Colossians 2:5
For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
2 Timothy 1:3-4
I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.
Romans 1:11-13a
I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,[d] that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now)
1 Thessalonians 2:17-18
But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way.
Exodus 3:3-5
So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight--why the bush does not burn up."
And when the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses, Moses!"
And Moses said, "Here I am."
"Do not come any closer," God said. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
In 1994, when I was hired for my first teaching job, it was at a school opening its doors for the first time that September. The position was to teach Grade 6, 7 and 8 in the same classroom, with nine pupils. To encourage myself that such a task was indeed possible, I spent a week in May observing in my uncle's Grade 4-8 classroom in Renfrew. Seeing firsthand how someone else was capably teaching and managing an atypical arrangement gave me a bit more confidence.
Where do we find models like this to encourage us during remote learning? Aside from the inspiration we can gain from one another, which is nonetheless helpful, and from reading about teachers in China, I've been struck by two other sources.
New Testament Epistles
Repeatedly, the apostle Paul is unable to be present with individuals and groups due to factors outside his control. He wants to reach out and teach the believers, but he can't do so in person. Paul's remote teaching method came in the form of letter writing. In fact, our New Testament would be missing a great chunk if it were not for the remote teaching that not only Paul but Peter, James, John and Jude availed themselves of. Many of these letters contain prayers, but they were certainly accompanied by prayers on behalf of the letter writer. When we as teachers provide written lessons to our students, our heart is communicated and our prayers accompany them.
Mr. Rogers
Mr. Rogers created a remote learning program to reach and teach children about how to relate to others and expand their understanding of the world around them. He used a screen, as we have been forced to do. Yet, as explained in the book The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers by Amy Hollingsworth, he considered the space between the screen and the viewer to be holy ground, a place where the Holy Spirit could take his words and be just what's needed for the student and parents on the other side. Fred Rogers, by being himself, exuded the love of God that was unmistakable in person and on the screen. In our case, a relationship already exists between our students and us. Our video transmissions can build on it, and we can trust the Holy Spirit to bridge any gaps.
