On my first day of teaching in 1976 on West Trinity Lane in Nashville, the room was arranged, my lesson was well prepared, the materials were ready, and I was on my way to educating students. At first, I had my students’ attention, but one by one their minds and bodies began to wander. They moved around the room, began talking to each other, and one actually left the room without permission. I just stood there without a clue about what to do. I did not want to hurt feelings, raise my voice, or create a negative learning environment.
After about 20 minutes of chaos, my principal stopped in to check on me. She instantly brought order to the class and finished the lesson so I could pull myself back together. Afterwards, we had a discussion about classroom management. I told her I loved my students and did not want to upset them in any way. She frankly defined loving students for me. Love has order, the students’ respect, discipline, a well-planned lesson, and an acute awareness of every student’s needs.
Since then I have spent the last sixteen years defining love at CPA. It looks different with every student, teacher, and parent. That is why I am so blessed to be a part of what God is doing at CPA.
