ON TEACHING: Each Word a Gift

"Say only what helps, each word a gift.” --Ephesians 4:29

I wonder how many words I say to my students each day. Hundreds of thousands? Millions? It’s surely an enormous number, and, as Paul reminds me this morning, each word I speak should be a “gift” to my students. Each of my words should be spoken as if I am giving a present to the students – something I have wrapped especially for them to open and enjoy. Some teachers give stickers as gifts; I give my spoken words. I give my words in the sense that I place them in the “hands” of the students so they can make use of them. Just as I might give a pencil to a student to use on an essay, so each word I say in class can, hopefully, be used by the students to make their lives a little better, a little happier. I place each word in their hands like a practical tool. My words today should be so carefully chosen that they can also act like good medicine. The doctor gives cough medicine to her patient, and I give kind and gentle words to my students. We both administer "medication" in the hopes of healing lives.