by Vita Hansen
Disciples aren’t greater than their teacher, but whoever is fully prepared will be like their teacher.
Luke 6:40
Devotion
I taught a multi-aged class, grades 1 and 2. As much as I taught my students, my students also taught me. They brought me problems that taught me that what I saw and heard from them may only be skimming the surface of the issue. I sometimes needed to dig deeper and not jump to conclusions. One day, I was given a very good lesson on just that.
I was giving an assessment test. I had to read the majority of the test following a script. After the first question, I then had to say, “Mark your answer.” Suddenly, a child calls out an answer. I stop and remind the children not to call out. Three more times, this kept happening with the same child calling out an answer!
My patience was gone. I am about to admonish this child about his behavior in front of the class! But I stopped. I thought about what was happening. Then I began to read the next question, but with a minor change. This time I said, “Fill in the circle for your answer.”
Why? So my student Marc didn’t think I was calling on him to answer every question on the test out loud!
I thank God I wasn’t a ‘jumper” and that I remembered to dig deeper, to see beyond my perception of the behavior. I was reminded that sometimes what we see or hear can be deceiving.
Prayer
Lord, keep me from jumping to conclusions that may hurt someone. Help me be patient and not judge without all the facts. Amen.
