“How do you view the students in your class?”

“Do you see them as problems to be solved, projects to be completed, or even liabilities to be carried?”

Speaking to educators at the National Christian Educators Conference (NCEC) on December 22, 2025, Elvin Foong and his wife Esther, a former primary school teacher, were conducting a workshop titled “Understanding the Pulse: Gen Alpha and Gen Z”.

The Foongs are founders of The Treasure Box Singapore and Kidmin Singapore, which equips Christian families and children’s ministries respectively. They also have two teenaged children aged 13 and 15.

Asking participants what differentiates Christian educators, Elvin shared that perspective is a key factor.

When teachers step into a new classroom every year, do they recognise that the students who have been assigned to them are not a coincidence?

“Our perspective is not shaped by our surroundings. Our perspective is shaped by the Gospel, by Christ living inside of us.”

This includes not only how educators see their role in school, but also how they see the children that God has entrusted to them.

“When you see a student, do you only see their behaviours, or can you also see their longings?”

“Do you only see their outward expressions, or can you also see their inward motivations?”

“The State commissions you as an educator, but only Christ can call you into your purpose,” emphasised Elvin.

What are the unique challenges faced by Gen Z and Gen Alpha?

To know how to guide these two generations of students, Christian educators need to have their finger on the pulse, said Esther.

As digital natives, Gen Z-ers have no lack of information at their fingertips.

So what they crave is not more knowledge, but wisdom from a real person who can guide them, said Esther. 

“They’re always watching you because they’re trying to prove whether what you say is indeed what you believe in.” 

Gen Z students value authenticity over authority, observed Esther.

What about Gen Alpha?

Called “Screenagers”, Esther pointed out that they are the most tracked generation in history (eg, baby monitors, smartwatches, smartphones) but “paradoxically, also the loneliest”.

“Whenever they have an issue, where do they go as their first source (of help) most of the time? The Internet.”

Growing up in the midst of a global pandemic has also impacted this generation in terms of their ability to read social cues and conduct face-to-face interactions.

“Plus there is the fact that a lot of their social interactions are now mediated through a screen,” added Elvin.

What does this mean for teachers then?

Using the acronym of CARE, Elvin and Esther suggested how educators can better engage with their Gen Z and Gen Alpha students, with each of these tips meeting a fundamental need.

How to engage with Gen Z and Gen Alpha

Connect

“Do I belong?”

The principle here is: Before you can correct, you must connect.

“Our Gen Z and Gen Alpha value relationships over hierarchy. If you think you can tell them: ‘I am your teacher, you better listen to me’, do you think that will work?” asked Esther.

Tips for building relationships

1. Spend the first two minutes of class just “being” with them before “doing” the lesson.
2. Learn one non-academic interest of a student and ask them about it.

Even if it is just noticing that one of your students has changed his spectacles and asking him about it, these simple things will make them realise that you care.

Affirm

“Do you see me?”

This goes beyond noting their physical appearance to showing them that they are seen, said Elvin.

While we are often quick to catch students for wrong behaviours, how often do we shine the spotlight on what they have done right?

For instance, when you observe that a student helped his table mate with something, call that out and affirm it.

Tips for making students feel seen

1. Affirm a character trait rather than just an achievement. (Eg, “I noticed how patient just now when you were …”)
2. Be specific with praise and words of encouragement instead of just describing the action as “good”.

Admitting that “the quiet middle” or those who do not really talk much also tend to be forgotten in class, Elvin shared that educators must think of how to make sure that these “invisible” students are seen as well.

One thing that they have tried with children is an analog version of Kahoot!, where students can raise multi-coloured cards in response to questions, so that they can still participate in discussions.

“When we affirm a student, we are helping to address self-doubts such as: Can you see me for who I really am? Can you see me for the contributions that I bring to this classroom?”

“Let them know that you are watching them, just as much as they are watching you,” said Elvin.

Root

“Am I secure?”

In a world of shifting truths, Christian educators can help students to find their identity.

After all, “we believe that everyone is created in the image of God and for a purpose,” said Elvin.

“Help them find what matters to them, what passion drives them, what purpose motivates them … this is how we can help them to find their place and meaning in a world that is honestly quite crazy,” he explained.

This can also extend to being a source of peace to anxious parents who might base their child’s identity on their grades, said Esther.

“When we start to offer a peace and a rest that the world doesn’t, that is your influence; that is your way to protect our Gen Alpha and Gen Z.”

To Esther, this security is also about making your classroom a place that students will be able to find peace.

Tips for a more peaceful environment

1. Physical wellness: Simple lifestyle changes can help an educator come to class more well-rested and well-regulated. (Eg, choosing to sleep early instead of doomscrolling or watching a drama the night before.)
2. Rely on prayer: Pray for God’s peace and to be able to stay calm when triggers arise.

“Be their non-anxious presence,” urged Esther. “Your peace will be able to root them in somewhere more stable, more secure.”

Empower

“Do I matter?”

“Do we look at a student and ask: How can I empower them to grow in their areas of strengths?”

Some children who are natural leaders may be very loud, said Elvin. They may also raise their hand to answer a question but intentionally give the wrong answer.

Sharing how he would relate to such children, Elvin said: “I love it because it shows me that these kids are listening.

“The way I engage is: ‘Hey, I love it that you’re so enthusiastic in my class. Your answer is not always accurate, but I love your enthusiasm. Can you help me out with this?’”

Usually when these students “act up” in class, they might get sidelined. But many are surprised by Elvin’s response.

“Suddenly they’re like: ‘Oh, you recognise that there’s something in me that perhaps even I never saw in myself before.’”

Chiming in, Esther said that it is also good to have a balance.

“It’s okay to let them know what is right, what is wrong, what is acceptable, what may be hurtful to me as a teacher. That’s fine.”

Tips for empowering students

1. Give them agency: Let them work on a task, help a peer or solve a classroom problem. Show them that they can be contributors that help the community instead of just consumers.
2. Trust them with responsibility, but don’t cheapen the value of leadership by giving every child a different role. Create limited roles, appoint them and rotate, so that every child still gets a chance to show that they are capable of.

The way educators see their students matters

When educators reframe the way they see their students, that will change the way they relate to those under their care.

“The opportunities that we get are not for us to be fearful of or to say, ‘This is another thing that I need to write a report for,’” said Esther.

Instead, when faced with challenges, can they see these as divine opportunities to make a difference?

At the end of the day, Christian educators have to ask themselves this fundamental question: How do I see children?

“The world today sees them as liabilities: ‘If I have kids, I cannot progress in my career. If I have kids, it will hamper me in my ministry,” noted Elvin.

“But that’s not what the Bible says.”

Referring to Psalm 127:3-5 which describes children as a heritage and a reward, he said: “While not all of us may be biological parents, we are spiritual parents to the children that God has so providentially in His grace placed in our classrooms and under our care.

“In the same way, these students are also God’s blessings to us. I know some of you are like, ‘That’s impossible. These children – a blessing to me, really?’

“I always tell parents: God gives us kids to help us grow up. In your classroom, God also gave you kids to help you grow up, to draw you closer to Him.”

Pointing out that Psalm 127 also depicts children as arrows in the hands of a warrior, Elvin asked: “The question is this: Who are the warriors that will release them into their God-given destiny?”

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