Chalkdust: Prayer Meditations for Teachers

By Elspeth Campbell Murphy

These prayers reflect a teacher's openness to God as she awaits guidance to teach His children. Elspeth Murphy shares her insights into the kinds of pupils that every teachers will recognize: the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801060656
• ISBN13: 9780801060656
• Release Date: January 1978
• Publisher: Baker Pub Group
• Length: 63 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.5" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Is it true that this book is going out of print?

What's going on? I have been giving this little gem to my kids' teachers every year for more years than I care to count. (For one thing, the price is right. For another thing, every teacher has really appreciated the book--and the other one, RECESS, that followed this one.)Someone told me that another publisher is going to put the two books together and bring them out with a new title. Does anyone know if this is true? Here's hoping it is. If you know anything about this, please pass the info along to the rest of us. Thank you.

Inspiration from an Insightful Mentor

Recently as a new faculty member, my unofficial mentor(who's in her fifties like myself) loaned me her treasured copy of "Chalkdust". It was a gift to her from her dearest friend and colleague in 1989. Elsa handed it to me during these autumn weeks filled with stress; intense stress that is not from adolescent hormones nor wiggling bodies, but from an administration in chaos after the firing of our beloved principal. The militaristic VP's and inexperienced new principal are most teachers' worst nightmare . . . and the souls adrift amidst these chaotic moments are those of our students. ----- Since the pre-dawn hours are my favorite for lesson planning and for arriving in my classroom just as the building opens, I find myself uncharacteristically lagging at home like a mopey teen unwilling to go to school. In fact I've considered leaving the education field all together, even though I am among members of our family's fourth generation of teachers. "Chalkdust" reminds me of the deepest motives for following this challenging professional path: supporting the growth and well-being of shorter younger humans, as well as remaining invested in the learning/teaching dynamic. ----- As a special educator my wonderful students are the learning disabled and emotionally disturbed kids that drive other fabulous pros to screaming tears. The prayer "For the Child Who Lies and Steals" counsels me that my two squirreliest boys are in need of a personal helper like someone from television's "Touched By An Angel". Sure, they're the only two who willingly stay after school to help me redo my bulletin boards for open house, but there are always at least two things missing afterwards. My gentle confrontation the next day brings a sly embarrassed confession from each one, while leaving me utterly confused. Later as I clean colored chalkdust off my navy blazer, I whisper a plea for help for these two. ----- Remarkable Sunny is autistic and since kindergarten has gone through neighborhood schools with the same group of kids. Now in eighth grade, he is not accepted by others as a friend openly, though he is oddly loved by many. Often I read the meditation "For the Rejected Child" for both this young man and for the Sunny in me that feels so akin to this boy's sensitivity and loneliness. ----- My world is filled with educators who are: beginning as aides, like nineteen year-old Omar, my right-hand man in the classroom; my sister, a veteran teacher who tutors dyslexic children as she battles cancer; octogenarian retired teachers; and colleagues in a variety of stages of their teaching careers. Mother (once a music teacher) and I have agreed to buy fifty copies of Chalkdust this Christmas . . . gifts for this holiday season and treasures for future friends who may need encouragement in the middle of chaos.

A Survival Guide

When I began teaching high school English fourteen years ago, I quickly learned that my perceptions and the realities of teaching did not quite jive. Had it not been for one of my former teachers taking me under her wing, I doubt I'd be in the profession still today. It was a copy of "Chalkdust" that she gave me that served as an inspiration for continuing. Every child a teacher could possibly meet in a career is addressed in this book. My mentor marked particular passages for "In the Middle of a Bad Day" and "For Confidence" and suddenly I found that I was not the only one who felt insecure and frustrated. I think when one begins teaching, she often feels she's on her own-that the support system is not there. This book helps provide the encouragement and the vision to continue after a particularly disheartening day.

The Real Thing!

A serious expression of prayer for every kind of student and every kind of occasion in a teacher's life. For those who meditate--excellent reflections. For those who don't--just enough to make you start.

Speaks to the teacher and the learner in all of us...

The simplicity and the power of individual situations that face every teacher at some time are heart wrenching and heart warming. Elspeth Campbell Murphy illuminates the mysteries of the profession.