A Teacher's Report Card

I'm reading J.B. Phillips' translation of the New Testament this year, and I recently came upon his rendering of Mark 6:30. "The apostles returned to Jesus and reported to him every detail of what they had done and taught."  Here is a crucial lesson for everyone who seeks to be a teacher of others.  The teacher must regularly come back to his master -- the one from whom the teacher has received the gift and calling to teach -- and report every detail of what he has done (practiced) and taught.

A teacher is not an authority in and of himself.  Rather, he or she, as a teacher, must always see himself as subject to the scrutiny of others.  This is the way that the teacher yields and submits his life and teaching to the constant evaluation of his master.  For the teacher who “professes” this will mean a recognition that “though in my profession I believe that I am correct and indeed am willing to make the relevant commitments based on that belief—and in the case of religious beliefs, the risk of faith—yet I am willing to have others explore the truth-claim for themselves” (Reichenbach 20).

I need to take heed to the apostles' example and regularly report to my Master Teacher all that I have done and taught.  May I always be ready and willing to hear the evaluations and critiques of my colleagues and my students as they explore the substance of my life and teaching for themselves.  No less than the Apostle Paul was subject to the scrutiny of others as those in Berea he taught searched the Scriptures daily to see if what he had said was actually so.

Reichenbach, Bruce R. “On Being a Professor: The Case of Socrates.”

Should God Get Tenure?: Essays on Religion & Higher Education. Ed. David W. Gill. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997. 8-26.