Wise Beyond Their Years

I've got one more class with my Wildwood students on Wednesday. One more class. Granted, they have their oral final exam next Wednesday (five groups of three students for 30 minutes per group), but that will probably be more fun for me than for them.

In addition to their friendship this year, one of the things that has meant a lot to me has been the way the students have grown in and sought to apply what they've learned. For instance, here are the questions they came up with for discussion in our grand finale on Wednesday:

• How do we live in a world of foolishness as wise men/women?

• How do we formulate a balanced response to expected but difficult events in life?

• How do we apply wisdom to our interaction with various forms of media (television, video games, movies, music)?

• How do we fulfill a commitment of love in a commitment-less world?

• How do we think critically rather than cynically/judgmentally?

• How do we discern between what is seemingly right (public school sex education, condom distribution) with what’s biblically right?

• How do we address the issues that are no longer considered “issues” (i.e. divorce)?

• How do we apply wisdom to our political attitudes?

• Is morality a means to or an outcome of change?

• In what ways does character affect our ability/credibility to lead others?

• What gave Solomon the right to call wisdom "vanity" in Ecclesiastes 1-2?

Anybody recognize these questions from when you were 15-18? Me neither.

One more class together. We're for sure taking a picture. I'm going to miss them.