The Leaves of Autumn

I do so love this time of year especially on early mornings watching the golden leaves rain down through my back windows and see deer gently walking around all of this while reading my Bible; pretty good morning!  Facing a busy day with Christmas cantata practice in a few minutes but I always look forward to that challenge. This week ends another week of challenge, opportunity, concern, joy, disappointment, mystery, mountaintops and valleys; thus life marches on!

This semester continues to stand as an anomaly from the previous dozens I have taught.  There are great numbers of successes and victories but still there are a couple of issues remaining, as we move into our sixth week of the journey, that I simply have not gotten my mind wrapped around yet.  There is something generally different about this semester and the general Student for I am hearing similar expressions of wonder and concern from other professors. Late arrivals, not grasping the work, no initiative, poor writing skills, not embracing the work, not showing up, not caring; and my prayer is that this is not a microcosm of the generation about to embark on life in the world of real adults. 

This week I have seen tears of disappointment. This week I have witnessed great victories as the teams come together into one organism of productivity. I have watched team leaders finally gain their footing and are embracing their role and delivering on a grand scale. I have had absolute validation that the Jim, Inc. concept is valid, viable and provides great synergy in addition to rich learning. I am pleased! But what Jim, Inc surfaces in a boldface manner is the scourge of the 20%ers in being impediments to growth and productivity of the 80%ers and how the 80%ers expect, demand leaders to eradicate the very essence of the Takers called the 20%ers. I love watching that unfold and how knowing that it never lets me shutoff my radar in seeking out any semblance of a 20%er. Yes, there are still a couple but they will self destruct under the weight and force of their team; peer pressure is potent and powerful and I love nurturing that for that is real life and these young minds are getting a laboratory opportunity to develop it as they prepare for their individual launch sequence into their working lives.

With all of that, the rewards, for me, are the eclectic ways the pain of lives find their way to me for that pain are impediments to growth.  I know great numbers of my students have already done things and are in in the present tense they themselves know, KNOW, they should not be and there is always a price to pay for bad choice. We all struggle with that but I have found the true joy of my efforts in teaching really comes from my students having enough respect and confidence in me to involve my prayers and hopes for them in opening up their lives to seek light in their world of darkness and discouragement.  My prayer and my hope is that in every situation presented me that God's Will is what is ushered forth and not some pearl of comment from my internal ego. I hurt when my students hurt as I do when my own family hurts.

I will close but restating what I state often: if you do what you have always done you will always get what you have always gotten.  Additionally, if you do not stand for something, you will fall for anything.  If you consolidate the essence of those two adages, you will smell the aroma of much discouragement, hurt, disgust and disappointment in far too many really great young people.  I do love what I get to do for an array of reasons but today's blog I believe captures what I value most more than just the teaching; it is about touching the future today!