My students are often irresponsible, unorganized, inefficient, and
extrinsically motivated. Case in point:
Irresponsible. “Aigner, why are you turning in these
assignments? There is barely any work on
them. You should take them home to
finish. No, I’m not going to hold onto your
work for you. So there is no way you’ll
remember to bring them back if you take them home? Ok, I’ll grade them as is.”
Unorganized. “Keiara?
How about we clean out your folder because most of those papers are from
last quarter? You can either take them
home or throw them out. I realize that
you like your folder messy and cluttered, but it’s negatively affecting your chance
of success in class. You still can’t
find today’s handout?”
Inefficient. “Yes, if you don’t finish this assignment in
class you will have to take it home for homework. No, you need to be working on it now. No, you still have 23 minutes. Let’s make excellent decisions and use our
time wisely.”
Extrinsically
Motivated. “Trey, I need you to wake up. Trey.
Trey, this is your test. It’s not hurting my grade by you getting a
zero. It does disappoint me, though,
that you wouldn’t do your best for yourself, to respect yourself at least that
much. No, you don’t get candy for taking
your test. Well, maybe…now get to work.”
From the age of five and twenty-two, I was a
responsibility-taking, organizationally-ideal, efficiency-driven, and
intrinsically motivated student: in the
classroom.
In my walk with Christ, I was, and am, irresponsible,
unorganized, inefficient, and extrinsically motivated. I rarely “study” or finish my “homework” on
time. When I do sit down to “work” I’m
not focused and easily distracted. I
hardly sit still or keep my mouth closed long enough for the “teacher” to give
his instructions. He is teaching all the
time, but I’m rarely listening. My
Christian Literature “textbooks” are in a stack, all no more than half-way
read. When a problem does arise, I put
my puny wisdom-lacking brain to the test and start putting answers down and
filling in the bubbles that look right. I
view the red-marked paper that is returned as only good for one thing: my grade.
I focus on how well I performed, and not on the process of learning. The slow, slow process that I make it.
To be a teacher is to look into a mirror and see what God
sees in me: an immature human who is
going through changes, trying to appear cool and collected, struggling to grow,
thinking he knows what is best, and always wants a reward for doing what he
ought.
.
To be a teacher is to recognize that I am a student to
someone greater. To recognize my
weaknesses and seek counsel from those with experience. To identify my areas of strength, and lean on
them like a crutch during times of need.
I don’t have all the answers, but I will sacrifice to make sure that my
students have the opportunity to make the decision for themselves if they will
take up the life-giving “burden” of education and follow me.
At least, that’s what my teacher did for me.
