Christian Teacher of the Year: Emily Zybach’s students learn pitfalls of communism, resilience of capitalism, endurance of Christianity

Florida public school students will be taught the atrocities of communism, and the risk of it in the U.S., starting with the 2026-27 school year.

But Emily Zybach’s students are way ahead of that.

The 11th-grade U.S. History teacher at Lincoln Christian School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has already been teaching her students not only the historic horrors of authoritarian governments, but why Christianity and communism simply can’t coexist.

In short, one loves and values the individual while the other doesn’t. 

“In Christianity, God gives people individual abilities and skills and talents, and we are supposed to put those into practice,” she tells The Lion, “and communism tells us that we don’t have to practice things, or that the government is going to tell us what we are going to practice, because the government needs another garbage man today.  

“And you’re like, ‘But I’m not skilled at that. I’m more skilled to be an accountant.’ And the government says, ‘I’m sorry, I need you to be a garbage man.’  

“God gave us all of these skills to get wealth; says that in Joshua. He gave us abilities to get wealth. And communism does not allow us to do that. Communism does not enable us to fully utilize our God-given gifts or to seek out those God-given gifts. It teaches us to suppress any desires or wants or anything and just let the government hand you everything instead.” 

Zybach’s perspective – so critical at a time when so many youths say they like the idea of socialism or communism – is one reason she is one of 12 instructors across the country named 2025 Christian Teacher of the Year by the Herzog Foundation, publisher of The Lion.

‘Communism always fails’

Fact is, Zybach’s lessons on communism vs. capitalism are more important every day: A survey earlier this year found an alarming 62% of American youth have a favorable view of socialism – and 34% even say they like the idea of communism.

Why do so many young people fall prey to such a self-destructive siren song?

“I think people fall for it because the promise sounds good, right? I mean, it’s the same temptation of every sin. It sounds good – until you get to the other side of it. And then you’re like, ‘Oh, there are consequences to this.’  

“‘It sounds like my government is going to pay for my college, my house. I don’t have to pay for anything. I’m taken care of’ – and who doesn’t want to be taken care of? – which also leads us to one of those seven deadly sins of laziness, of ‘I don’t have to do it; someone else is going to do it for me, because I deserve it’ – which is pride. 

“Emphasizing the desire for a perfect world is a recognition that we were made for a perfect world, and that is what humanity has been striving to attain ever since the fall in Genesis 3. But since all of Creation is broken because of the fall, we discuss why a perfect world is not possible and why communism always fails. 

“And then we discover that pride comes before a fall, and that there’s going to be a problem with that because someone still has to pay for it.” 

Economic roleplay teaches life lessons

Indeed, Zybach’s students learn “money doesn’t just pop out of the ground. It comes from people,” she says.

Nor is that all her students learn about money.

Zybach plays a fascinating 1920s-era stock market game with her students to illustrate the amazing resilience of capitalism even after a cataclysmic crash – but also to warn them not to put too much “stock” in temporal earthly gains. 

“It teaches them not to put all your eggs in one basket,” she says. 

The students’ stock trading begins with the exuberance of the roaring ’20s, and most of them think the good times will roll on. If an alert student asks about the Great Depression to come, she pretends that’s for another day.

So, when the ’29 crash happens toward the end of the class period, it’s a seismic shock to them all – one that not only teaches them history but makes them feel it.

“They’ve been competing for 25, 30 minutes and they’re like, ‘I am winning at this. I’ve gotten so much money!’ And then they feel it all – the bottom falls out. 

“And then I’m able to pull up a graph and I say, you know what, if you’re hitting retirement, if you’re 65, this moment is terrible. But for everyone else, you just wait, and it’s fine.

“And so, one of the things that teaches them economically is, we don’t have to worry when we turn on the news every day and it’s like, ‘oh, the Dow dropped 200 points.’ It’s fine. It will be fine. Time in the market.

“If we put our trust in God and resilience, it’s going to be fine. And God’s going to take care of you. For the people who were about to retire, that [crash] was a big, terrible moment. God still figured out a way to take care of them, right? 

“So, it teaches them how to pick themselves up.

“They talk about it years later. I have students come back at alumni football games and homecoming and stuff, and they’re like, ‘I still remember that game.’”

Has the stock market game colored their actions once they graduate? 

“They’ve said that it has. Some of them say they invest in things and they know that there can be huge successes from that. But then at the same time, they’re also like, ‘I’m not worried about it. I can help stock this away,’ no pun intended, ‘for retirement and everything. 

“‘But at the same time, I know I don’t have to be pulling it up and checking every individual stock every day. And if it goes down on Monday, it’s going to come back on Thursday. And it’s OK.’” 

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 was invited to attend a special professional development and recognition event in Washington, D.C.