Real Life Q&A with Camy Tang

January 2004

Q: My French teacher sucks. I mean, she's really unfair and not a very competent teacher. She's also the only teacher for French 3 and 4. I'm thinking of switching to Spanish 1 instead. What should I do?

A: We've all had bad teachers, but realistically, there isn't much you can do about it; it's not something you can control. You need to weigh the pros and cons--the time already invested in French, what the Spanish teacher is like, how you'll like starting over in another language. What exactly does the French teacher do that makes it difficult for you? Are they things you can live with if your desire to continue French is great enough? Are there other educational options for you, like community college classes? Take a piece of paper and write out all the issues at stake.

Here's some more advice to help you make your decision:

Pray

1. Actually schedule a time to pray. Don't tell yourself you'll pray sometime this week. This week will turn into next week before you know it, and you still won't have laid your concerns before God.

2. Pray specifically:

Present your problems to God. "Lord, this is my problem..."

Submit to God. THIS IS IMPORTANT. You must go to God willing to do whatever He may ask you to do--whether to stick it out in French, or switch to Spanish. If you go to God with your own agenda--"Lord, I'm really only willing to do this..."--then He won't answer you. He'll wait for you to submit to Him first.

Ask for wisdom and guidance. God will orchestrate things to clearly reveal to you His answer--whether through a Bible verse, a friend, or just coincidental circumstances. Be open to hearing His answer.

Pray for your teacher. It won't be easy, but God asks us to pray for everyone, and sometimes things start to look differently when we do. If you have submitted yourself to God, you will see the importance of doing this, too.

Trust God.

He may take a while to answer, or the answer may not be what you want to hear, but He will not leave you hanging. Trust Him to know what's best for you, and what will make you happiest in the long run. There are never any regrets when you follow God's will.

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