WiW: They Don’t Learn…

The Week in Words

I’m a teacher, less than two weeks away from ending my career as a graduate teaching assistant.

I love teaching.

I love explaining things to students, helping people understand something better than they did before.

I love showing students how to do something, seeing them glow with a sense of accomplishment.

I’ve been teaching about food. And I love teaching about food.

Because I love food.

I get excited about cooking, about food, about how food fits into people’s lives.

My students can’t help but feel my excitement for food.

Which is why Don Carson’s quote sobers me.

“If I have learned anything in 35 or 40 years of teaching, it is that students don’t learn everything I teach them. What they learn is what I am excited about, the kinds of things I emphasize again and again and again and again…”
~Don Carson (via Justin Taylor)

What are the things I get excited about?

What are the things I emphasize again and again and again and again?

Are they the things I want to be emphasizing over and over and over again?

Carson says what should be emphasized over and over again:

“…What they learn is what I am excited about, the kinds of things I emphasize again and again and again and again. That had better be the gospel.
~Don Carson (via Justin Taylor)

I am challenged as I read these words. What is the refrain of my life’s work? If someone were to interview a dozen of my students and ask them what they learned from me, what my life message is, what would they say?

Would they say that I lived for food?

Or would they say that I lived for God, glorying in the gospel and savoring the sweetness of Christ?

I fear too often they would say the former–but my heart’s desire and my prayer is that the latter would be true.

Collect more quotes from throughout the week with Barbara H’s meme “The Week in Words”.

4 thoughts on “WiW: They Don’t Learn…”

  1. What are the things I get excited about? What a great question for each of us to ask ourselves. It’s also telling to hear what others think we’re excited about because it might be two different answers. Hmmm….

    Good food for thought here (no pun intended).

    Reply
  2. I enjoyed this post very much. I think I am going to ask some people what they think that I am excited about and see if I am projecting the message that I should be. as always thanks for the challenge!

    Reply
  3. Thank you for commenting on my blog…sorry it’s taken me so long to reciprocate! I truly enjoyed these quotes…as a teacher, from a long line of teachers these are keepers! I will pass them along to my family! Thank you!!

    Reply

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