As a teacher, I’ve always fancied myself something of a “lifelong learner.” If I had my druthers, I’d be a professional student—go to school forever and just learn new stuff all the time.
But to be completely honest, if I’m going to learn something, it has to be something I’m at least somewhat interested in. For the most part, if I’m not interested, I will mentally check out.
Flipping the Switch: From Frustration to Competition
Every now and then, though, I’ll hit a wall with a class, a concept, or a book. I’ll struggle with it until a switch flips and I get fiercely competitive. It’s almost as if I think to myself, “I hate this, but dammit, I’m going to master it.” There’s only a thin line between love and hate—both are fueled by passion. Sometimes, I’m able to channel that absolute frustration into a determination to conquer the subject.
I learned this about myself during my final semester of student teaching.
Meeting a Campus Legend
I was taking a class with a professor who was a literal legend at my university. She was a frail, petite, older lady who looked completely harmless—but she was an incredibly strict grader. She was the one instructor everyone warned you to avoid. She had nearly run some of my classmates out of the program entirely.
Our assignments involved building comprehensive unit plans for teaching novels. When I got my first unit plan back, the grade was dismal—maybe a D. But she allowed resubmissions, and her notes were meticulously detailed.
My competitive streak kicked in. I refused to let this little old lady beat me. I took her notes, overhauled the project, and turned it in again. It came back with a higher grade, but more notes: “Rob, what about this? You should do that.”
Cracking the Code
I ended up resubmitting that project three times until it was an A. I was chasing her down, even dropping off revised papers after hours at her local church because I knew she’d be there.
Midway through the semester, she addressed the class about her reputation. She told us, “I want you to be able to take these unit plans and actually use them throughout your career. I want them to be comprehensive enough to work.”
Hearing that, the lightbulb went on. She wasn’t just being a hard-ass; she was forcing us to become real teachers. I had cracked the code. By the time the semester ended, the fear was gone, and we had a great rapport.
The Grandmother Hen
Roughly eight years later, I had to have my teaching certificate reinstated and ended up in her classroom once again. On the first day, I walked up to her and said, “I had you eight years ago. I hated you at first. But you made me a better student and a better teacher, and I just wanted to thank you.”
While the rest of the university cowered in fear at this tiny woman, those of us who survived her knew the truth: she was a mother hen—a grandmother hen, really—who gave out friendly hugs once you proved you were willing to do the work.
Becoming a Student of the Grind
When that determination hits me, I truly become a student. I rely on what I call “active reading”—books, notes, and heavy highlighting. I’ll get up at 5:00 AM or burn the midnight oil on a Sunday, reading and rereading sources until I completely devour the subject. Sometimes it takes grinding through a study group just to absorb the concepts through osmosis, and sometimes it takes rewriting an essay three times for a terrifying professor.
But once I decide I’m going to master something, I don’t stop until it’s conquered.
Rebuilding a life takes grit, consistency, and a lot of ‘Option C’ thinking. Whether I’m closing in on 1,000 consecutive days of blogging or reflecting on the decade of work that brought me here, the mission remains the same: No glitz. Just the work. New to the blog? Start your journey here to see the blueprint and the ‘Tricorder’ perspective behind the rebuild.
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The article “Cracking the Code: Lessons From a Campus Legend” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob
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