Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Philippians 2:4
Dare 11: Love Lets the Other Win
It seems like it has been forever since I've posted! I'm sorry for the long break! I have, however, been thinking a lot about what it looks like to love our students. I had the opportunity this past week to switch classrooms with a teacher in a class a year below me. This class (ones I'll have next year) is a really difficult class all around. I've been "warned" about them for the past few years, and rightfully so as there are a lot of major issues amongst them. I know that if I find this year's kids (who are really great all around) hard to love at times, I'm really going to have a rough time next year. So I'm really wanting to prepare myself and examine what it really looks like to love them and still be their authority.
Sometimes the dares in this book are a little hard to modify because they are speaking about loving someone who is your soul mate, your equal. Yes, we are to love our students, but it will require quite a bit of different love than our spouses. So, what does it look like to let the other one win, when the other one is your student?
Well, obviously, there are just going to be some things that are your way simply because you are the teacher, no matter what. But the book points out that a lot of arguments stem from stubbornness... and the opposite of stubbornness is willingness. I may not argue much with my students, but I know that sometimes I am probably a little too stubborn in my ways and I forgo being willing to listen to their excuses, or excuse me, their reasons, and automatically have things the way I think they should be.
"...The one best example of it is Jesus Christ, as decribed in Philippians 2. Follow the progression of His selfless love... As God, he had every right to refuse becoming man but yeilded and did--because he was willing. He had the right to be served by all mankind but came to serve us instead. He had the right to live in peace and safety but willingly laid down His life for or sins. He was even willing to endure the grueling torture of the cross. He loved, cooperated, and was willing to do His Father's will instead of His own.... 'Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus' (Philippians 2:5)--the attitude of willingness, flexibility, and humble submission. It means laying down for the good of others what you have the right to claim for yourself."
What does this look like for us teachers?
