In J.C. Ryle’s great work Holiness, there is a chapter entitled “The Ruler of the Waves!” Ryle writes late in the chapter that, “No master surely ever had scholars so slow to learn their lessons – as Jesus had in the apostles” and yet, “No scholars surely had so patient and forbearing a teacher – as the apostles had in Christ”.
As each new semester approaches and I see the names of the scholars that are enrolled in the courses that I will teach, I pray to be the patient and forbearing teacher that Jesus was with His disciples and is with me as I attempt to follow Him daily.
But, as the semester progresses and I find myself engaged with the small group of slow-to-learn-their-lessons scholars, I struggle with how I can be Christ-like in my interactions with students while also performing the work that is expected of me, the work that I believe to be of vital importance to my students’ futures and the futures of those they will teach.
Student Evaluations
In my role at the university, I help to prepare teachers. As a literacy professor, I am expected not only to help teacher candidates develop skills for supporting the literacy growth of their future students but also to guide these teacher candidates to polish their own literacy skills, skills that in many cases have served them sufficiently (so they tell me) until now.
My anonymous student evaluations inevitably include comments that reflect students’ dismay at my feedback concerning their writing.
As I read the negative comments, I ask myself, “Is it worth putting yourself in the situation of making them angry and receiving poor evaluations?”
I sometimes think, “Cross the road; pass by on the other side. Do not stop to attend to the (grammatical) wounds of these students. Do not get involved (give them the A that they claim everyone else has always given them).”
But, I will not give in to that thinking. Following the example of Christ with His disciples, I will try my very best to be patient and forbearing, but I will continue to provide feedback, and trust that it lands well when the student opens his scored paper and sees where he needs to grow.
As I reflect on Jesus as teacher, I am reminded of the many times in Scripture when Jesus separates Himself from His disciples, His scholars, and spends time talking with His Father. I need to do the same. More than praying (sometimes in desperation, sometimes in frustration) for their growth as literate people, I recognize the urgency I must have to pray for their souls, for their suffering, for their needs, especially the need to know Christ as Savior and Lord.
Appreciating students as both scholars and souls is the key, I believe, to being a Christian professor that will cherish the opportunity to make both a professional difference and an eternal difference in my students’ lives.
Kandy Smith
Western Kentucky University