GRACE TEACHES MATH

The other day I was subbing in a 4th grade class. I was responsible for math and science. The class started out well and it went downhill from there. I had 4 or 5 students that refused to listen and cooperate. The teacher has a card system for discipline. Every student begins with the color green and has to flip to a new color each time they are disobedient. We were flipping cards faster than a Texas hold'em game. It was finally time to switch to a new teacher and I had an idea. How could I use this situation to teach a Biblical truth in public school. I asked the class to tell me what the word "grace" meant. One boy said it was what you say before you eat. One student said it was giving someone "joy". I explained to them that grace means getting something you don't deserve. I then demonstrated grace to them. I took each card and returned it to the first color. The board looked like every child had been obedient. I told them that I was taking away their punishment and giving them another chance. Their little jaws dropped. I said..."today you have been given grace". Later that day when they returned to me I asked them how they felt about their grace-given day. They explained to me when they switched classes the other teacher did not believe that everyone had been obedient and asked what had happened. They told her about "grace" and she made each child return their card to the color that they had received as punishment. Oh well...I guess "grace" has left the building.