Patience is a virtue (that I'm not quite blessed with)

Well, my 2nd year of teaching is underway! We are actually on our third week of school, and so far, so good! This group of 8th graders seems to be a little smarter and a little better behaved than my last group. I'm very optimistic about this year, and I hope that my students will continue to live up to these high expectations!

I think the challenge that has been set before me this year is patience. There are already two situations forming this year in which my patience (what little of it there is) has already be tested. One involves a student, and one involves a co-worker. I pray every morning on the way to school that I will show God's love to everyone I come in contact with, but that is so hard to do with the little patience that I have, especially with these two! The student is one that continually asks questions after every statement I make, and the co-worker and I haven't fully fleshed out our co-teaching relationship together.

At church on Sunday, we read Romans 12 as a handbook for healthy relationships. There were 5 things that this Scripture says about forming healthy relationships:

1. Bring God into your relationships (Romans 12:1-2)

2. Let go of yourself (Romans 12:3-5)

3. Accept the worth of others (Romans 12:6-8)

4. Show REAL love (Romans 12:9-16)

5. Don't seek revenge (Romans 12:17-21)

In order to on my patience with these 2 patience-tryers, I think that I need to work on each of these steps in my teacher-student, co-worker-co-worker relationships. I especially need to focus on accepting the worth of these two people. We are each given gifts, and being inquisitive and being able to work with certain students' personalities are both things that have value to society. I just need to realize that value and how these gifts can enhance my classroom.

I hope all of y'all are having a good start to the school year/continuing to succeed in your jobs. Keep these 5 steps in mind when forming relationships with others as I try to do the same, especially in these already patience-trying relationships I'm building!