictive it can be for kids to have that. And I tell this to our teachers is that so we can the Bible talks about this where you're either conform or transform, it's one or the other. And we are about transforming their heart. Yeah, and that's part again. I go back to our mission statement. It is, yes, it's part of that transformation where we are gonna set the environment. Yeah, we are going to set everything that we can, but let God do the work inside of them and transform their hearts. Yeah, we can set everything up as parents as well to praying for them, watering them, doing the things, but let God do the work inside of them. But it's it's part of that environment that we're setting up for them, is important.

SPEAKER_04 14:00

I love it. Can we talk about big emotions? Are you guys seeing kids that have, especially the littles? Oh, yeah. Uh preschool.

SPEAKER_02 14:08

I know on my own too. There's big emotions.

SPEAKER_04 14:10

Kindergarten, first grade, um, big emotions. And I feel like the world is so confusing in parenting because it's really kind of gone to this gentle parenting, let them work through their emotions, but sometimes I feel like they don't even understand their emotions. What do you guys do with those big emotions?

SPEAKER_03 14:28

It's it's a challenge. It's not easy. I I know it's it can be a struggle. I think again, of my own two children that I have, a 12 and a nine, my daughter is hitting, you know, middle school age, and I'm seeing bigger emotions going through. But even with the youngers, there is that processing time that they need. But I also know as well, too, especially Mrs. Harris, teacher does such a great job with this through our early childhood. But then even Mr. Zingerman and Mrs. White, who are our principals, and Mrs. Adora. I don't know if you get to meet with her, she's our Dean of Students at Rejoice. And they do such a great job of yes, hearing the child, but also too with the structure and the consistency that kids need. We're as we're walking through this, part of the things that we're doing inside of our classrooms and our teachers are is yes, we want to give them opportunity to think it through, but coaching them through and walking them through some of that, because I think it's so easy, especially as parents, we can just say, hey, go to your room and I'm not gonna, and then we never talk about it or never communicate it. But talking those through, but being consistent with it and following, and we get have the opportunity to do this every single day, is pointing it back to the word. And what does the word say about this? What is our our thematic goal this year is talking about wisdom, how we are growing in wisdom. How do we do that? How do we walk in wisdom and say, okay, that was not how do we keep growing? If Jesus did this, talks about Luke, if he's growing in wisdom and in favor and stature with God and man, we have got to be continuing to do that. So, how do we not make the same mistake twice? And so our teachers do such a great job with that, but you know, too, you need help and support with that to say, okay, how do I handle these big emotions? Having a great person and a great company, like building all the children to help come in and help with that. But really, I think it's also being Holy Spirit led to know what this kid needs. You know, it's it's been almost eight, nine years since I've been outside of the classroom, but I know too that there's the reliance of the Holy Spirit now, okay, God, how do I, and and we have a time and an opportunity where the kids have, we call it just thinking time, where they're able to sit and kind of class, be like, okay, hey, let's use a little bit of this time just to, but it allows me as the teacher to be like, okay, what do I need to help with this child? Because what we're doing right now isn't working, so I need to think through of a different strategy that I can use. And so our teachers, they do such a good job with that, and I'm always so grateful. But we need continued training and support with that because big emotions are hard to handle inside a classroom.

SPEAKER_04 17:22

But I love that we that's one thing we teach our families too is just to have some still time. We have to teach them to be still, and they're so busy just going from activity to activity that they don't know how to be still, and it's it's okay to be bored and be still a little bit because they have to learn what to do during those times too, you know.

SPEAKER_03 17:42

One thing I've found, and this is just again, this probably makes you sound a little bit older, but I've noticed even, and I've had to guard this with my own two kids, is we can involve them in so many things that they never ever have an opportunity to to just rest and to be. My son loves fishing in any opportunity and time that he can. And it's nice we have a pond that's really close where I can still see him that opportunity to do that. But I'm finding that parents are sometimes can be not all parents, can just be managers of their child's life and be like, well, you're gonna get this pitching lesson, you're gonna get go get this, which I'm I'm all for those things, and I love that, but you have to count the costs in some of those things.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:30

And I'm telling you, and I tell this to our parents, is you've got to be thinking those things through. And if you're so busy over the weekends and you're just making it to the next week and we're going, going, going. That was something I love that my parents really valued that they did is no, it's gonna be important that we're gonna spend time with each other. And there's this stat out there. I don't know if you've seen this stat, and it can range, but I tell this to our teachers or families pretty much every year. 70% of the kids who are in this even for Christian schools, will leave the church 18 to 25. They will completely leave the church. That's a staggering statistic. So we have kids that were graduated from a joy, so like I'm out of here. I'm I don't the Christian leave the church. But I tell them that, and I share this to parents is to say, it's so important. And there's this graphic that I share with them on one of them, it says, What happened? Those that do the 30% that do make it, what are they doing? Because I always want to try to think of the positive. I love that. That's maybe the nurturing side of me. Like, well, what's the positive? What's the other side? 30% of them, what they did. Here's kind of some of the formula. I know there's a lot of different things you can speak to, but one of them is that you eat dinner as a family. Yes, yes, yes, nights a week, at least five nights a week. I know it's hard. It's hard, I but I know in me and my job, I'm going to be the one that brings them home. And I'm going to, even if it's at 4, 4:30 that we're eating dinner to try to get back, you know, schedules can be difficult, or maybe it's later for some families, but I know my wife and I, that's important to us. But another statistic, there's kind of five of them, but one other one too is, and I know I mentioned this earlier, is do they have one spiritual person speaking into their life outside of yourself? Okay. That's why church is important at a Christian school, they're getting it from their coach, they're getting it from their teacher, they're getting it from multiple people. Because I know there's so many other stats out there, but eight to ten individuals speaking into their life because you know, as a parent, you're like, I said that 50 times to them, but they didn't.

SPEAKER_04 20:47

And then they hear from someone else, and it's like, ah, that's how wonderful. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 20:52

And it's more of those type of people that they need in their life because we know, as I know you talked about with this podcast, is parenting's hard. It is hard, it's so difficult, but yet when we have other people, a village speaking into their lives, it makes or it's like, okay, God, I'm doing all that I can and doing and setting the right environment. But it's those people in their lives that are speaking to them too that they they need. And there's other things on that graphic that I share, but those are just two big things of like if I try to keep and we know any kid with going wayward, but we know as his word says, it does not return void. So we're gonna keep putting that in. And as Proverbs talks about, train up in the way that they should go, they only go, they won't. And whether it's maybe they're in a way from a season time for time, again, even at Rejoice, we have kids when they leave and we find out like where they're at, what they're doing, and maybe they're in a different path than what we had they've been treating taught. But I always say, God, just keep putting that word. It's it doesn't return voice. We hope one day that they come back to that and

SPEAKER_04 22:00

Well, I love that you brought up mealtime. So we actually ask every single family that goes through our assessment process if they set enjoy mealtime together. Wonderful. Because we know how important it is. And I know, and not that it can't happen every night. I get that. But that is when our conversation happened the most. We learned the most from our kids. They listen to siblings. I mean, it's just the family connection. It just happened around the table. And still to this day, when my kids come home from college, I'll find them sitting around the table just talking because I feel like that's where we kind of did it. Yes. So I love that you brought that piece up because I think the world we live in is fast and it's easier just to drive through Chick-fil-A, right? Setting around the table is so important.

SPEAKER_03 22:47

And I tell this to our parents is that's biblical worldview happens too, is like you walk through a situation. Okay, my daughter had a situation with another girl today. How could we walk through this? How does this, what does this look like? It's that coaching and training. And I think, and I'm I I I can get bad at this sometimes where I think, and I just assume my kids know that how to walk through this. Like, oh, you know, you've been, we've told you this before, but the more times, and my wife does such a good job with this, especially with my daughter walking her through some of these situations, and even with my son, I'm like, how do we walk through these things? Especially for boys, it's a little bit different, and he's just like, Well, my favorite was PE today, or my favorite was launcher. It's like, okay, but it's just walking through some of that, and that just happens around the dinner table, and just walking through those things. And I know whether it's the car ride to to, you know, those moments that you have where you can talk them through just different things or ask them about their day. It just is such a great time, and I love those times, those moments that we can just get with our kids and just talk life about those different things.

SPEAKER_04 23:55

Connecting before you correct, you know. I love it. Um, talk to me about academic pressures. I feel like we're seeing kids just not being in reality and putting so much pressure on themselves. How do you guys handle some of that?

SPEAKER_03 24:12

It's it's not easy. And kids do because they think so. Sure, high school kids they get to a point where, well, I want to go to a great university or I want to get scholarships that's gonna help. My mom and dad are saying, Well, how are we gonna pay for that? I mean, it there's a lot of pressures, especially with kids, even at a at a Christian private school, there's an expectation to say, and I always do, I always tell our kids do things with excellence, do but don't compare yourself. There's so many kids that can compare to say, well, that kid got a 26 on his ACT, or this kid got this scholarship, or this, and there's so much pressure. And I always just encourage, and I'm always with my own two, is do the best that you can. And if you know what, and and at Rejoice, we do, we say, yes, we'd love for you, and a lot of our kids go on to university, but our other kids too were like, we're not gonna push college on you. And if you want to get into trade or you want that's why I love a lot of our kids go to Tulsa Tech. Yeah, we have that as well. We started an aviation program at Rojoice where some kids, yes, it's wow, we're one of the only Christian schools that have kind of I know, and it's been great. Wow, it's the second largest industry, you know, Gomorrah, like giving the opportunity for our kids, and and we even do drones with inside of that. But I think kids, especially even at a Christian private school, put a lot of pressure, and parents put a lot of pressure to say, and it is academics is so vitally important. But in our vision statement, we put spiritually first. Right. I tell parents that it's the reason why it's number one, we put academically, physically, and socially. It's that whole person that we're looking for. And I wasn't the greatest of test takers when as I was going through school. And but yet it's those other skills as well, too, that we're trying to push to our kids to say, look, if you have that gift of academics, great. We've had national merit scholars at rejoice, and it's wonderful. And I'm like, that is your gifting, God has blessed you with, but what is your gifting?

SPEAKER_04 26:19

Yeah, everyone's gonna be.

SPEAKER_03 26:20

We have a kid who who's going on to play at the University of Oklahoma for football. Wow. Wonderful, I know, wonderful. That is your gift. Maybe it's something else, maybe it's spiritually. God is calling you to be a pastor or go into ministry. So, but don't, as parents, we can put the pressure on them and then they feel that. And it's like, you know I've got to don't do it. Just whatever God has called them, they're gifting. And if they're a B student, that's okay. Yes, they're a C student, like, give your effort.

SPEAKER_02 26:49

I'm gonna make sure you're gonna give your effort and give it all you can.

SPEAKER_04 26:55

That's all we care about. We don't care if it's an A or a B, we don't care what reading level you're at. We want you to work as hard as you can and let the Lord let you be who you He's designed you to be.

SPEAKER_03 27:06

You know, so true. And I think more kids need they need to hear that because it is a lot of pressure in kids nowadays with uh social media and all the things like guess what college I'm going to and guess what scholarship I got. And it's like it that's a lot of pressure for them. And it's allow them to say, okay, what has God gifted you in and go with that?

SPEAKER_04 27:28

I love it. Okay, so I feel like I have so we could talk, we could talk for hours. Um, but we are seeing more and more children just having trouble focusing. Are you guys seeing those younger kids? Talk to me about youngers. I know you I know you're ahead of the school, so you are yes, you're all of it, like you go all the way up to the high school level. But on the younger children, are you seeing some focus concerns?

SPEAKER_03 27:52

It there is, and I I think again, part of that is there's so many stimulation with kids that I even we share this, and I know our principals do a good job too, is be careful about the stimulus that's happening with inside your classroom and the things and the decorating. I mean, you know, you speak a lot to this too, is you have to be careful about that because it can. And and I know with parents, it's so easy to want to provide every little structured thing within the kids, but sometimes it's okay to let their hair down a little bit and say, we're just gonna sit, we're just gonna do some unstructured things, we're gonna go out and take a walk. But we're seeing that a lot more with kids, especially with our preschool and elementary kids. And there is, I think we talked a little bit about this when you guys came to do professional development, is just the diagnosis of a lot of that of like, oh, my child is ADHD. My this, and there is, there's a lot of those things, and you do, and we encourage our parents to walk through that to get that. But sometimes too, it's just your child has just been given so much things, like they need just time to sit and rest and to be able to, but we're seeing that more and more in and our our teachers are just trying to find ways of how they can help with this and train that with inside the classroom. And as a teacher, they can only do so much within that, right? But we're seeing it more and more with kids. But I really do think since COVID has happened, and then since too, with just technology, that we've even had to as a school back off on a lot of that from the technology side. And we do a lot of different small groups, especially with our younger elementary and and one of the stations may be hey, play this game or play this on the laptop, or we've even had to look at that to say, you know what, we're gonna switch that out with a different activity, which has been so important in a lot of schools. I think are realizing that too.

SPEAKER_04 29:55

Me too, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:56

I'm sure, are you seeing it for?

SPEAKER_04 29:58

We're seeing it, and we're even just encouraging families to go back to board games and cards, like cards, the back and forth Uno, and you know, just puzzles, yes, just the something about just setting down at a table and interacting and playing. It's just being missed. And so, um, and sometimes the children that are get really, really good at play, so like say they're really good at Legos, well, they can spend hours playing by themselves, which is great if they can do that, but they're they're missing the interaction piece. And so I think naturally it always goes back to the screen time. And I hate that I feel like that comes up in every single podcast, but yeah, it's easy just to give them the device and they just kind of get into that, and we just have to stop it. Yep, you know, and so I love that your school is starting to notice that and pulling back on that side.

SPEAKER_03 30:50

And that's what we've realized. I know I mentioned this earlier, but it's the Kagan strategies, it there's so much socialization that kids have that it's not again just the teacher teaching from the and hey, here's my great PowerPoint. Here's my it's like, no, get the kids involved in the turn and talks through just so many of that. And we have to create that because if we don't, they're not gonna do it. It's the same in our homes too. If we don't create those times as opportunities, they're just gonna watch the YouTube videos or they're just gonna watch the Netflix or a variety of different things, but we have got to create that environment to say to allow them to be able to practice those things.

SPEAKER_04 31:31

So I love it. Okay, so we always turn everything back to scripture, so we're gonna wrap this up with the scripture. Yeah, but before we do, is there anything you want to share with our families that are listening?

SPEAKER_03 31:42

I I think the biggest thing to me as we talk about this, it can be very overwhelming as a parent. And I know again, as with my own two, that is the biggest responsibility and honor of my life is to do that. I put obviously my relationship with God first, my relationship with my family, but the job third. But I think the biggest thing that I've learned, and it kind of ties with the scripture as well, too, is I I shared this with other heads of school the other day. We had a kind of group of them together, and I was like, okay, Lord, what do you want me to share? What is it that you've put in my heart? But I talked about it was in 1 Corinthians chapter three, where Paul is talking about it's called divisions in the church. And I just shared this and I shared this, it talks about this in the scripture, and Paul's addressing this. And obviously, as as I know with at our school, we have to have that partnership with a parent. If we don't, it's not gonna work, it just isn't. And we need to be united. I tell our parents, and Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians is we need to be united front. But I also too, he talks about this in in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 6. It says, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gives the growth. And I I I shared this with other heads of school is look, we are planting, we are planting seeds, we're setting the right environment. I I always tell people, rejoice as a greenhouse, like we're gonna set the right environment, we're gonna set everything to grow those deep roots. So when they do go out, yeah, but and we're watering, teachers, you are watering, pastors, you are watering. We can't do this alone, we're all in this together. So many different influences we talked about earlier are watering, but it's God that gives the growth. Yeah. I think sometimes we have the pressure of like, I've gotta, and we do, yeah, it's all on me. I've got to do it. But when I read that, it takes the pressure off to say, okay, God, I don't know how to handle this situation with my child, or I don't teach her, I don't know how to handle this. God is gonna give that growth. And I think our job is to be faithful. Yeah, let's keep being faithful. God's gonna bring the fruit in their life. I may not see it right now. So I think that was a scripture that spoke really to me. Because I think I can try to be the perfect parent and say, I got to do a better job with my son because I'm the dad and I need to, or I need it with my daughter. But I'm like, at the end of the day, God is gonna provide that growth. Our job is just to be faithful in what God has called us to do. So let's just allow him to do that growth. Keep watering, keep playing. It's not to say, Oh, I'm gonna give it all up. No, but be faith, what God has called you to. I think that has just been really speaking to me. And again, I shared with other heads of schools, and I was like, I don't know if you're feeling this, sensing this, but do everything you can, but ultimately God's gonna determine that that growth.

SPEAKER_04 34:33

It takes a little pressure off.

SPEAKER_03 34:34

Oh, it's freeing, right?

SPEAKER_04 34:36

Because really, in some ways, I visualize the watering. I mean, it's just training them and teaching them and disciplining them. That's what the watering is, yeah. And then it's just allowing the Lord to let them grow, and we don't have control of that, so it's like, oh, thank you, God.

SPEAKER_03 34:52

I know I needed that because there's a lot of pressure, especially as educators, and we want to do everything we can, and we have that parent that is you're working with them too. And then as the parent, they feel that pressure, especially in Christian schools are like, well, I want to make sure my child but release it. God, God can do amazing things and let the miracle worker do his thing that he needs to. So that was just something I hope encourages people.

SPEAKER_02 35:18

No, it's you know, you're not in alone.

SPEAKER_04 35:19

Yeah, it's great. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 35:21

You're welcome. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_04 35:23

Yeah, no, this is great. We I probably have to do it again because I have a lot more questions for you.

SPEAKER_00 35:28

I would love to.

SPEAKER_04 35:29

Okay, so we'll get back together. But I I think you I know you are a busy, busy person and you are, I don't know, leading, I think you said 1300 students or something crazy.

SPEAKER_02 35:40

It's a lot, but I love it.

SPEAKER_04 35:42

But just it's nice to have someone in your position come and share because I think I think parents get overwhelmed, so they just kind of turn away from it. Yes. And it's something they really need to be thinking through and planning through. Um, because the education piece is so important.

SPEAKER_03 35:57

Yeah, it is. Well, and and just thank you for the work that you're doing because we rejoice, we couldn't do it alone. Yeah, and sometimes it's so great to have individuals like you that come in and are so well versed at it and know it, and you live in this world. Yeah, so we we need the help in that too. So we thank you for that.

SPEAKER_04 36:17

Yeah, the partnership is pretty sweet. So okay, well, thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_03 36:21

Thank you. I appreciate it. Yeah.