Teacher’s dedication to students and faith earns national honor
Jenny Lents, a language arts teacher at St. Louis School in Batesville, prays with her students before each class. She notes, “I remind my students that if they put God first in everything they do, things go better.” (Submitted photo)
(Editor’s note: The Criterion once again offers its salute to the success stories of Catholic schools in the archdiocese.)
By John Shaughnessy
Wanting to inspire herself for the day ahead, Jenny Lents relies upon the lyrics of one of her favorite songs.
Yet instead of singing the lyrics as she enters her classroom each morning, Lents reads and prays the chorus from Toby Mac’s “Steal My Show.”
“The song is about Toby preparing for a Christian concert that he is giving, and he knows that his audience needs Jesus,” explains Lents, a language arts teacher at St. Louis School in Batesville.
“So he asks Jesus to steal his show and give the people what they came for—him. I want Jesus to steal my show so that he can work through me to give my students what they need. I know that if Jesus takes over, my students will be getting a quality Catholic education.”
Asking Christ to “steal her show” is just part of the morning ritual for Lents—one of nine Catholic teachers from across the country who has been chosen to receive this year’s Distinguished Educator Award from the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) on April 7.
Lents follows her “Steal My Show” morning prayer with a reminder to her junior high students to “live for Jesus.”
“We do this by praying together frequently for individual intentions at the beginning of every class period,” she says. “I remind my students that if they put God first in everything they do, things go better.
“It also allows children who are hurting or worried about someone they love—or a situation they are in—to feel comforted before they are asked to focus in class. I then encourage my students to offer up their hard work that class period for their prayer intention.”
Parents of her students notice the difference that Lents’ strong faith makes on their children.
“When my son walks into Mrs. Lents’ classroom, he is surrounded in a loving, faith-filled environment that can only lead him closer to Christ,” notes Angie Moster, a parent who nominated Lents for the NCEA award. “She cares not just about the academic needs of each student, but their emotional and spiritual well-being.”
Lents’ faith is complemented by an approach of fun, caring and creativity in the classroom, according to school principal Chad Moeller. He recalls a time when he made an unannounced appearance in her class where he discovered her wearing an Ace bandage around her neck and curling a dumbbell to make a point about grammar.
He also recalls how she reacted when a farm family in the Batesville community brought their baby calves to the school parking lot for the kindergartners and the first- and second-grade students to pet and feed. When Moeller announced that the older students could also go to see the calves, he noticed that some teachers weren’t thrilled, but Lentz took it in stride.
“She let her students go outside for a few minutes, and then did an impromptu language arts lesson while leading her students back into school,” he recalls. “She asked the students to define irony. Several students made attempts, but just didn’t quite get the concept. She used the example of one of the calves being named T-Bone to explain the concept. Needless to say, I enjoy her sense of humor.”
He also appreciates her work with guiding students on the school’s anti-bullying committee, her efforts in implementing the school’s use of iPads, and her behind-the-scenes work in helping St. Louis Parish provide Christmas presents for 125 needy families.
All those efforts are an expression of her desire to make a difference in so many ways, say her colleagues.
“She hears God calling her to help others grow both academically and spiritually,” notes Jan Narwold, a fellow teacher at St. Louis School. “Jenny’s warm smile and heartfelt greetings will brighten your day. She is a very humble person who does not want praise for what she does. Her praise comes when a student understands a concept she is teaching.”
For Lents, the best lesson she tries to share—and the one she tries her best to live—is keeping Christ as the focus of one’s life.
She strives to live that approach in her marriage of 20 years to her husband Denny, and as the mother of two teenagers, Matthew and Carly. She also embraces that approach in her weekly adoration of the holy Eucharist.
“By keeping Jesus at the center of all that we do, we learn how to become more like the persons we were created to be, and we learn that we have a responsibility to love and serve others using the gifts and talents that we have been given by God.
“I am thankful that I get to play a role in helping children develop their gifts as they continue to help me develop mine.” †
