In a similar way, the instruction in a Christian school classroom will only be as good as the teacher who is doing the instructing. The teacher is the key. Many teachers are so overly dependent on textbooks and teacher s manuals that they allow the textbooks to determine what to say, when to say it, and even how long to say it. No matter how knowledgeable a textbook s author is, no textbook can accommodate the individual needs of every student. A teacher in Nashville, Tennessee, will not know the specific academic needs of a student in Kansas City, Missouri.
Every classroom is different.
As a matter of fact, every student is different. Only a dedicated, well-qualified teacher can take the ideas presented in the teacher s manual, adapt, and add to them so that each student in the classroom can comprehend the material. The teacher must know the student, know the material, and then assist the student until he comprehends the material. Teachers should bring in their own personal illustrations and strive to collect other teaching materials to supplement the textbook. Teachers who do not enhance the textbook presentation of information are really cheating their students.