Some teachers like to put up motivational posters to dress up their classroom and inspire their students. While good quotes from various authors can be thought-provoking, their words don't bear the promise of the Holy Spirit. We like to enliven our students with God's living Word by which He upholds all things (Hebrews 1:3).
Philippians 4:8 is a passage which we take to heart in classical Lutheran education: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. " These are the adjectives we prefer to use regarding schoolwork instead of cool, fun, exciting, and awesome. Using foam board, a circle cutter, some paperclips, mini Christmas ornaments and ceiling clips from FFR, Inc, (ffr.com, Cleveland, OH), I made these medallions for my classroom to serve as touchstones throughout the year. When going over student work, I might ask them, "Which of those adjectives best describes your work?"
Then, I also found a website which would let me design my own "motivational" posters. I used the adjectives from Philippians 4 and associated other Bible passages with them (see below). I added pictures from Luther's Wittenberg with the anniversary of the Reformation in mind. (This triangular ceiling clip is also from FFI.) Lastly, as you might be able to see on the bulletin board in the background, I used a program to enlarge a photo I took in our sanctuary. This program simply enlarges the photo automatically so that it can be printed on 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper and then stitched together.
