Do I Love My Students?

         Okay. I'm certain many of you have heard of the following scripture reference. It's been utilized within the context of challenging oneself to love others...the way God loves us. It's difficult to do when our selfishness distracts us from giving others what they need opposed to what we think they deserve. I digress. Here are the verses to which I'm referring: 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.

-1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

        Again, this scripture reference is circulated quite often, constantly quoted from the pulpit at the community church or pinned as an inspirational graphic text on Pinterest. The language comes off quite delightful and optimistic...until application is required. The question we must ask ourselves is do we really love those whom we say we do? Do we envy or dishonor them? Do we protect them? Do we preserve what is good in them or do we disregard it due to our obsession to the hurt they have caused? If we aren't exhibiting true signs of hope and preservation, then our idea of love is greatly flawed. This is a realization I recently concluded...as a teacher. 

        Yesterday, I asked myself, do you love your students? The answer was, yes, of course I do. Such a response is warranted, at least to me, due to the amount of work I put into lesson planning and building a repour with them between classes and in-class lessons. I can easily say I love them because I show up...every day...void for days I am sick, bettering my mental wellness or participating in professional learning opportunities. Based on my effort, I assume, how can anyone infer that I do not love my students? My response to myself was, okay, I hear you, but do you REALLY love your students? I paused. I had to think about it. The notion of my previous efforts being proof enough began to weaken as a strong argument. Anyone can handout worksheets, collect them and plug in grades. Anyone can stand in front of the class, assert themselves, read from the PowerPoint slides, and expect their audience to listen to their every word. The challenge...is doing it in such a way that it effectively equips them with necessary skills to get from where they are...to where they need to be. 

        Some of my students aren't turning it work. Some are constantly disruptive. Some have developed intense apathy for my class let alone education as an entity. Yes, there are factors that play into that beyond my control, but what about those factors that are in my grasp, such giving constructive and timely feedback? What about rearranging their seating so they are not distracted by friends and students who underachieve by choice, resulting in misbehavior as a response? If I pay close attention to those details and make decisions accordingly, then I am protecting them from bad influences. I am preserving their good qualities, such as the ability to comprehend and process new skills. I am exhibiting acts of consistency and a burning desire to not only help them pass the class but strengthen their executive skills; skills they will need beyond the four walls of my class. If I love them, I have to be willing to change the environment so they will flourish. 

           I'm certain you recall when you were a kid and your teacher created assigned seating. Maybe you were the student who had to be moved closer to the front while your friend remained in the back. Maybe you were the student who adhered to class rules, witnessing everyone else play a sour version of musical chairs because they couldn't stop misbehaving with their buddies. The teacher needed to create a separation to keep them from something that was toxic and deleterious to their overall development. As loving as God is, didn't He have to do the same thing to Adam and Eve? 

        Genesis 3, verses 23-24 states that God "banished [Adam] from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken" and "after he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." Had God allowed Adam and Eve to stay where they were, comfortable in their sin, they would have taken from the tree of life, forever living in "separation" from God.  If God is good, if God is love and never keeps record of wrongdoing, doesn't boast, or delight in evil, the last thing He wants is to keep us from such an abundance of pure benevolence. So, He removed us. He changed our seating chart so that He could protect us from the longevity of destruction. 

            As a teacher, I have to fashion a proverbial "cherubim and a flaming sword" between them and their educational demise. It will not be comfortable. It will not be pleasant. Adam and Eve went on to experience sweat and pain. It is the inevitable curse of humanity. My students will get upset. Some will hate me or even curse my name, but I rather separate them from decimation than to leave them in a place where they are susceptible to everlasting harm. No, I'm not God, but greater is He that is in me than he is in the world. I am better off leaning into Him and His everlasting love, no matter how much it may confuse me than trusting my own feelings, assuming my students know what's best for them. 

        So, I revisit the question, Do I love my students? The answer is yes, at all costs. We have a little over a month left in this semester. Progress reports are around the corner and many of them have the opportunity to not only pass but learn something new; something they will be able to use for the remainder of their lives.  I love them enough to make sure they accomplish both. I love them with the might of a sword on fire and a majestic angel, protecting them from everlasting digression. I love them with the harshness of chastisement and behavior modification. I love my students enough to put in the work and set them up for a better future; a future where wisdom outweighs social media followers and brand-name sneakers. I love my students enough to be a bridge that gets them to the other side of high school and into the real world where Satan awaits yet again to woo them with a lie, contrary to love's true meaning.