by Patricia Tofte, Administrator
“Aw, That Is Just Not Fair!” This is an oft heard comment made by kids and adults for a multitude of reasons, ranging from blatantly unfair happenings to just not liking the consequences of decisions we have made. We live in a world where fair seems to be the desired norm, even though we all know that much of what happens in our lives probably is not “fair” if “fair” means “equal.” Perhaps the greatest example of unfair is the death suffered by Jesus, God’s sinless son, who gladly went to the cross in a very gruesome manner for the greater gain…our Salvation. By man’s standard this was decidedly unfair, but by God’s standard it was the greatest gift we could ever receive. So the concept of “fair” can open more avenues for discussion than we could possibly begin to address.
Today, however, we are going to focus on the definition of fair we use at Appleton Christian School. ACS defines” fair” as giving each student what he or she needs, not necessarily what he or she wants. We believe that is how God has operated from the beginning in the lives of His people. It is rarely the positive, easy aspects of our lives that build our faith and character; rather, it is the hard, seemingly unfair times that grow our faith and character. However, by ACS committing to give each child as equal an opportunity as possible to learn, we believe we are honoring God’s command to love one another and to help those who sometimes cannot help themselves.
By now, I am quite confident that all parents are aware that children are created with differing learning styles, differing abilities, differing motivations, and differing issues with which they must deal with throughout life. Some of us remember a particular” thing” that set us apart and made us different in a hard way, and we also well remember the hurt and insecurity that we felt as we lived through these differences. Not by plan of any one person did it come about that Appleton Christian School would develop a program to help meet the needs created by these differences that students bring to the classroom. I am convinced that a number of people followed where God led them to bring ACS to the place we are today. And there have been bumps along the way, and there will continue to be bumps as we navigate some very interesting and challenging unchartered waters, at least for us!
In these early years of the Dyslexia Reading Connection and our growing commitment to becoming better at meeting their unique needs, we are also learning to balance the needs of all the students. We have chosen specific curricula that offer a depth of resources for the faculty to use that will help us meet the many student abilities present in the school. Over the last two years, our classroom sizes have increased, and so we have found ourselves in the position of needing to add teachers and teachers’ aids. I am pleased to announce that this year we have chosen to go one step further, and, in conjunction with the DRC, we have hired Mrs. Ann Wittman to be the liaison teacher who will assist in providing each child what he or she needs. As a faculty, working in conjunction with the DRC tutors, we are in the initial stages of designing how she can be most effective, and we already know that it will vary from teacher to teacher and student to student. Our goal, meeting individual needs that cannot be met in large group, will encompass all the children who attend ACS and will be unique and challenging, and, we hope, finely developed and finely tuned by the leading of God. Yes, an additional component of this program will be providing enrichment opportunities for those who need and desire an extra challenge. Many of you may know Mrs. Wittman as the music teacher at ACS, which she will continue to be! You may not know that she is also the mother of three very successful ACS graduates. She herself is a graduate of UW Oshkosh, having majored in math and minored in Business Administration. Ann has taught math at ACS, has been a great substitute teacher for many years, and most recently has tutored a middle school student in all subjects. She is uniquely trained for both aspects of her new role. The best part of Ann Wittman is her desire to learn and to share her enthusiasm for learning, but, more importantly, the best of the best part of Mrs. Wittman is her desire to share her enthusiasm for the Lord. You can rest assured that He will be an integral part of all she does with our students. Ann has been out visiting other schools to learn what they do so we have that information as we form our own programs. She is also taking all of the DRC training available so she has a more complete understanding of what and how these students learn.
Our student population is a unique, varied, very talented group of boys and girls and young men and women who are in the process of becoming all that God wants them to be. In this process there will be hard times, days, even weeks or more, when we will all be frustrated, but the end result, young men and women living up to their God-given potential who desire to serve Him, will make the hardest days seem well worth the struggle.
The Bible verses that come to my mind in the times of struggle are Hebrews 12:2-3 and Galatians 6:9, because both remind me that weariness is but one result of our struggles and it does precede victory!
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
