Second and third chances

As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own.  Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other.  Try your best to let God’s Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3 CEV)

 

I can’t imagine being a school teacher these days with 20+ students in the room. All needing to know what I already know. And needing to know how to break it down in its simplest form; yet not knowing how to express in a myriad of ways because unfortunately, we don’t all learn the same way. Alone with a book for some; hands-on examples for others. But I really want to talk about adults and learning.

 

Adults learning new things, whether its knitting a sock or new responsibilities of a volunteer position, we know that not everyone masters the skills needed in the same way, in the same amount of time, with the same background experiences. Take for example the knitting of a sock. Type “A” maybe able to read a how-to book and work it out just fine on their own. But type “B” may prefer to go to an online video source. And still for others, type “C”, they need one-on-one, sit by my side help before becoming confident in their abilities. Now if you’re a type “A” person, I imagine it takes quite a bit of patience to work alongside, much less train, a type “C” – what some may refer to as a slow learner. It may be they were slow because you tried to teach in the “A” or “B” way. And how equally frustrating for the “C” type learner. Thinking they can’t “get it” fast enough. Doubts rise and confidences falls. Will I ever … or should I just give up now? Me? I don’t see myself as extraordinary in knowledge or skill in any particular field. So if I’m able to pick up on something, surely the rest of the world can do it! You all must be smarter than me. Have you ever caught yourself thinking this way? But the truth is, for children and adults alike, we are capable if the teacher is gentle in spirit and can adapt to the way a person learns. We certainly expect it of our school teachers. Do we need to have the same kind of patience and awareness of other ways to learn in our work places, our churches, and our volunteer organizations? I’m thinking so. Mistakes made need gentle direction, explained or shown in the different way - and fewer adamant demands. Learning is a process. Yet so is patient teaching - a process. Let’s keep each other hopeful for future success and in becoming useful tools. We are all needed. Every one of us. That’s the way God planned it.