Article September 4, 2000 Issue

MY REAL EDUCATION

Melanie Ann Wahlberg

Up to this point, my adult life has been spent mostly in a college setting—first as a student, and then for a couple of years as a professor. Mathematics was my main focus during this time. What I found, though, was that my most valuable lessons weren't about math. My real education was a spiritual one. I was learning that all of us—my classmates, my professors, my students, and I—are children of God.

This realization didn't immediately solve all classroom problems, but it did help me to value everyone's spiritual nature. In some respects, I came to feel that the subject matter we were studying was a backdrop for learning more about spirituality. This perspective on my work was an antidote to fear, self-doubt, competitiveness, and pride. One recent example stands out to me.

Last year one of my students questioned almost every explanation I gave the class. I felt picked on and even defensive. The other students didn't like the interruption, either. After a few weeks of simply enduring this behavior, I realized that I was not living up to my responsibility as a teacher. The whole class—and the teacher—deserved a peaceful and productive learning experience.

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