By Samuel C. Villa Jr., associate professor at Cebu Technological University Main Campus-Dumanjug Extension
A fter years of standing before college students, preparing lessons, checking papers, conducting research and listening to explanations, I have learned something important about teaching: students need teachers who know when to be kind, when to be passionate and when to be strict. I have learned this not only from educational theories and books but also from real classroom experiences. As a professor, I have seen students arrive carrying more than backpacks. Some carry financial struggles, family problems, academic pressure, uncertainty about their future and the quiet fear that they are not good enough. That realization has changed the way I teach.
There are days when a student approaches me with an explanation for a missed requirement: “Sir, I forgot,” “Sir, I had a problem,” “Sir, my internet connection was…” and the classic, “Sir, I thought the deadline was tomorrow.” After hearing these lines for years, professors can almost complete the sentences for students. But experience has taught me that not every excuse hides laziness; sometimes it hides a genuine struggle. Ephesians 4:32 reminds us, “Be kind and compassionate to one another.” Kindness means listening before judging, correcting without humiliating and giving students the courage to try again. But kindness also needs boundaries. If every deadline comes with an extension, students may eventually think that “deadline” means “suggested date.” Grace should never become an excuse for irresponsibility.
One of the most rewarding moments in teaching is seeing a student’s face change when something finally makes sense. That moment makes the lesson preparation, research, paperwork and academic headaches worthwhile. A passionate teacher helps students see that education is more than passing examinations; it is about developing curiosity and discovering possibilities. Romans 12:11 says, “Never be lacking in zeal.” Students can tell when a professor is merely completing a lecture and when they genuinely care about the subject. Passion is contagious. If we enter the classroom uninterested, students will likely follow our example. But when we teach with enthusiasm and purpose, we invite them to become curious, too. A passionate teacher does not simply deliver information; a passionate teacher makes students care about it.
Then comes the quality students sometimes appreciate only much later: strictness. As professors, we sometimes have to say, “This needs improvement,” “Please do it again,” or the sentence that can instantly change the temperature of a classroom: “I cannot accept this anymore.” Being strict is not always comfortable, but education is not a popularity contest. Life has deadlines, work has standards and responsibilities have consequences. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Strictness, however, should never become cruelty. The goal is not to embarrass students, but to challenge them to grow. Sometimes, “You can do better” is more helpful than “That’s good enough.”
After years of teaching, I have realized that these three qualities should not compete; they should work together: kindness understands, passion inspires and discipline prepares. A teacher should be compassionate enough to recognize a student’s struggle, enthusiastic enough to make learning meaningful and firm enough to maintain standards. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before others.” For educators, that light is not found only in our degrees, credentials, research, or lectures. It is also reflected in our character and in the way we treat the people entrusted to us. Students are watching — not only what we teach, but how we live what we teach.
And that is one of the greatest responsibilities of being a professor. Years from now, students may forget a particular lecture or examination question, but the lessons that shaped their character may stay with them far beyond graduation. And here is the funny irony: the professor students complain about today may be the professor they thank tomorrow. One day, when life gives them a deadline that cannot be extended, a responsibility that cannot be avoided, or a challenge that demands their best, they may finally understand why their professor kept saying, “You can do better.”
Education is not simply about helping students pass a subject. It is about preparing them to face life with character, competence and courage. So, to every teacher and professor, may we strive to be kind enough to care, passionate enough to inspire and strict enough to prepare. For when the classroom doors finally close and our students move on, our greatest achievement will not simply be what they learned from us.
It will be who they became because we taught them.
