Picture the best party you have ever attended.

Who was there? Where were you? How did you feel while you were there? Why was it your favorite?

Now picture your favorite meal or party that you have ever hosted. Who was there? How did you feel while you were hosting? What happened that made it so special?

Hold onto those thoughts for a moment.

Classrooms and schools are not just places to educate the mind, but they are indeed communities of people, old and young, who come together to learn and grow as whole people—mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. As a teacher in a classroom or a leader of a school you have the opportunity to either host students within your school or provide counter-cultural hospitality. You have an opportunity to either include students or provide true belonging for them.

Think of it this way: when hosting a dinner party, the host picks the time and place to gather, chooses the menu, assigns the seating arrangement, selects the music to be played, and asks themselves, “What do I want this dinner party to look like, feel like, and sound like? “How will I feel it has been successful?”. While this dinner party might be lovely, it is controlled by the host, and the guests must follow the host’s lead—making sure to use their best manners even if it means eating things they don’t like, or answering questions they don’t really want to answer, or sitting in a place where they feel awkward.

Contrast this with true hospitality. If hospitality is my goal as the host, I am now asking the question, “What do each of my guests need to feel comfortable, known, and welcomed?”. “How can I best meet their needs?” With this line of questioning, now the host might switch to a vegetarian menu, skip the music, and send out discussion topics ahead of time to make her vegetarian friend, her friend with autism, and her friend with slower processing speed all feel truly known and welcomed.

The original dinner party now looks different, sounds different, and feels different; the guests feel known and welcomed and experience a sense of belonging.

Think of your classroom or your school as a dinner party that you are throwing. Are you hosting students in your classroom, or are you creating a place of hospitality? Are students present, but not fully experiencing the care of belonging and hospitality? If you are hosting, what could you change to create space for hospitality? How could you view your role as a teacher differently? Do you need to think of your students in a new way?

Remember that time and place when you experienced true hospitality, and see where that takes you.

“Hospitable teachers break down barriers; build bridges; welcome all students; respond to learners with support and instruction; foster friendships; encourage reciprocity between community members; grow their own understanding of the learner; provide safety, security, emotional support, and opportunities for student empowerment; and commit to providing unconditional positive regard for all students in the classroom (Anderson, 2011).”

The Bible calls us to acts of hospitality. In Matthew 21, Jesus enters the temple that was hosting commercial opportunities and flips over the tables, turning the act of hosting on its head in order for the temple to become a place of true hospitality and refuge for those needing a place to be healed and belong. In 1 Peter 4:8-10 (NIV), we read “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

Dr. Erik Carter reminds us that true welcome—a key element of hospitality— involves more than just a “sure, I guess you can join us”, or a “yeah, you can play with us this recess”. True welcome is one in which you are not just allowed to join the group if you can fit into it as it currently operates, but rather a place in which the group itself is shaped by truly including you. You are not just “tagging along”, but rather an essential member of the group.

If your school is including students with disabilities, but they are really just “squatters” (Danforth, 2017) in—and not shapers of your classroom and school environment—then consider how you can shift from hosting them to providing true hospitality. Can you define success differently? Can you provide space for a different type of participation? How can you acknowledge and celebrate the fruits of the Spirit while also teaching math?

Consider what each student needs and what each has to contribute; allow that individual’s contribution to shape the classroom dinner party. I am guessing that if you do so it might just be your favorite dinner party yet.

• Anderson, David. (2011) “Hospitable Classrooms: Biblical Hospitality and Inclusive Education.” Journal of Education and Christian Belief 15(1): 13-27.
• Carter, Erik W. (2019) Ten Dimensions of Belonging. Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.
• Danforth, Scot. (2017) Becoming a Great Inclusive Educator. Second Edition. Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. New York, NY.