There are No Shortcuts for Learning How to Play the Piano
Me at the Piano 2009
Psalm 81:12 NIV
"So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices."
"We don't have to do all the steps, do we?" demanded my sophomore. I looked at her in disbelief from my spot in front of the room. My jaw hit the floor with a thud.
The writing test assessment is tomorrow. I have spent the better part of a month practicing the steps for effective writing with these weak writers. Thesis, Brainstorm, Rough Draft, Final Copy--of course they need to "do" the steps. Otherwise, why have we written three essays in the last two weeks and practiced the steps each time?
The girl glared at me as I stammered an answer.
"Well, of course you need to do the steps, but I can't make you follow them. I'm not going to hit you or anything if you don't do what I've taught you. But if you choose not to follow the steps, then good luck on your essay."
Shortcuts. The girl wants a shortcut to quality work. All the students in the class want my tacit approval to take the shortcut, but I refused to back down.
Unfortunately, she won't be the only one to try to pass by doing the least amount of work. Others will try to accomplish this assessment without the prep work as well. They aren't capable of squeezing out a passing grade. The weaker students need the steps.
"Well, I'm not going to do the steps!" the defiant girl concluded. I can only imagine the negative impact she had on others in the room who will now also consider taking the shortcut.
I wonder how many times in a day negative people interfere with my ability to produce my best work? How many times has negativity shot down my enthusiasm or squelched an idea? Has my own desire to take shortcuts in life impacted others? Have I ever been my defiant student?
God knows better than I about barriers to success that we put in front of ourselves. I know this girl is a talented enough writer to probably pass the test, but how many others will follow her lead and fail because they didn't want to take the time to do the work correctly?
Quality work demands quality time. There are no shortcuts to obtaining a desired goal.
-------------------------------------------
Lord, I pray that I will never be like my defiant student, one who would lead others to failure.
No comments:
Post a Comment