My classes, so far, have been awesome this semester. I am teaching a class in Study Skills (which is just as much for me as it is for the students) and a remedial English course using biblical coursework on martyrs, saints, monks, etc in history. This is also just as much for me as it is for them. One thing I always pray about for my English class is that we can be a group of people who get together to discuss things, to learn together, and to have a platform for expression. Even though we are doing some basics, I try to use my experience in creative writing as an outlet for all of us to be able to express ourselves. I want to use the term "we" because I don't see myself as someone above them, but as someone who is there to facilitate and guide rather than to lecture and talk at. I am praying that because of this, we will have a class of students who are not afraid to speak in public, who aren't ashamed of their English speaking, and who can express themselves when appropriate, and work academically. We all come up to the board, read out loud, open our dictionaries to look up words, and share what we've crafted in our writing. I wish we had more time together every week but what time I do have is amazing to me. They blow me away with how they open up, share, write, encourage one another and work together.
If you pray for me, pray for me to be wise in the way I teach, to be open minded to my students, to keep professional boundaries while also being supportive, and to encourage creativity and a love for learning. We have to get our work done, but I don't see why we can't do it this way. The TOEFL scores last semester were awesome, and prayerfully, they will have gone up even more by the time we take the test again toward the end of this semester. I am so thankful for these students and opportunities at PIU. We're all growing and learning in awesome ways.
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