Teachers do not make the decision to become teachers for fame and fortune. Instead, in most cases, it is because they want to impact the lives of the next generation.
Lindsay Ash, who is a teacher at Oklahoma Bible Academy, says that teaching is more like a family tradition.
“There were many factors that led me to education,” she said. “I am a fourth-generation educator, and education has always been a huge emphasis in my family. Ultimately, I was drawn to teaching because it was a field where I could positively influence students and help them grow academically as well as spiritually. I knew it would be a challenging but extremely rewarding career that would also allow flexibility for me to be a teacher and mother to my own children.”
Ash is in her second year at OBA. She currently teaches seventh and eighth-grade English and she also serves as the middle school Academic Team sponsor.
As a student, Lindsay had a number of teachers that were impactful on her life and helped shape her into the teacher that she is today.
“My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Thompson, and my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Moody, were extremely influential in my life,” she said. “They both instilled a love of reading, which likely had a huge influence on my decision to teach English. In addition, several of my professors at Oklahoma Baptist University helped shape and influence me in memorable ways as Christian educators.”
While she may not always see the outcome and the full impact of her teaching, Ash says that some advice that she has received was to trust in what you are doing.
“As educators, we don’t always see the fruits of our labor immediately,” she said. “One of the most encouraging and best pieces of advice a former teacher gave me was to be patient, continue pouring into these young souls, and trust that the seeds that we, as educators, have planted will grow in due time.”
Lindsay and her husband, Dustin, have been married for twenty-two years. They have four children; Ethan, Elliot, Evalyn, and Ezra. When she is not teaching, Ash enjoys traveling, skiing, reading, eating fine food, watching movies, playing games, and spending quality time with her friends and family.
