As we prepare for our 30-year celebration on September 18, think about the discipline of our founding and pioneer families. The idea is not about the discipline that they expected from others, but about the disciplines that they infused into the habits of Cary Christian School.
Often, when asked about their favorite teacher, adults point back to a particular teacher and say: “She believed in me.” My guess is that the truth is actually something deeper: She saw you. She saw something in you. More to the point: she saw your unique capacity to reveal God’s glory to the world and she unearthed it. She taught you what it means to live in Christ with Christ in you. That’s what teachers do.
The sentiment is worth spending time pondering: Good teachers are a gift. But, to truly appreciate what teachers do, it helps to understand that this is actually a habit that good teachers work to develop.
1. They know how to establish mutual respect.
Bad teachers make you always feel like you need to earn their approval. Their appreciation of you is conditional. Are you smart enough? Are you well-behaved? Do you look a certain way or come from a certain family? The relationship is transactional: if you make me look good, then I will like you.
Good teachers are standing at the door looking for you. They greet you with a reminder that they are your teacher and you are their student. They see something more in you, and you willingly give them something extra. You feel the feelings they have for you, but it is also a skill. They have a mastery of:
- Human nature
- Their subjects
- The learning process
This mastery gives them both the courage and the ability to know you and to be known by you. That knowledge creates a connection. The connection inspires your effort.
2. They know how to strategically and intentionally aim all effort at something extraordinary.
To be clear, the good teacher is not okay with bad behavior or bad grades. In fact, a good teacher has what seemed like a magical ability to get you to pay attention, to do the next right thing, and to learn. Again, it wasn’t magic. It was a skill. Good teachers master:
- The learning process
- The connection between what is currently known and should be known next
- How learning strategies create learning outcomes
Class ceases to be a random collection of meaningless exercises. It becomes a journey to a place where they have been and where you want to go.
Think about why this is important.
1. Be Thankful.
Understanding that the love you have for good teachers is a skill that is developed should make you thankful. Go thank a teacher.
2. Establish Mutual Respect. Execute with Strategic Intentionality.
Go back to a moment when it seemed like everything was against you, and it seemed like there was no way forward. Remember that moment. Then, remember what happened. Remember how you made your way forward. Maybe God miraculously removed the threat or the burden. He can do that. Typically, transformational relationships are strategic and intentional processes.
- Someone greeted you at the door and offered to help
- You found a way and did the next right thing
3. See the beauty of the learning process and the disciplines that drive a good school.
We look forward to seeing you on September 18 at Morris Peaceland Farm for Bluegrass, BBQ, and the celebration of God’s blessings upon our little school.
