Ancient Greece versus Ancient Rome: Which one is preferable?
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Category Archives: Learning/Education
ON READING WELL
I will be interviewing Professor Karen Swallow Prior next month, but this is a terrific interview on what great books can do for us:
https://www.moodyradio.org/programs/chris-fabry-live/2018/09-2018/2018.09.05-on-reading-well/
TRAGIC EQUATION…OF AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY
When I used to teach at a Christian, high school, I put the following equation on the blackboard during the first day of class. I called it “The Tragic Equation of American Christianity.” It does not just hold true for high school students!
In big, bold letters I wrote A+B+C+D=E.
I told the students that each letter represented a word. At first, they were quiet and reluctant to guess. I helped them with A which stands for anger. For B or boredom, a student guessed correctly. When that happened, the proverbial dam broke. These students definitely resonated with my equation.
The rest of equation looks like this: Anger+Boredom+Cynicism+Disillusionment=Empty
I’ve been spending some focused time as of late pondering why so many Christians resonate with this equation. I regularly have conversations with Christians who candidly admit to things like disillusionment and boredom. For the most extreme, we have the new moniker of Dones, those who are “done” identifying with a church, yet still self-consciously holding on to Christian beliefs.
I had lunch with a friend last week where we talked a bit about why many church attenders simply want some inspiration for their week, but are apathetic about engaging with God’s Word and uninterested in His mission. Among other things, these folks don’t appreciate how much they are missing out. It is a great joy to see your feeble, fallen self used by God for His glory.
I interact with many Christians who have little curiosity about growing in their understanding of the Christian faith. There’s really no need because they are not involved in ministries that require resources beyond their natural abilities. They are plenty capable of living their lives in their own strength, or so it seems for now.
Most reflections later…
IMAGINE DONALD TRUMP’S LIBRARY
HOW CHANGE HAPPENS
Brilliant piece by Alan Jacobs (HT: John Fea)
SEALS TRAIN OLYMPIANS
I find this sort of thing motivating. Shout outs to Bill and Helen Reeves and Joe and Jill Wolfskill:
I AM SIGNING
WHY I AM NOT ON TWITTER OR FACEBOOK
Echo chambers abound. In other words, on Facebook and Twitter you “gather” with like-minded people who confirm your entrenched views.
Funny name that Facebook. There is no real face to face interaction and “gathering” or connecting is all virtual. Real person to person interaction has gone the way of the Dodo bird!
Great pooling of ignorance. Yes, there are thoughtful people on both Facebook and Twitter, but there are many more who are ignorant, and a large percentage seem not to know it!
The ancient Greeks said that to “learn is to suffer.” Real learning usually means we have to unlearn something that we believed to be true. This rarely happens, though I know of a few examples like the Westboro Baptist woman who realized via social media that her views were wrong. But these kinds of examples are rare, very rare. Probably not wise to build a case for something based on rare examples.
Let’s say you spend twenty minutes a day on Facebook and /or Twitter. That adds up to a little over 120 hours per day. Now think what you could do with 120 extra hours!
IMAGINE AUGUSTINE AS YOUR PROFESSOR!
Some books are long, but relative to their length you don’t benefit much. Some books are short, but relative to their length you benefit greatly. Joseph Clair’s new book, On Education, Formation, Citizenship and the Lost Purpose of Learning fits in the latter category.
In 120 pages Clair gives a crisp and thoughtful account of how higher education has lost its moral rudder. To make his case, Clair uses the always insightful and relevant, Bishop of Hippo: Augustine.
Instead of simply detailing the problem, Clair offers some suggestive and practical antidotes. I will mention just one as it is similar to something I’ve been thinking about. Clair mentions that teacher training ought to consider learning from “demanding vocations for inspiration and guidance—for example, Navy Seals, Jesuits, professional athletics—where a sense of identity and purpose provide a strong team spirit and where the results of a shared effort are judged on the basis of the whole community’s performance.”
There was one thing that made me reticent to recommend this book: the cost. That has now been rectified due to being out in a reasonable paperback.
REAL LEARNING IS RISKY BUSINESS!
https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/article/ross-douthat-and-the-catholic-academy/4967/
“The letter to the Times is indicative indeed of a much wider problem in our intellectual culture, namely, the tendency to avoid real argument and to censor what makes us, for whatever reason, uncomfortable. On many of our university campuses this incarnates itself as a demand for “safe spaces,” where students won’t feel threatened by certain forms of speech or writing. For the first time in my life, I agreed with Richard Dawkins who recently declared on Twitter, ‘A university is not a “safe space”. If you need a safe space, leave, go home, [and] hug your teddy…until [you are] ready for university.'”