Jesse and I joined the faculty at Leyte Christian College just in time to begin teaching the second semester of the 2012-2013 school year. I taught “Women of God.” It was a great experience.
Not many people know that teaching at the collegiate level is one of my life goals. When I was in my fourth year at Harding University, I wrote my life goals in green pen on an index card and tacked it on my dorm room wall. Most of the goals on that little card seemed terribly far away back then. As Jesse and I prayed about joining LCC, I was almost giddy to reach one of my (impossible) life goals.
The “Women of God” class was an overview of women from the Old and New Testament. I taught the 2nd year women. The class was only 13 students: a great size for discussion and group work. I was very spoiled to have a great group of girls. They all studied very hard and learned a lot during the semester.
I lectured on the big-name female characters: Eve, Sarah, Rebekah.
Even better, we studied the lesser known women: Jael, Abigail, Michal
We tackled harder questions. Questions that we don’t cover on a Sunday morning.
Who is the angel of the Lord?
Why is Delilah in the Bible?
What exactly is the “seed” of a woman?
Discussion classes are hard. Very hard. You must think critically and be brave enough to be wrong. The education in the Philippines focuses on memorization of facts, but does not focus on evaluating and utilizing those memorized facts. I want to push my students toward critical thinking. They were uncomfortable, but they did a great job.
I invited the class to my home to celebrate the end of the semester. We had cinnamon coffee cake, chocolate bundt cake, fruit salad, coffee, and Southern sweet tea. The girls were delighted! They deserved a special day after all their hard work.
What about you? How would you encourage critical thinking in college students?
