I must say, Postman almost redeemed himeslf in this final chapter, and after all his pessimism, I appreciated that he gave a semblance of solution to all the problems he had outlined previously. I enjoyed the term "loving resistance fighter" and although I don't think Postman would agree, his solution is what makes Christian education exciting. As Christian educators we do have the responsibility to our youth "to give them a sense of coherence in their studies, a sense of purpose, meaning, and interconnectedness in what they learn," (186) and although Postman would not agree, this is not possible without showing students that God, the creator, is the one who is responsible for that meaning and interconnectedness. It was almost humorous to me that Postman had to admit that "the Biblical version of creation, to the astonishment of everyone except possibly the fundamentalists, has turned out to be a near-perfect blend of artistic imagination and scientific intuition" (187). I have never considered myself a fundamentalist, but for just this one time I think I am happy to join that circle.
I appreciated Postman's closing remarks on the last two pages of his book, and I agree with his statement, "we need students who will understand the relationships between our technics and our social and psychic worlds, so that they may begin informed conversations about where technology is taking us and how." It is our responsibility as Christian educators to continually bring Christ into that conversation so that students have a firm foundation on which to base their thinking.
I am wondering if our schools have the courage to really ask the tough questions and to get our students thinking -- when to do so is often very counter cultural and requires taking a firm, but loving stand (kind of like that "loving, resistance fighter")?
Judy,
ReplyDeleteI agree, we must ask these difficult questions, even if it is not the popular thing to do. Our students have been trained to "get the facts, memorize them, and spit them back out." One of my 9th graders even asked this past year, "Can you just tell us what to memorize for the test?" I was dumbfounded. When did THINKING become too much work? We must make this part of our vision as Christian educators!
I am glad that you brought out the following quote. Postman had to admit that "the Biblical version of creation, to the astonishment of everyone except possibly the fundamentalists, has turned out to be a near-perfect blend of artistic imagination and scientific intuition" (187). The words near-perfect disturbed me when I read this and still do. It sounds like a judgement on God's work and I want to say to Postman that God's creation is the PERFECT blend of artistic imagination and scientific intuition because He is the PERFECT Creator.
ReplyDeleteI do ask my 5th grade students very tough questions to get them thinking and often profound truth comes through in these discussions. I sometimes wonder, though, how this converts back to the "real world" out there? I also wonder if their parents appreciate this or if they would rather that I just go with the status quo?
I loved reading this, Judy! I think you even make some connections here to what Pink is talking about in his chapters on Empathy and Meaning. I believe our faith is what gives us both the reason and the ability to stand in opposition to our culture at times. Certainly we can resist...but we also *love*, even in our resistance. Thanks be to God that the Holy Spirit sanctifies our feeble efforts!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you asked about having the courage to ask the hard questions. . .in a grad course a long time ago, the prof asked us if we thought it was more difficult to be a Christian in a public school setting or a Christian in a Christian school setting. It was interesting to see where the conversations went with this question! But related to your question about the courage to ask the questions that might get students thinking--and how it might be counter-cultural came up. I remember one person voicing that standing on Biblical truths might be seen as being un-accepting and this person spoke about how Christians might "appear" to the world around them--are we being a light or closed-minded. And the fact that the status quo is a pretty strong determinant at times!
ReplyDeleteWhatever the outcome of that conversation is, I agree that we need to be asking the hard questions because I believe that is what God is asking us to do. He is asking us to provide our students with the means of establishing a firm foundation in Him. He is looking for us to play a part in His redemption plan, and if this is one thing He has laid on our hearts, then we should be obeying!