At the end of the semester, I get a lot of comments. As I previously mentioned, some of them are negative, but usually I don't get those until sometime after Christmas when the comments are sent to me in a PDF "anonymously" (as if I can't tell from the handwriting who authored them). I keep a folder of positive affirmations in a plastic tote in my library where I can go check them if I need a confidence boost, and most of the accolades are verbal or brief. Sometimes they are longer.
One particular student not only gave me a Christmas card but also decided to editorialize it to my face. This particular young lady began the term with the attitude that Chemistry wasn't all that interesting or important and suffered because of it. When she finally came to see me, she was woefully behind (we're cramming five semesters' worth of chemistry into 16 weeks in this particular nursing chemistry course), but I could tell from the efforts she had taken in the form of annotations in her book that she was invested in success. This proved prescient, because other complications arose, which would have destroyed her chances if she had not taken the initiative to take learning into her own hands. As I often tell others, I told her that Sir Walter Scott said that every person who ever amounted to anything had the chief hand in his own education.
Having managed to eke out a "B" in the course, this student came to thank me. Among the comments that she made, she thanked me "for believing in her" and putting forth effort to help her, even when it was off topic or inconvenient. It is, after all, my job to help those who desire to learn. Likewise, it is, after all, your job to decide what you really desire to achieve. All too often, you are your primary impediment. You are usually the biggest problem in your own way. With rare exception, there is little you cannot achieve if you truly determine to achieve it. I know that these young people can excel at chemistry if they really want to.
Some of them decide to do something different. One young lady missed two exams and performed poorly on the other three, and so she will receive an "F". I contacted her to remind her that she missed two exams so that she's not surprised, but if she libels me anonymously on the internet, I will not be surprised. Unlike some of my colleagues, I don't go into the classroom determined to prove that I'm better or smarter or more likely to succeed than they are. Even if that's true today, it doesn't mean it always must be. Some of these folks may one day become colleagues or my boss, and so I treat them like human beings so that if they have power to influence my life some day they will hopefully return the favor. They are paying a great deal of money to be there, and I don't think they really want to pay to have their potential or intelligence or efforts insulted. I don't usually go places and say, "Here's $20. Will you insult me for half an hour?" Sometimes I ask them if they're serious, particularly when their efforts tell me a different story than their words.
Perhaps it is a curse that I care. I think that my unsatisfied students don't like how I care or that I care in ways different than what they like. However, I realize that it's not in their best interest to do things for them. The Gerber Theorem of collegiate accomplishment calls for us to baby them and spoonfeed them, and that just makes them dependent. Instead, I believe in them and hope they will rise to the challenge, and then when the slackers and shirkers are gone, I relax things and we get into the true learning process. By the time the semester ends, most of the students (there are always a few hard cases it seems) get engaged even in things they don't like because they know that it could be relevant or interesting or inspiring or influential. I hope they know that I care, and that even when they find it hard to believe in themselves that someone else believes in their potential.
My IQ is not as high as people expect. Your IQ as I understand it tells you only the potential you have to assimilate knowledge. It tells nothing about your ability to use it or especially to use it to help others, and so I see many people who are average in the classroom making great strides because they can put things into sidewalk terms. I know that everyone will go through periods when they are wise and periods where they are otherwise. Due to my belief in a Savior, I believe that they can overcome their otherwise moments and become greater. I do not believe that people are bad; I think if you removed everything good about a person you would not be left with a bad person. You would be left with nothing at all.
The time may come when the administration detests and halts what I do. I know there are students who don't like what I'm doing right now. I also know that the administration of my department knows people by name and face who sing my praise, not because I'm particularly brilliant, but because I helped them find meaning in the course. After all, having true faith is what changes people. They tend to rise to the level we expect. Even one of my students who didn't score well enough to move on will return humbly because she knows that she needs to devote more time and make it a priority. I know she can do it if she truly desires to.
In the end, you are the largest influence that determines what kind of person you will be. I make a lot of seemingly unimportant decisions daily that change my life and increase my options. Although I will probably never enjoy the fruits of the GOBNet or the MyFaves in society, I also don't have to deal with the insidious behaviors that accompany such a system. It makes a great difference to know that people believe in you when you run up against opposition, and it's why I invest time and effort into the relationships of people around me who have a potential help meet, because I know how much more difficult it is to rely on a Being I have never actually seen to keep up my strength and faith. Particularly in the Christmas season, I know how much it means to folks to have someone believe in them who doesn't have to, and that's how the semester usually ends. I hope they are well and prosperous and making a difference. I don't usually hear back, but I believe they can be wonderful if they choose to be.
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