FAITH NEWS SERVICE – A study of tenth-grade students concluded, “The students’ beliefs about themselves as learners are shaped by the teacher’s communication of expectations for students, so that when the teacher conveys a belief that the student can succeed at school, the student believes it too and acts accordingly” (Johnston & Shand).
Lori DeJong is a Christian educator for thirty-three years who says it was a “great blessing” to interact with students as a caring adult. Her new release, Classroom Tapestry: Weaving the Hearts, Minds, Souls of Our Students (Redemption Press), is a compilation of student voices that reveals their inner thoughts and shares successful techniques and strategies for teaching language arts from her years of teaching.
After she retired, author Lori DeJong found a box of eighth-grade student writings tucked away in a box. Feeling strongly that people need to know what goes on in the hearts and minds of young people, she compiled their prose and poetry.
She also added stories from the classroom, thoughts on the nature of language, and strategies for teaching language arts successfully, including how to set up a language arts classroom and keep it running effectively.
DeJong says, “I spent thirty-three years teaching children specifically in academia and as a Christian teacher in a public classroom training children to live an upright life despite some very dire circumstances in which many children lived.”
Her intention for writing Classroom Tapestry is for readers to pause for reflection while understanding that deep emotions may be under the surface in their own children’s or students’ lives. Educators, parents, and grandparents will find a window into young minds and ways to help children “deal with their lives in a healthy and accepting way.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lori DeJong has a BA and a teaching credential from California State University Stanislaus and an MA in school administration from St. Mary’s University. A language arts teacher for thirty-three years, she specialized in teaching all aspects of writing to junior-high students and consulted in staff development training on practical language arts strategies. As a Christian teacher in a public classroom, she trained children to live an upright life despite their circumstances. Her own two children grown, she counts it a great blessing to have been a part of students’ lives for one or two years.
For interviews, contact gail847@gmail.com
