Shifting Paradigms

If you judge people you have no time to love them.

 

Mother Teresa

 

 

Classes began this week with bright eyed, dreary eyed, and those blinded with boredom entering our domain. After the introduction, course outline, viewing a short clip from 'Ferries Bueller's Day Off '- skipping techniques, sadly going over most of their heads, except one bright light that asked if she could use this, I said if the modus operandi works, try it. It would be unfair to admit that the lower level classes are a struggle for me, emotionally, physically, and intellectually. I asked each student to introduce themselves with one new piece of information that we might not know about them.  

After the third Filipino student stating that they were from the Philippians, it took everything morsel of my being not to send metaphors, after verbal ironies into the air waves.

 

I walked to the back of the class, shook the deleterious mindset, and decided to seriously question every students words, watching how the class reacted. Their responses soared with each query, they were holding the conch, at the helm of the ship they saw a captivated audience, moving from anxiousness to commanding mastery in seconds, shifting the paradigm of a classroom.

 

'Walk Humbly with the Lord' posted in my room keeps my pride aligned daily, to see the miracles, I call potential in all students. It seems to take them longer each year to find themselves, truly comprehend who they are in Christ. Rid the adverse affects of what society has allowed them to believe they are worth. Many enter with a metaphorical percentages of their self worth stamped to their forehead, others wounds of home life, bullying, and the torment of insults.

 

Prayer commences each class, again too many students think it is for them, it is for God to seep into our lives for an hour and show his glory, his compassionate love for each one of us. My student learn early on that literacy is Christ's mode of entry, for they will never remember me, yet I pray they will remember those around them that have changed their lives.

 

There is rarely a day that something profound doesn't occur. When our eyes, and hearts are open to see his miracles, we are his instruments and should celebrate. As Ferries stated -  life goes by pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around you'll miss it.

 

 

 

It is not how much we do

but how much love we put into doing them

It is not how much we give

but how much love we put into giving.

 

Mother Teresa