FIRST DAY OF CLASS

As a teacher, my only wish is for my students to be teachable and responsive, their minds and hearts molded just right so that when they graduate, they'd be ready to take on the challenges of a crazy dog-eat-dog marketplace.

If I see just a glimmer of interest or someone's eyes connecting with mine when I lecture or tell them stories, I grow hopeful.

I experienced that on my first teaching day a few days ago; so in spite of a migraine headache intensifying as the day progressed, I persisted and taught like it were my last lecture day---careful that these fresh-out-of-high-school kids would not miss the direction their elders want them to take.

Some students even stayed to chat after class. One lingered to share why she enrolled in spite of limited finances. We prayed for one's problematic family situation. Then a few of my old students bounded in, making the new ones feel at ease and welcomed.

Whew, that was just day one!

With two days and four sections to handle each week, the next three months promises to be a windfall. Who knows what surprises and tricks my students may pull to fill our classroom with glee?

Flashes of wisdom and brilliance?  Eureka moments? Discoveries? Excitement? Fun? Creativity? Learnings and blessings galore! Aren't these every teacher's wish for her students?

You see, I take my "teacher" calling rather seriously. And I'm dead-set that in the 112 classroom hours I get to spend with them this particular term, some of them will claim later that they've become wiser, hope-filled, brighter, more analytical, smarter and more confident.

But how I conduct my life should also speak volumes to them. My lectures may poke their minds. But my character and attitude will surely cut through their hearts---if I behave as I should. 

Word and deed in equal proportion---that's the meat teachers serve to knowledge-and-direction-starved young minds.

"Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching, show integrity, dignity," Titus 2:7.

Whatever void a student feels should somehow be filled as he catches a whiff of the profound in my class.

It's quite a chore and a nose-bleed for a baby boomer like me to connect with millennials who are supposedly self-obsessed or narcissistic and more interested in their gadgets and their selfies than reading and learning. 

More and more, I find it a bit of a struggle to bait them to the task at hand.

Still, teaching is a privilege which allows me entry into some stranger's budding life. Every lesson preparation time, I wrack my brain so that I can easily wiggle into the consciousness of studying-averse teens. 

There must be ways to engage them! 

So I think: young, games and rewards, experiential, cool, audio-visual. Perfect therapy, on the other hand, for an old foggy's staggering brain neurons. 

Teaching is littered with disappointments. But it comes with the territory. 

My friend Babeth advises: "When a student presents difficulties, I just recall the teachers in my life who were extra-patient with me. :) and I learn to appreciate the student, especially if it's a kid with special needs."

Almost 80 minds to discover, uncover and connect with in the next three months. This term should be a blast, and blessings-filled.