Classes start up again for Valencia College on Monday. The Faculty are back today prepping classes, looking over teaching plans, and having meetings looking at learning efforts of the past year. Hopefully, the students will be at least thinking about getting revved up. The summer semester is shorter than our norm which means the material is squeezed in and all classes have something of a quicker pace.
Every start of term, I think about the keys to student success. It’s not that different than life success. How do I live well? Same question…how do I student well? One key is courage.
Of course this may sound slightly out of place for a college classroom. I do not mean to suggest or hint that the classroom is scary or a place in which the only way one can pass is if you find a similar attitude as a soldier. No…it’s not meant to be scary or induce fear, however succeeding does require an attitude of courage.
Recently, I finished a book by Dennis Rainey about manhood. Actually the subtitle of the book is “A Call to Courageous Manhood.” Rainey is the President and CEO of FamilyLife, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ aimed at helping encourage good marriage and healthy families. Early in the book, he hits hard on the point of courage. What he writes, while aimed at men, actually fits well for all people. Here are some of his main points:
- The easiest thing for a person to do in a devastating crisis is to move into denial and do nothing.
- Another good person standing alongside you will help you be courageous when journeying through the valley.
- It takes repeated acts of courage for a person to truly face and process one’s emotions.
- It takes repeated acs of courage for a person to give others freedom to process their emotions differently from oneself.
- A person is no less courageous if faced with a situation that you can’t fix and about which you don’t know what to do…but then cries out to God in prayer “Help me God!”
- A person can have doubts and still step up in courage.
Far too often, I find my students facing the start of term nervous in the unknown. That makes sense. I still feel that myself from time to time. The way to move forward is with courage. Find a partner to go with you. I have a few dear, deep friendships that have been born over my decades. These men (and a few women) are there to journey with me through the unknown.
More importantly is what Rainey states first in his list–do not simply move into a state of denial, a state of inactivity as you confront challenges. The class will be hard. It SHOULD be hard. It will demand much from you, perhaps more than you think you can give. And, for many students, there will come a moment when it feels like the demands are too much. It will feel like a “devastating crisis.”
Courage is not to suggest you don’t have it hard. Nor is it wisdom to believe that it doesn’t matter how you act next. Rather, admit it is a challenge and that you need help. Then move quickly to gain that help. This is one reason why I tell my classes every semester to “build allies” in the classroom. We learn best in community, thus the community will be there to walk alongside as things get hard. You will need help. You may need information from a class you missed or insight on a point/topic you don’t fully comprehend. Don’t simply sit in silence in the first days, but write down the names of the students sitting around you.
More than other students, look to your professor as an ally. Part of Rainey’s focus in his book is that a person should mature over the years to becoming a mentor, a guide for younger. Well, if anyone is a guide for you in the classroom, it is the professor. Yes, I know that some professors seem unwilling to help, even perhaps distant or cold. Press on anyway. It’s their job to help you. So, politely engage the professor. Make it your point to visit their office hours in the first two weeks. Speak to them prior and after class, even about casual topics. The moment you get a serious assessment like a paper or exam, use that moment to go visit the professor again to ensure you are on track with the material needed for the class. Yes…all of this is hard and demands courage.
That is the point. All journeys in life demand courage. Don’t fall back. Don’t quail. Find your courage and press on. Lean into the journey.