Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition - Mentor's Guide

M E N T O R N O T E S / 1 8 7

Seek to make your times of study a time of spiritual refreshment and awakening as much as it is a time of reflection and dialogue on the truth . If at all possible, structure your time in such a way that you can allow for prayer for the students, and encourage the same in their lives. Prayer has profound power to intermingle with your teaching and produce fruit in their lives with powerful effect. The Lord is willing to help them grow to become more like his Son, and be as effective as they need to be as they learn and apply these truths. Above all, it is imperative on the assignments you provide that you be clear. Make certain that the students understand the assignment for next week, especially the written piece. This is not difficult; the goal is that they would read the material as best as they can and write a few sentences on what they take them to mean. This is a critical intellectual skill for your students to learn, so make sure that you encourage them in this process. Of course, for those students who might find this difficult, assure them of the intent behind this assignment, and emphasize their understanding of the material being the key, not their writing skills. We want to improve their skills, but not at the expense of their encouragement and edification. Nor, however, do we want to sell them short. Strike to find the midpoint between challenge and encouragement here. Excellence is to be expected from your students, and of course, we know that students will have different abilities to do intellectual work – reading, writing, and so on. While we want to emphasize credible academic performance, we do not wish to exalt these indicators over softness of heart, readiness to obey the Word of God, and availability to serve Christ as he leads by the Spirit. Constantly monitor your own emphasis on grades, assignments and academic performance. These are important, but not all important. Focus on the main thing: unconditional availability to Christ to obey him in our lives as he directs us.

& 9 page 438 Counseling and Prayer

& 10 page 439 Assignments

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