Christian Teacher of the Year: Diane Bales brings lessons to life through role playing, peer-to-peer teaching

The Battle of Cowpens may have taken place in 1781, but for Diane Bales’ first-grade students, the Revolutionary War clash plays out each year on a hill outside their school.

Bringing history to life is just one of the ways Bales sets her teaching style apart – all while focusing on a Christian worldview she says is crucial for America’s future.

Bales is one of 12 instructors across the country named 2025 Christian Teacher of the Year by the Herzog Foundation, publisher of The Lion. A teacher at Greenville Classical Academy in Greenville, South Carolina, she tells The Lion her school “values biblical integration” in academics.

“We are thinking about ways that we can put Jesus in our lessons,” Bales says. “I teach with people who are concerned about not just great reading and having good number sense when it comes to math, but with people who want children to love Jesus and who want to be kind but yet still know that they’re broken and in need of a Savior.”

Bringing her lessons to life 

When Bales teaches South Carolina history to her first graders, she goes beyond standard lesson plans. After introducing her students to the Battle of Cowpens, which took place in the Palmetto State, she draws the clash on a whiteboard, setting the stage for a reenactment outside.  

“We go outside where there’s a hill, because the battle happened on a hill, and we act it out, and they love it,” she says. “I split them in half, and some are the Americans and some are the British, and then we switch.”  

She also introduced “peer to peer” teaching as a way to “access students’ knowledge without just giving a test.” For instance, when learning about fish and birds, she assigns students a specific fish and lets them create their own lessons.  

“You remember so much of what you teach,” she says. Bales provides students with a rubric of what she expects in their lessons, including attention-grabbers, leading many students to open their lessons with a joke. She encourages them to be creative, using “anything that you want to make your fish look interesting,” including colors, craft supplies, and even cereal.  

“It involves everybody in the room,” Bales says. “And I invite the parents to come, so they’re telling me their five facts, and they’re starting with an attention getter. It’s so enjoyable. And I do it every year, and everybody looks forward to it.” 

‘Good citizens in this world and for the next’ 

For Bales, creative learning styles aren’t her only focus – they’re a part of shaping something deeper in her students.

Asked about the significance of Christian education for America’s future, Bales doesn’t mince words. 

“It’s hugely important because we have to raise the next generation (to) have character, (to) know how to work hard,” she says, adding that children often want the easy way out. “But these are going to be leaders in our country. So we want them to have character, we want them to have integrity, we want them to have work ethic. We want them to love Jesus and live well.” 

Bales said Christian education is “excellent” when graduates can defend the faith, and when they live as “good citizens in this world and for the next.”  

Christian education on offense 

Bales has spent 15 years teaching in Christian education, and says she plans to continue next year. Asked what her message to other Christian educators is, her answer is simple: “tell others why Christian education is so important.” 

Teaching at a Christian school often involves sacrificing a higher income at a public school, she says. “So if they’re in a Christian school, they have a heart for it,” she adds. “They have a conviction for it. There’s a reason there, but there are so many people that need to know the why.” 

Educators should be prepared to tell others why teaching in a Christian school matters to them, and what they are able to do in their classes that they wouldn’t be able to at a public, secular school. 

Bales says she knows many families who have had to make sacrifices to be able to send their children to a Christian school, including her own parents when she was young. For families who may be “on the fence” about whether the sacrifices are worth it or unsure where to send their children, “let’s get the message out there and tell them why it’s important,” Bales says of Christian schools.  

“I think Christian schools need to be on the offensive,” she says. “They need to trumpet the value of what they’re giving, because the cost is great.” 

The Christian Teacher of the Year honor is part of the Herzog Foundation’s Excellence in Christian Education award series. Each of the 12 winners will attend a special professional development and recognition event in Washington, D.C.