052: Coworkers/Cofighters

April 8, 2010
1 Samuel 13:1-7

I have an office on campus that I share with at least five other people. We have two computers, four desks, four chairs, and a lot of good times. Because we’re all adjunct faculty, we all have different schedules, but I regularly see at least two of my coworkers, both of which teach the same course I do, and I have the honor of being able to pick their teacher brains for ideas and wisdom.

I love my job. It seems like just about the perfect job for me right now. Granted, I don’t always like reading papers, and I get a little tired of the 5:30AM alarm every morning, but I get to socialized and interact with students, faculty, and staff on campus, I get to challenge myself to come up with new and innovative lessons and teaching methods, and I get to pour my creative and mental energy into making the subjects I teach interesting and applicable while also fulfilling the requirements of what I need to teach.

This passage from 1st Samuel makes me think of movies like Band of Brothers and other war-type storylines where people come together and form a team. I think that’s one of the greatest blessings God has given us – the ability to collaborate, draw support from each other, garnish ideas off each other, and together, accomplish something greater than any one of us could do alone.

Granted, Saul’s army isn’t so great in this passage, but I’m sure there were lots of nights of sitting around the campfires, sharing stories, sharing water sacks, offering tips on how to better lace their sandals, etc. It kind of makes me wish I could time travel back to Bible times and just sit around with some of the soldiers for a couple evenings. I would like to know the soldiers. It seems like so frequently the soldiers of Israel just get collectively referred to, and they don’t get their individual stories shared. I wish I could fill in those gaps.

By the end of a class, my goal is to make my classroom feel like a band of soldiers having gone through many nights of swapping stories under the stars. Granted, I can’t make my students “gel” with each other, but as a person who loves hospitality and enjoys making people feel at home, I want my classroom to feel like a homey, haven of sorts. One of my teachers in college – Ann Williamson, the instructor of Intro to Education – did an amazing job at making the classroom feel like “home.” I remember that I loved going to her class – I always could feel some of my stress going away when I walked through the doors.

I want to challenge my students – after all, every good team needs a challenge to see if they have what it takes for them to come out in the way they want to come out – but I also want to encourage them to build those fellow-fighter type relationships. And I am so thankful for the people who are with me in the academic trenches, helping me along as we go through this college world.