Taking a Tour of a Great Resource 

By Beula Postlewait, Communications Representative

When was the last time you became excited about a new resource you could use to keep the interest of your students? Educators are always looking for good ideas to enhance their work. As a teacher, I get quite excited when I find new ways to present topics, capture the students’ attention, and keep their attention. Nazarene Educators Worldwide (NEW) provides resources on our website that can help educators.

Have you visited our Nazarene Educators Worldwide website lately? If not, you need to be ready for a big surprise! I encourage you to look at the different sections of our website. Go to www.naznew.com

HOME PAGE

“Welcome aboard the limo,” says our driver. “Buckle up your seat belt, and together we will visit the NEW website. We have eight roads we will travel today, so I hope you enjoy each one.”  

Just as we get up to speed, we notice the logo for Nazarene Educators Worldwide. Beneath it is a space for current announcements.

At the time of writing this article, there was an announcement about a ZOOM meeting for homeschoolers to collaborate on homeschool curriculum. “Another ZOOM meeting?” you say. Yes, at least for now, there are still ZOOMs. However, these ZOOM meetings are NOT work! They are for fun, prayer support, and encouragement. It is a great way to meet other educators in your area of teaching or administration. We have enjoyed several ZOOM meetings in which we prayed for each other and all our schools and educators. Public school teachers shared time in this way. Our preschool and childcare teachers enjoyed a session with each other. Homeschool teachers also were part of the fun. NEW plans more in the future. If you are interested, contact Marilyn Dominick at mjdominick77@gmail.com. It is a great way to meet other Nazarene educators and learn from each other.

Devotional

“I need something to help me forget an awful experience I had first thing this morning!” exclaims one passenger.

“OK, we have a devotional to uplift and encourage you. Let’s travel to the left and go south (down the left column),” said the driver. “There is a new devotional every month.”

After reading the devotional, the passenger said, “Yes, I needed to read that. God is a great Source of help for teaching each day! Thank you for stopping there!”

Current Newsletter

Let’s continue south and find a copy of the latest NEW newsletter. It has articles written by council members and guest writers. Each article has a brief description and a link to the complete article.

“You are welcome to come back to this spot later and leisurely read the articles,” the driver reminds us. ‘Let’s travel north to the top of the page again.

Click on the HOME tab and you will see three options. When you click on “Your thoughts,” you find a question to which you can respond. Traveling south (down) from there you see some topics to which you can respond.

“We have much to see, so we will let you come back to this part later. Let’s make a legal U-turn and travel north (up) to the top of the homepage again,” instructs our driver. “Look for HISTORY OF NEW. This is a brief review of how this organization was ANCS, NIEA, and is now NEW. We are turning back to the north again and finding HOME. Click on it and find ‘JOB POSTINGS’ Street. If you are looking for a job or looking for employees, this will be the place to stop. Contact Marilyn Dominick at mjdominick77@gmail.com. The information on this page will be handled discretely.”

NEW NEWSLETTERS

Our driver looks relaxed and happy with the traffic. “I am looking for a sign that says NEW NEWSLETTERS. Can you help me find it? Oh, there it is!” Return north to the homepage and click on that tab. You will see a list of archived monthly newsletters from the current month back to December 2012. When you click on the date, you will see a printed edition of the articles for that month.

Under this tab are three different ways to find archived newsletter articles. First is a list of articles by the month and year. The second is a list of articles by the area of representation (Public School and General Interest, Christian School, Homeschool, Preschool and Daycare Centers, Global Schools, College/University). The third list is by author and date. If you are interested in seeing the articles for January of 2020, you click on the first choice. If you are interested in articles about Christian Schools, you click on the second choice. If you are interested in articles written by a specific author, such as Marilyn Dominick, you click on the third choice.

RESOURCES and YOUR NEW COUNCIL REPS

Is there anything teachers love more than good, free resources and information? Click on the RESOURCES tab.

Our driver askes us, “Have you ever read a book or an article and wondered what the author looked like? Tall and handsome? Young and pretty? Happy or grumpy? A principal or a teacher? A dog-lover or a cat-lover? A preschool teacher or a college professor?”

Here is your chance to learn about the authors of your NEW articles! You can also learn about where they live and what and whom they teach. You might want to rest awhile here. There is a lot to learn about the council members. After reading a brief description on this page, you will find a link to a personal story written by each council member telling how God led him or her to become a teacher and/or to a specific position. Then you can see a list of all the articles written by each member of the current council and others in the same area of teaching.

“We have been going north (up) and south (down) many times,” said our limo driver. “I hope you are comfortable in this car. Feel free to enjoy a beverage while we explore these next three resources. Do all of you need professional development credits?” All the passengers nodded yes.

Under this tab, are three other dropdown items. The first link is for PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT opportunities. As you click on the link, it takes us quickly south (down the page), you will find three training topics that will be available free to all members. Contact Marilyn Dominick at mjdominick77@gmail.comfor more details on date and times of these training events. NEW plans many other topics as part of our membership package.

“Look! There is a beautiful library building! It sure is hard for a librarian to pass up a chance to go into a library,” said one of our passengers. Back to the north (top of the page), you can learn about a new resource, a Professional Reference Lending Library. We can stop here and find out how this lending library works.

The last dropdown tab is for a listing of newsletter articles by Area of Responsibility. The categories are: Public School and General Interest, Preschool/Early Childhood, Christian School, Homeschool, College/University, and Global. Yes, you have several different ways to find articles in your field of education.

Going North (back to the top) find the YOUR NEW COUNCIL REPS tab. Each of the council members are listed. As you click on each name, you will find a list of articles written by each council member. Note the month and year the article was written. Then go to the NEW NEWSLETTER tab, find that month and year for that article. Click on the link, and you will be taken to the edition of the newsletters that has the article.

CONTACT NEW and NEW IN ACTION

“You may be tempted to stay here a while, but we still have much to see!” says our driver. “Let’s find the tab for CONTACT NEW. You may want to send a message to one of the council members and thank him or her for an article or obtain additional information. They would love to hear from you.”

“I am taking you back to the top of the home page. Look for a sign that says NEW IN ACTION. OK, we found it.” Here is a summary of one of the ZOOM meetings—a prayer ZOOM in which we prayed for each other and all our Nazarene educators and schools.

Back in the car and on the road, we head north again to the top of the homepage. We see a highway sign for “NEW IN ACTION/Honoring Schools and Educators.” The ramp off  the highway leads to a building that has photos of council meetings and exhibit booths where NEW was presenting information and meeting educators.

At the front of the room is an area called HONORING SCHOOLS AND EDUCATORS. When you click on this link, you will find lists of Teachers and Staff Honored by NEW and  Schools Honored by NEW. This list includes educators and schools in USA/Canada and other world regions.

Our organization likes to recognize schools and educators who have excelled in some way. It is good to brag when God has blessed the efforts of educators and schools. Check out the individuals and schools honored in our past newsletters. We are always looking for more individuals and schools to showcase. If you know someone who has been honored or if you have been honored, please let us know. We love to tell others what God has done through our Christian educators and schools. Contact Beula Postlewait at bpostlewait@kc.rr.com.

JOIN NEW

While on this journey, we decided we really like each other. We want to spend more time together. How could we do that?

The driver says, “Up ahead I see a sign that says JOIN NEW. (Click on this tab at the top of the home page.) Now you know that NEW has many things to offer educators: professional training, professional lending library, ZOOM meetings based on areas of responsibilities, prayer support, relationship building, encouragement and inspiration. NEW encourages membership in a variety of categories: student, retired educator, individual, and institutional (1-5 employees, 6-50, 51+) for schools, homeschool groups, daycare centers, and churches. There will be a focused membership drive in August, but you can join NEW anytime by completing the form on the website. Membership is yearly and can begin at any time. We appreciate all our current members and welcome others to join our group.

“I see a sign ahead for a Discount Store! Does anyone enjoy saving money? Whoa! I guess all of you enjoy that!” exclaimed the driver.

Click on the drop box for EDUCATORS DISCOUNTS GALORE. This is a listing of many companies that give discounts to educators. You can present your NEW membership card to these companies and receive a discount.

“It is difficult to get educators out of a discount store. You do love your bargains!” said the driver. “Now I’ll take you to a place where you can use some of that money you saved.”

DONATE

As you click on this link, the driver says, “Sometimes people find an organization or group they want to support with a monetary gift. NEW derives its operating funds primarily through memberships. If you have an occasion to honor a special person, a loved one, or friend, you could donate to NEW to honor or memorialize them.”  Contact Marilyn Dominick at mdominick77@gmail.com.

We started our tour by seeing the items in the east (left column). From the Donate tab, let’s go south (down) the  west (right) side of the homepage. “Do you see that radio station on this road? The station is asking us to stay tuned for some good events that are coming soon,” remarks our happy driver.

NEW wants you to be aware of some good events that are coming. Representatives from the NEW Council will be at the SDMI’s USA/Canada Annual Leadership Conference at the Ridgecrest Camp and Conference Center in Ridgecrest, North Carolina, from November 9-11, 2021. If you or anyone from your church is attending this event, stop by our exhibit and say hello.

The driver announces, “You can relax for a few minutes while I take you back to our starting point. I  hope you have enjoyed our time together. OK, we made good time and are back in the parking lot, so you can take off the seat belt. The tour is finished. We hope you will be encouraged to return many times to the website and take advantage of the information there. We appreciate your reading our newsletters and hope you have been inspired by some ideas you found. While on the site, you may have seen some information about our Facebook page. If you do Facebook, watch for us on that site.”

Now that you know about NEW, we hope we can learn more about you. Feel free to contact Marilyn Dominick or any of the council members. We really enjoy hearing from you and learning how we can help you through this pandemic and into the next school year. Our council will be praying for you.

Dear God, You know these are not just words on a piece of paper. They are heart-felt expressions of our desire to help educators who know and love You to find a source of encouragement and help for these troubled times. You are our one true Source of help and strength. During these summer months, may we find a few days to relax and renew our inner strength and prepare ourselves for the coming school year. Thank You for loving us with an immeasurable amount of love. Help us find time to be still, so we can hear Your voice saying, “I love you, and I will be with you.” Amen.

Beula Postlewait lives in Leawood, Kansas. She is a former public-school teacher and a retired employee of Children’s Ministries at the Global Ministries Center. She currently is the editor of the NEW newsletter. You may contact Beula at bpostlewait@kc.rr.com.