LouRae Holt | February 3, 2017 | SHARE: 
It’s not too late to attend a training that will make you a valuable resource regarding religious freedom in your schools. “It’s going to change the way you teach in the classroom,” says Eric Beuhrer, about this weekend’s Gateways to Better Education parent and teacher training to be held in Greensboro.
The nonprofit organization is bringing its nationally-acclaimed training to Westover Church at 505 Muirs Chapel Road in Greensboro. The free parent seminar is tonight at 7:00 p.m., with the teacher training Saturday morning 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Teachers who complete the training will receive a certificate they can use to apply for continuing education credit. A continental breakfast is included in the $20 registration fee. Walk-ins are welcome!
“Keeping Their Faith in Public Schools: How to help your children graduate with their faith and values intact” will be the subject of the free parent event Friday evening. Older children are also welcome to attend. “We help the parents understand how to teach their kids discernment,” says Beuhrer, president of Gateways to Better Education. “The scripture addresses every area of academic pursuit. We actually provide the parents with Bible verses that they can walk their kids through to help them understand how Jesus would think [about this subject as he’s sitting in the class with the student].” He says, secondly, they will address “how to talk to a teacher when you have a concern […] about how their kids are being taught and the environment they’re in.”
Saturday morning’s teacher training will go over two major points. The first part will deal foundationally with what the law says and what North Carolina’s academic standards expect. “This is about how do I teach robustly to my students about the impact of the Bible and Christianity in history, culture and values.” The second half is practical inclusion strategies and how to actually make this work. “We give very practical strategies that they can immediately apply the next week in their classrooms. Everything from how to teach the Pledge of Allegiance and what it means to be a nation under God, to getting very specific in their academic subjects. We show them about students’ religious liberties […] and how to address the holidays in very practical terms.”
“This is not about how I reach my kids for Christ, how do I smuggle Bibles behind a closed country, how do I somehow do something that’s sneaky regarding evangelism,” Buehrer continues. “That’s not what this is about. Gateways is about […] helping teachers know how to [talk about religion] appropriately within the law, within Constitutional boundaries and then have the confidence to do it with academic integrity.”
“We’re not advocating that our public schools become Christian schools,” explains Buehrer, “but we do expect them to honor and welcome students […] of all faiths. Teachers [shouldn’t] shy away from teaching about the significant role of religion in history and culture and values.”
Free Parent Seminar
Friday evening, February 3 from 7–8:30 p.m.
Download a brochure for the parent seminar here.
Educator Training
Saturday, February 4, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Download a brochure on the teacher training here.
Westover Church
505 Muirs Chapel Road
Greensboro, NC 27410
Gateways was founded in 1991 to help public schools teach about the important contribution the Bible and Christianity make to the world. We give confidence to teachers and school administrators, and we help parents navigate the public schools so their children graduate with their faith and values intact.
