Quick quiz: What philosopher said, “To think is easy, to act is difficult. To act as one thinks is the most difficult of all.”?
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A couple of days I received that phone call I enjoy so much. It goes like this:
Caller: “Hello, Dr. G? You probably don’t remember me, I was a student at the seminary a couple of years ago and never took a class with you. Now I’m in a church in an education staff position and . . . “
Me: “So, how’s that working out for you?”
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I’ve been reviewing video presentations for a project. Primarily I screen them for delivery rather than content. It’s amazing how many basic rules of good communication presenters break—consistently—even professional speakers and celebrated “master teachers.” The other side of the equation that puzzles me is the level of tolerance audiences seem to have for poor presentations. I wonder sometimes if we’ve seen so few well-delivered presentations that we’ve lowered our expectations, and therefore, demand so little of presenters. Most of the presentations I see are entertaining but not educational, even when they portend to be.
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Yesterday I heard President-elect Obama speak at a news conference where he introduced the new education secretary, Arne Duncan, head of the Chicago school system. One point Obama stressed was that we needed to increase our expectations about student performance. I agree wholeheartedly.
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It saddens me that with the passage of time the name Findley Edge is less known, much less his contribution to the crucial challenge of mobilizing “the laity” for active ministry. Edge was a theologian (and long time professor of practical theology) yet he could communicate so clearly and passionately to the person in the pew that he inspired thousands to find and pursue their personal ministries in the Kingdom.
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Some of us observe with amusement, and some impatience, the ongoing occasional conversations in theological education about the legitimacy, value, or congruence of online delivery for seminary education. At one time it was appropriate to include in that conversation talk about “emergent technologies,” but that epoch is past. Despite the track record of the effectiveness of online learning in just about every field of education, and the increasing number of schools, from kindergarten to graduate programs, that embrace online learning, theological education as a whole has been left in the dust.
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I’ll be teaching the educational philosophy course during J-term. It’s a course I enjoy teaching and one I think, when it connects with students, yields enduring understanding. Recently a former student wrote me to share his frustration at the lack of an educational philosophy at his church, and the effects it has on the practice of Christian education. It’s gratifying when we see evidence that students have cultivated discernment and understand the importance of educational foundations—theory and philosophy.
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Polemics against bad teaching and poor education are a staple in social science, philosophy, and education literature. I suspect for two reasons: first, they are effective in getting readers riled up, and, second, I suspect it’s just too easy to sling tomatoes at poor teachers. After all, who among us hasn’t suffered under one? However, I do love a good rant…
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I suffer from the male genetic malady of the Gadget Gene. If it blinks, lights up, requires batteries, has a button, buzzes, lights up, vibrates, connects to something else via wireless or a cord, and has a computer chip, I’m for it. I’m too much of a generalist to qualify for the lofty status of membership into geekdom, but I can understand the tribal dialect and can hold my own more often than not. I find some comfort in that I know I’m not alone in my malady (see Geekdad).
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I recently received a surprise call from a former professor of mine. He was gracious and kind to call me to congratulate me on the new job. A former dean himself I accepted the condolences. It was one of those tender conversations of a teacher expressing gratification (if not relief) for a former student’s success. And it was an opportunity for a former student to express gratitude to a mentor and teacher who opened up future possibilities. Those are tender moments, and they happen too infrequently.
At one point in our conversation my former teacher, long retired now, asked, “So, what are seminarians like these days?”
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