Category Archives: Learning/Education

NO LONGER IN KANSAS

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Some early reflections from a new course/writing project:

There are three things I’ve noticed about Christians who keep growing: They are teachable (you could say humble), pain has caused them to wrestle more honestly with the Christian faith, and they are curious/hopeful that there is much more to the Christian faith than what they presently experience.

To those of us in teaching positions we must have these qualities as well.  Dr. Howard Hendricks liked to say, “You can’t impart what you don’t possess.”  And Dr. Luke wrote, “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.”  (Luke 6:40)  Do you want people to embody the same virtues which characterize your life?

Those of us who teach need to work hard at saying things clearly and in ways that fire the imagination.  Thomas Paine’s approach in Common Sense reminds us of the former, while writers like Chesterton and Lewis help with the latter.

CAN’T SLOW DOWN TO THINK

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From Alan Lightman, the first professor at MIT with a joint appointment in the humanities and science (italics added):

I was on the Harvard faculty for 10 years before I went to MIT, so I have a good sense of the differences in the student bodies.  The students at MIT are brighter and they are quicker and more original, but they are not nearly as well read as the Harvard students. 

What I don’t like about MIT and I don’t mind saying this is that it’s too high pressure, it’s a workaholic place and I don’t think this is good for the students and I don’t think it’s good for the faculty.  The students are madly rushing to learn as much as they can.  They take as many courses as they can.  They just assume that more is better.  It is their mantra.  The more you can cram in, the better.  They assume that all technology is progress.  If you design a car that goes at twice the speed as the current cars, you should design it.  If you can build a machine that goes twice as fast, you should build it.  If you can build a computer that stores twice the information, you should build it.  They just assume without questioning that more is better.  They don’t take the time or they don’t have the time to slow down and really think about what is important, what is the value of their lives, what is the value of this technology, to question the technology.  Some technology can be used well and some cannot be used well, how should we be using the technology?  What is important?  They don’t the time to go back to square zero and ask the question, why are we doing this?  What do I really believe in?  What’s really important?  They don’t have the time for that.  The students and faculty are similar.  They are all rushing too rapidly.

The rest is here: http://www.concordlibrary.org/scollect/fin_aids/OH_Texts/Lightman.html

LEARNING…A POEM

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Learning

By David George Moore

Learning requires unlearning

That’s why so few are educated

It’s more than concerning

To find cherished beliefs overrated

But go past the pain

Of admitting error

And you will discover great gain

Wisdom is a worthy standard-bearer

RATE MY PROFESSOR

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Every now and then I will check out Rate My Professor.  It is flawed like any human assessment.  One disgruntled student can dramatically change the professor’s teaching effectiveness number (highest is 5.0).  Along with a numerical rank there is room for students to give short descriptions.  Here is one of my favorites.  I interviewed RJ on one of his terrific books.

“If you fear confronting the questions that undergird your existence, then do us all a favor and don’t take Dr. Snell. Also, if you’re apathetic towards life in general, you might want to steer clear. But, if you’re willing to be challenged and hoping to engage in rigorous, substantial thinking, then take Dr. Snell.”

CHRIS MOORE

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Our youngest son, Chris, is planning on a career of scholarship and teaching at the university level.  He has majors in classics and philosophy.  Here is a picture of him a few weeks back getting early admittance into Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Texas.

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MOORE ON LEARNING

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Yesterday, I posted something on learning, so I thought to add another thought. 

My own philosophy education could kind of be boiled to two insights. First, is the ancient Greek saying of mathein pathein.  That is, to learn is to suffer.  It is similar to what I said yesterday how pain comes from true learning because it means finding out where we were in error.

Balancing out the sober insight of the ancient Greeks and Nietzsche is Ezekiel Cheever, headmaster in Massachusetts Bay.  Cheever said children ought to come to learn as “they come to play.”  Yes, real learning is tough, but it also includes joy.  And this from a dour Puritan!

PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE!

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Democracy in America by the Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville is one of my favorite books.  Tocqueville had an acute eye for this budding American experiment in democracy.  In light of the debate tonight, listen to his wisdom and keep in mind he wrote this in the 1830s!:

“A false notion which is clear and precise will always have more power in the world than a true principle that is obscure or involved.”