The Abbot and the Teacher 7

In 64:10 of Benedict’s Rule, he writes that the abbot must always “let mercy triumph over judgment so that he too may win mercy.” These words seem hard to translate from the monastery into the classroom. It seems that a teacher who lets mercy triumph over judgment is a teacher who gives up on the rigorous expectations that make good academic work possible.

It’s true that, as a teacher, I’m always making judgments. I’m expected to evaluate where my students are. Then, I’m supposed to define a clear strategy for how to get them from where they are to where I want them to be. Along the way, I must judge their progress. And by the end of the course, I have to make a judgment about their entire journey and whether they’ve arrived at their destination. All of this judgment work is buried in the letters A, B, C, D, and F. So, if I let mercy triumph over judgment, it seems I must neglect some of the essential aspects of being a
teacher.

But I don’t think so.

I have seen how mercy’s triumph over judgment deepens the educational experience for my students and me. And it’s because mercy’s triumph over judgment does not have to involve letting go of all standards. The triumph does not destroy rigor. Rather, mercy’s triumph over judgment involves adjusting the timeline and the support that make judgment possible to the unique circumstances of the student being judged.

Before encountering this chapter of the Rule, my way of judging my students involved setting a rigid standard for the entire class and then applying it—once and for all—like a cookie cutter. Those who fell within the outline of my judgment were labeled as good students. Those who fell outside the outline were the poor ones.

But after encountering this chapter, my way of judging students involved setting a standard for the entire class and then applying it again and again, in different ways, depending on the student. So, instead of a rigid cookie cutter, my judgment became more like a process of interpersonal discernment. This student needs more time. That one needs a different method of demonstrating learning. This one needs to meet one-on-one with me a few times. That one can withstand being pushed harder than the others.

This is a helpful way of understanding the relationship between mercy and judgment. I must judge my students. Judgment is essential to my vocation. But I can do so in a way that is attentive and that accompanies the students along their individual journeys through the semester. Judgment in the classroom doesn’t have to be a mechanistic, once-and-for-all, application. It can be a personal process. When mercy triumphs over judgment, the judge is tailoring the judgment to the unique circumstances and needs of the one being judged. My ultimate goal is the good of the one being judged. My capacity to judge is for them, not the other way around.