My thoughts today are focused on one particular student because I just don't know how to get across to him. I could tell early on that he has already decided that he is not good at math and never will be good at math. At first he would try to get away with copying off his neighbor when I would walk around to make sure everyone understood the day's lessons. I called him out on his copying and then he stopped working all together. Then not long after, came in after school (yes, he made an effort) to see what he could do to get his grade to passing. He told me that he always has to keep it above passing for his parents. We were able to get it to passing that day and he has actually stayed in the passing range since. However, I feel I have lost him. Today he came in...late...with his hoodie hood over his head and his headphones in. I asked him to take out his headphones because he knows my class rules. He did, but not long after they somehow ended up back in his ears. This is not an uncommon experience. I deal with it with many students.
I have many parallels with me as a student of Christ's in all this but will keep it on just one point for today. Like this student I have many students who fully believe they can learn and do fine with one headphone in. They claim they can still hear me so it's all good. However, I find that is rarely the case. They may stay focused on me for a minute or two but then a favorite song comes on and they start thinking about the words and experiencing other emotions/memories that music can do for us. When they finally realize they have lost focus, they are lost to what I am currently explaining making it easier to slide back into the song playing in their other ear.
My parallel is this, I find that too often I think I can stay focused on the Savior and His amazing gospel by keeping one ear open to Him. The other ear I keep open to the world and all the sounds that are constantly thrown at me. Those worldly sounds bring on fun emotions and memories that distract me from my supposed focus and when I realize the distraction and try to focus back I feel behind and lost. I see this as trying to keep one foot in the world and one foot in the gospel kind of a thing. What is it that is in your one worldly ear? What sounds are you letting influence and distract your thinking? What will it take to pull that worldly headphone out so you can focus more strongly on the lessons being taught by the Lord?
I could go off on my own answers to these questions, but I will let you answer them for yourself. I think it is a very personal thing anyway. I can say, though, that those students who choose to focus with both ears (and eyes) do a much better job learning the lessons I teach. I know the same is true with the Lord. As soon as we choose to remove that worldly headphone from that one ear, we will hear things much more clearly. The Lord will speak plainly. Things will make much more sense. And most importantly, we will feel at a greater level, His love. That right there is worth everything!
I have many parallels with me as a student of Christ's in all this but will keep it on just one point for today. Like this student I have many students who fully believe they can learn and do fine with one headphone in. They claim they can still hear me so it's all good. However, I find that is rarely the case. They may stay focused on me for a minute or two but then a favorite song comes on and they start thinking about the words and experiencing other emotions/memories that music can do for us. When they finally realize they have lost focus, they are lost to what I am currently explaining making it easier to slide back into the song playing in their other ear.
My parallel is this, I find that too often I think I can stay focused on the Savior and His amazing gospel by keeping one ear open to Him. The other ear I keep open to the world and all the sounds that are constantly thrown at me. Those worldly sounds bring on fun emotions and memories that distract me from my supposed focus and when I realize the distraction and try to focus back I feel behind and lost. I see this as trying to keep one foot in the world and one foot in the gospel kind of a thing. What is it that is in your one worldly ear? What sounds are you letting influence and distract your thinking? What will it take to pull that worldly headphone out so you can focus more strongly on the lessons being taught by the Lord?
I could go off on my own answers to these questions, but I will let you answer them for yourself. I think it is a very personal thing anyway. I can say, though, that those students who choose to focus with both ears (and eyes) do a much better job learning the lessons I teach. I know the same is true with the Lord. As soon as we choose to remove that worldly headphone from that one ear, we will hear things much more clearly. The Lord will speak plainly. Things will make much more sense. And most importantly, we will feel at a greater level, His love. That right there is worth everything!
1 comment:
I struggled with probability in high school Statistics. I didn't like asking questions in class, because we'd already covered it and I didn't want to be embarrassed if I asked a question that made it obvious that I didn't completely understand the concept. Mr. Rainey must have noticed I was struggling, because for a days after class he asked me if I could help him with a problem at his desk. Eventually it helped us get on the same page, because I was more comfortable talking to him about how I got off track and he was able to understand my thought process to better guide me to do it correctly without making me feel dumb publicly for doing it wrong.
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