Partners in the Classroom
As we gear up for another semester of teaching our course “Integrating Faith and Entrepreneurship,” we spent some time reflecting on what went well in the classroom last year. Without question, the inclusion of outside voices was a major benefit to our students—and one of their favorite parts of the course. The reality is, as with any organization that seeks growth, we need strategic partners—people to come alongside and offer their wisdom, advice, and diverse experiences to help build a comprehensive and effective program. For us, outside voices took the form of practitioners from a variety of industries and scholars from around the world. Not only did the inclusion of guest speakers break up the lectures for our students (and candidly, the teachers), but it allowed students to hear incredibly diverse perspectives from people of a range of ages, races, genders, and faiths.
We felt that if we were to come close to achieving our goal of providing students with a “toolkit” of practices and resources for integrating their faith and work, we needed to give them real-world examples that far exceeded those which we ourselves had developed. So we brought in authors, impact investors, founders, CEOs, consultants, and marketing directors to discuss their navigation of the ups and downs of work and life. There were stories of mental health struggles, thriving investments, the chaos of job changes in the midst of raising a family, and the sweet satisfaction of realizing a calling. To be quite frank, the students were not the only ones who walked away inspired.
One of the most beautiful parts of so many religions’ core beliefs is an emphasis on community; the notion that not only do we not have to figure it out on our own, but that we aren’t meant to. In the same way that we have family, friends, or coworkers that support us, bringing in outside voices provides an extended community for our students—new and diverse wisdom that can challenge and encourage them to grow in ways they may never have considered. Our unique experiences not only produce growth in us as individuals, but they can be a source of comfort and encouragement for the people around us.
To be sure, there is a necessary level of discernment to determining who you want to bring in. As teachers, it is our job to steward our classrooms and students in ways that are beneficial for them. While that doesn’t mean excluding voices simply because they are different—that would truly be a detriment—it does mean that we need to be intentional to bring in people who can assist in cultivating the challenging and inspiring environment we desire our classrooms to be. So find diverse voices, and diverse in every sense: race, gender, religion, age, industry, etc. You never know just how impactful your guests may be for your students.
