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INTRODUCTION
Last school year there was a student who appeared to have a lot of hate directed towards me and other teachers. There was pain in my heart, not for myself, but for her. I am old enough to know that hate is self destructive. Always! It produces a lot of unnecessary conflicts and stresses in one's own life. A lot of mental energy is directed into the hate, and is therefore not available to do good. It is very damaging to the person's own body chemistry and immune system. This is a scientifically proven fact!
I only felt love towards her, and sorrow for what she was doing to herself. Over the summer I repeatedly prayed for her. I repeatedly struggled with what I might do to help her when school started.
It turned out that I didn't have to do anything to help her. I was very pleasantly suppressed to see her smile at me! Several times! She had become a different person! Later I learned that her family had also been praying, and had taken action to talk with her and help her. It had worked. My heart rejoiced!
This is how God feels about
you, only more so!
Some of you might think:
"How can he love me when he doesn't even know my name?"
It is true that I have not yet
been able to connect names to all of your faces. I have close to 200
students, and see each of you in class only about 45 minutes per
week. This is my problem, and has nothing to do with you personally
or my feelings towards you. If you are willing to help me remember
your names, I would appreciate it. If I ask you for your name, please
don't be offended.
Some of you might think:
"How can he love any of us when he is such a tough teacher and is so strict?"
When a teacher truly loves his students, he wants very much for them to do well. His love demands that he push his students to be their very best and to do their very best. And because he loves them he does his very best to help them to do their very best!
God wants to teach us all to love one another. He uses people to teach this. The people who are in the best position to do this are parents and teachers.
As teachers, we have greater exposure than everyone else, with the possible exception of the parents. Sometimes we have greater exposure than do the parents. As Christian teachers we should assume God's commissions to teach His love directly and through our actions.
What thought processes might we produce which
interfere with this commission? What arguments can be raised to
counter those inhibiting thoughts?
(1) We know that we must maintain the student's respect for us, and
that we must maintain good control in the classroom. This can lead to
the thought that we must maintain "distance" or aloofness from our
students. I believe this is counter productive.
(2) There is no better way to establish good classroom control and an effective teaching environment that mutual respect and love between student and teacher. If the students feel that you really do care for them, and that you really do respect them as persons, may classroom problems will solve themselves or be reduced.
(3) This argument in no way precludes high academic or behavioral standards. In fact, it demands them. Because if you do love the kids, then you want them to be the BEST they can be! Do not assume that your students will intuitively understand this. It is important that you communicate this as the foundation of your standards.
(4) People often hold the attitude that "A Good Example is the Best Teacher." I believe a better philosophy would be, "Use your example to add reality, validity, and specificity to what you have EXPLICITLY taught." The best teaching method involves alternately presenting both specific examples and general principles. I believe it is a mistake to assume that a child can or will extract general principles from explicit examples, or can reduce general principles down to explicit activities or actions. (Note: such mental actions are rather advanced skills which even some adults never acquire. It is a mistake to think that children will magically have these skills.) Love for your students can and should be expressed explicitly! It should be explained. Then it MUST be demonstrated. Repeatedly! Continually!
Also read: "A Good Example is the Best Teacher - NOT"