Identity and integrity are closely related concepts. How do you understand their relationships and distinctions? What does each concept mean to you?
Identity and integrity are concepts that shape one another. Your identity is how you and others view who you are. The way you feel about what your total contribution to this world as a person and what you can offer it is your identity. Your identity is how you define yourself. Integrity is a large part of your identity. Integrity is being honest and consistent in your views and how you act towards other people. An example of integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking and no one will ever know if you did the right thing or not. How you behave in certain situations is a large part of your identity. People often define themselves by their belief system and morals and integrity is a part of your identity. How you treat people and act on a daily basis is going to be one of the main ways that you develop an identity for yourself. These two concepts are always in a state where they reflect upon one another. Your identity is always going to shape how much integrity you have, and your integrity is also going to define you as a person. As one becomes stronger, so does the other. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true. If you begin to lose part of your integrity and your devotion to behaving in an honest and honorable way, your identity will also suffer.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Reflections on Psalm 86
Read and reflect on Psalm 86:11-13 and respond to the questions below. .
"Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O LORD my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave."
What do you think is meant by an “undivided heart”?
An undivided heart means giving your all to something. As it applies to teaching, we are not to become part-time teachers and spend a good deal of our time in other ventures. I am a perfect example of that, I was taking online classes simultaneously to get my real estate license while I was getting my teaching credential, but I postponed the program once I started student-teaching because it took up too much time. I wanted to dedicate my time to teaching and learning how to teach (as I spend a lot more time learning than I do teaching!). I needed to have an undivided heart towards teaching. Once I feel that I am an expert teacher and have devoted enough time to teaching I can pursue other ventures, but right now is a time in my life where I need to have an undivided heart and totally dedicate myself to being the best teacher I can be. It makes it much easier since I love teaching so much and I really really really hope I can get a job once I'm done student teaching.
What is at the “heart” of your life as a teacher?
The heart of my life as a teacher is service. I did not enter the teaching profession so that I could become wealthy and obtain many worldly possessions. Sadly, that is the goal of some people who really have no direction in their life and their materialistic outlook leads to greed instead of a relationship with God and with other people. My ultimate goal in life is to have a positive influence on as many people as I possibly can and teaching is an excellent way to do that. There are so many young students out there who have no direction, no positive role models, and no hope. Hopefully I can be the person to bring those things to some of them.
"Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O LORD my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave."
What do you think is meant by an “undivided heart”?
An undivided heart means giving your all to something. As it applies to teaching, we are not to become part-time teachers and spend a good deal of our time in other ventures. I am a perfect example of that, I was taking online classes simultaneously to get my real estate license while I was getting my teaching credential, but I postponed the program once I started student-teaching because it took up too much time. I wanted to dedicate my time to teaching and learning how to teach (as I spend a lot more time learning than I do teaching!). I needed to have an undivided heart towards teaching. Once I feel that I am an expert teacher and have devoted enough time to teaching I can pursue other ventures, but right now is a time in my life where I need to have an undivided heart and totally dedicate myself to being the best teacher I can be. It makes it much easier since I love teaching so much and I really really really hope I can get a job once I'm done student teaching.
What is at the “heart” of your life as a teacher?
The heart of my life as a teacher is service. I did not enter the teaching profession so that I could become wealthy and obtain many worldly possessions. Sadly, that is the goal of some people who really have no direction in their life and their materialistic outlook leads to greed instead of a relationship with God and with other people. My ultimate goal in life is to have a positive influence on as many people as I possibly can and teaching is an excellent way to do that. There are so many young students out there who have no direction, no positive role models, and no hope. Hopefully I can be the person to bring those things to some of them.
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