School

I knew I was in trouble when I gave the students in one of my classes an assignment, to summarize in two or three sentences what it says in Col 1:23-2:5 and the vast majority of responses I received were commentaries on the individual verses Col 1:23 and Col 2:5.

Something was missing.

Teaching here has been a steep learning curve for me. I have taken to writing on the board like crazy, trying to emphasize the things that I want them to actually learn. I have no problem creating a lecture and going on for 45-50 minutes, but when only half of the class (when I’m lucky) is able to pick up what I’m puttin’ down…

I have had to adjust my style and methodology.

Then there is the matter of me understanding them. There have been times (yes, that’s plural, multiple times) where I have had to ask a student to repeat their question two, three, four times and I still don’t understand what they are saying until one of their classmates “translates” for me. It’s really embarrassing, but I am just so unaccustomed to their accent or their individual speech patterns that I can’t make out what they are saying.

I gave out exams for both of my classes last week. I wanted to challenge them. I don’t want to give them a simple true-false or matching exam. I want them to really think. However, if they do not understand the question… it’s not going to show me how much they are able to think. If some of them were only able to understand what I wrote on the board, then the majority of what I test them on will have to come from what I wrote on the board, with a couple additional items from the lecture just for giggles.

Half of each class failed the exams. Ouch. I find out that’s about par for the course for the year one students. The exam I gave for the year two students was a little too long. I ended up giving the year two students a “make-up” homework assignment for which I assigned some extra points for their exam. The year one students I had no pity on. I graded the exam such that it should have been relatively easy to pass.

To cap off last week noting minor irritation, prepping for my lectures later in the week, I get into this commentary on the epistle to the Ephesians (the only one on Ephesians I have here with me, mind you) and find out that the author is one of those folks who actually conjecture that Paul wasn’t the one who wrote the letter. Here’s a clue for you. Ephesians 1:1 starts out, “Paul.” Do I really have to spell it out for you as to who wrote the letter? Paul did. Thank you very much. Yes, yes, I know, there are scholars who believe… blah blah blah. I’m not really interested in going there, you know? Sorry. Rant over.

Then there are the rewarding moments. The extra time with a student after class who wants clarification on something that I’ve said, or the one who really liked the way I phrased an answer to the question “what does it mean where Jesus says to his disciples they are the salt of the earth?” and he just wanted to make sure he had captured the essence of my response in his notes. Or the time where a student asks “was Nymphas male or female?” because the KJV version says “his” and the NIV says “her.” (Answer: NIV privileges certain ancient manuscripts). Or the time when a student in class “gets” the exact same question I had in my mind when I was prepping for the lecture, the seeming contradiction between the Matthean (8:5) account of the centurion asking Jesus to heal his servant, and that of Luke’s (7:3, 6) account that states the centurion sent elders of the Jews, and later, friends to ask Jesus to heal his servant. (Answer: Harmonize the two accounts to reflect no contradiction).

Overall, I am enjoying my time here!