I haven't been teaching for very long. My mom has been teaching for more than 30 years and I have friends who have been teaching for more than five years... all of them would probably have a lot more to add to this, but this is my limited perspective.
One of my favorite assignments (and probably one of my students' least favorite) is a personal assessment. In the beginning of the semester we learn about the seven components of wellness. The assessment requires each student to evaluate themselves within each component... their strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes I wish I could make them write it earlier because I learn so much about each of the students, but I have to wait until they learn all of the material.
My favorite component is the spiritual wellness component. I feel like college is such a pivotal time in someone's spiritual growth and perspective and I love learning more about where people are and where they've been. This semester I had a student write, "I find that most Christians are extremely contradictive in everything they say and do. They think they are better than you because they get up Sunday and go to church after getting completely wasted Saturday night."
There's always a huge debate when it comes to Christians and drinking and there are too many sides to count. Most of the time we look at an issue and try to determine whether it's right or wrong and then hopefully we choose the right way. I struggle when there are issues that no matter what I think about it being right or wrong, someone else might perceive it differently. My faith is the most important thing in my life and I would never want to turn someone else away from growing in their faith because I was being contradictory.
This isn't a blog with answers... but hopefully something that makes us think about how we affect everyone around us...
I hear it all the time, but sometimes you learn more from your students than they learn from you.
One of my favorite assignments (and probably one of my students' least favorite) is a personal assessment. In the beginning of the semester we learn about the seven components of wellness. The assessment requires each student to evaluate themselves within each component... their strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes I wish I could make them write it earlier because I learn so much about each of the students, but I have to wait until they learn all of the material.
My favorite component is the spiritual wellness component. I feel like college is such a pivotal time in someone's spiritual growth and perspective and I love learning more about where people are and where they've been. This semester I had a student write, "I find that most Christians are extremely contradictive in everything they say and do. They think they are better than you because they get up Sunday and go to church after getting completely wasted Saturday night."
There's always a huge debate when it comes to Christians and drinking and there are too many sides to count. Most of the time we look at an issue and try to determine whether it's right or wrong and then hopefully we choose the right way. I struggle when there are issues that no matter what I think about it being right or wrong, someone else might perceive it differently. My faith is the most important thing in my life and I would never want to turn someone else away from growing in their faith because I was being contradictory.
This isn't a blog with answers... but hopefully something that makes us think about how we affect everyone around us...
I hear it all the time, but sometimes you learn more from your students than they learn from you.
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