Thank You, Father for Sleep

I fought going to bed until 8:45 last night, but I must have needed it..  I feel SO much better this morning.   How thankful I am for the GIFT of sleep, and for the nourishment it is to my body.  This morning I've been able to grade all the mid- term tests for 36 students.  I've even got a list of their approximate standing in the class so that they can know what it will take to get the final grade they want.  As I began to plan, it suddenly dawned on me that I am planning classes for THIS WEEK and NEXT WEEK.  That is it! 


Can you believe you have stuck with these posts for FIVE of the SEVEN weeks now?   Please pray that I finish well! (There is LOTS of grading to be done in these two weeks.)  Someone asked what is required for the students' finishing well.  Some of them still need lots of help with critical thinking, following directions and writing organized outlines.  Others are improving listening skills. All of them need to make sure that they stay on top of reading assignments in the text.  I really do have some excellent students who would do well in any classroom setting you placed them in, but others need lots of  extra help.  It's not hard to want to help them when you realize their background and how much they have been deprived of educational opportunities over the past 14 years. It's amazing what they all know when you realize how little lab equipment, or even textbooks are generally available. 


  I'll be giving notes today on ways to motivate your audience and how to use visual aids effectively.  That's about all the time that is left when you consider how much time it will take to listen to 36 persuasive speeches and give the final exams.


There are 13 of the 36 students that I teach in Public Relations.  They have a final project that takes the place of an exam.  It's BIG, and they don't have a background in thinking big.  I find the task of guiding them in doing quality work daunting.  I've seen what's out there in "the professional world of Liberia" and what I've seen isn't too good.  I want my students to be able rise above that level.