Mentor's Manual

Sec t i on IV: Under s tand i ng the Mechan i cs of Cl as s I ns t ruc t i on 121

Academic Challenges Unavoidably, you will encounter TUMI students who are challenged with less-than-satisfactory academic background, those who have no real solid academic training or accomplishment, and who, by normal standards, would be disqualified from typical seminary inclusion. These individuals, from our vantage point, are precisely why TUMI was created. God’s standard of his own called, gifted warriors is a call to godliness and holiness, not a call to academic prowess and mastery. Eloquence is not required to be a Christian leader; being filled with the Holy Spirit certainly is. As you grade your students and engage their academic deficiencies, you must remember that you are training ministers of the Gospel, not scholars. While we employ traditional models of assessment in our classes (e.g., giving quizzes, exams, and grade reports), these are not the final indicators of success in a TUMI classroom. Grades are important, and we use this system unapologetically, but grades matter for reasons not obvious in its traditional educational settings. We are not seeking to fake out our students by creating detractors, questions, and exams that swoop down with the normal “Gotcha!” of traditional leadership assessment. It matters that our students are called of God and tend to be from less-than-stellar academic backgrounds. Arguably, this is one of your most challenging tasks as a TUMI mentor: to use traditional models of assessment without being enslaved by them. You must learn to acknowledge the effort and engagement of your students as well as their performance on quizzes and projects. Concentrate on character and excellence in all things, not merely in tokens of intelligence or their ability to recite back a particular point. Be fair, always being careful to challenge your students to learn, but refusing to penalize them for simply not having the background of your typical seminary candidate. Enough room is given to you as a mentor to grade the students fairly and in sync with their efforts and engagement. Do not assume that neglect in one’s academic background is to be equated with an inability to think or engage in solid dialogue about difficult, important matters. (Unfortunately, we have had mentors who falsely assumed that being poor was to be equated with being less than bright; poverty and stupidity have nothing in common, and we should avoid all crass stereotypes that would seek to connect them together!) Seek the Lord’s guidance as you work with your

in the Classroom

Dealing with Difficulties