Our high school just finished up our second year of our J Term program – with much success! J Term is a 2 week program that allows our students to take special/intensive classes, participate in an internship program, or go on various trips both in the United States as well as international trips. My take is that J Term is a great program that provides our students and staff a unique opportunity to focus on their future vocations as well as have an incredible impact in our community.
Food and Conversation
This year, I “taught” a class that was entitled “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” – named after the very popular show on the Food Network. Can you imagine taking an afternoon to go to several fantastic diners and restaurants and enjoying the local atmosphere along with a small group of high school students? On the last Friday of the class, I told the boys that I thought about renaming the class “15 Pounds Later” due to the fact that I seemed to have enjoyed this class too much!
As I had the opportunity to survey the class, a unique and amazing theme surfaced among the students. As much as they enjoyed the opportunity to go to diners and restaurants that they normally wouldn’t frequent, an aspect of the class that they enjoyed the most was the time spent together (even with their Principal) along with the daily Bible study that was part of the class syllabus. I was reminded of the verse in Deuteronomy that commands us to teach God’s words to our children and “talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up”. We discussed topics like temptations/lust, thought life, priorities, having direction in our lives, and the importance of being accountable to others.
Transforming Opportunities
J term, for me, was transformational. It reminded me of the importance of being intentional with people and students. It also helped me to understand the important role that adults can play in the lives of young people.
If anyone wants to grab a bite for lunch – let me know. I know of several great restaurants where we can solve all of life’s problems…
