". . . If you believed and lived Genesis, I bet you'd notice each student."
I don't believe it, and don't live it, yet I somehow manage to notice my students. Reality works. Sent via Android on AT&T -------- Original message -------- Subject: Re: [tips] Random Thought: Genesis 1:27 From: "Louis E. Schmier" <[email protected]> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <[email protected]> CC: Where did I say what you said I said? You're putting words into my mouth that I didn't utter. Basing morals/behavior on any theology, philosophy, and even science is dicey, for it depends on selective and subjective interpretation that can be used, misused, and/or abused. Heck, the perpetrators of the Holocaust based and validated their heinious activities on some of the prevailing science of its day. Don't blame the values of a religion; blame the religionists. Make it a good day -Louis- Louis Schmier http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org<http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org/> Department of History http://www.therandomthoughts.com<http://www.therandomthoughts.com/> Valdosta State University Valdosta, Georgia 31698 /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ (O) 229-333-5947 /^\\/ \/ \ /\/\__ / \ / \ (C) 229-630-0821 / \/ \_ \/ / \/ /\/ / \ /\ \ //\/\/ /\ \__/__/_/\_\/ \_/__\ \ /\"If you want to climb mountains,\ /\ _ / \ don't practice on mole hills" - / \_ On Oct 8, 2012, at 4:35 PM, Manza, Louis wrote: > So belief in God is needed to be a good teacher? Atheists can't teach well? > I don't buy it--not for a second. And why? Basing morals/behavior on > Biblical passages is a dicey endeavor, considering that while that book > contains some potentially uplifting information, it's also filled > w/atrocities committed in the name of God. And how one can subjectively > choose to focus on the good and somehow disavow the bad is logically > inconsistent. Dawkins's THE GOD DELUSION does an excellent job of driving > this point home . . . > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > Dr. Lou Manza > Professor & Chair of Psychology | Director of the Youth Scholars Institute > > Lebanon Valley College > 101 N. College Avenue, Annville, PA 17003 > Phone: 717.867.6193 | Fax: 717.867.6894 | [email protected] | > www.lvc.edu<http://www.lvc.edu/> > > This message may contain confidential or privileged information. Unless you > are the addressee (or authorized to receive > the information on behalf of the addressee), you may not use, copy or > disclose the information to anyone. If you received > this message in error, please advise the sender by reply email, and delete or > destroy the message. Thank you. > </DIV > ________________________________________ > From: Louis E. Schmier [[email protected]] > Sent: Monday, October 08, 2012 7:06 AM > To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) > Subject: [tips] Random Thought: Genesis 1:27 > > I know. Thinking, feeling, reflecting introspectively, writing a lot > lately. But, it's not just that student who has really gotten into me or > that I'm still feeling the gift he gave me. There's more that I'm not ready > to talk about yet. But, still echoing in my soul are his words, "You didn't > give up on me." Give up? Me? Never! As the Talmud says, “You are not > obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” So, > I am a guy of many second chances. And though I may not always 'win,' and I > don't, I never surrender. I never stop believing, having faith, having hope, > and loving. I always say that my favorite passage in Scripture, my guiding > north star for all my feelings, thoughts, and actions that I use not to > "thingify" teaching, to ritualize or ceremonialize it--or anything in > life--is Micah 6:8. It's my favorite. It reminds me to "humanize" what I > do, that what really matters is people. But I don't think it's the most > important passage in Scripture. > > Micah rests on what I believe is the seminal biblical passage. Take > the whole of the New Testament, the whole of the Old Testament, the whole of > the Koran, the whole of the Midrash, the whole of the Talmud, the whole of > all the Jewish and Christian and Islamic writings, however often misused and > abused and perverted they may be by imperfect followers. It all rests on one > passage and one passage only. The rest is commentary. It's among the > opening passages of the Old Testament. Maybe the fact that it's among the > opening passages reveals its significance. Genesis 1:27 gets my vote: "In > the Image of God they were created." The spark of the Divine in us all. > Imperfect, but godly, all of us. Bar none. Sacred, noble, valuable, worthy, > unique. All of us. No exceptions. No conditions. No exclusions. No > judgments. No ifs, ands, or buts! > > "In the image of God were they created." A simple but profound and > challenging and elegant statement. But, really. Do we believe it? Do we > see the angel ahead of each student, reminding us with the proclaiming, "Make > way, make way, make way for someone created in the image of God?" We all > believe we are decent folk; I know we all want to be decent folk. But do we > believe in all the people who populate our campuses and classrooms? Do we > act as if we believed everyone is made in God's image? Do we feel as if we > believe everyone has a unique potential? Perhaps the easiest answer to that > question is how we talk, and how we act, towards each student. If we really > believed that every student is created in God's image, if we truly did, then > simple decent feelings, thoughts and behavior toward each of them would flow. > We'd be nurturers for all and weeders of none. > > So, I ask, is an uttered "I care" simply a comforting platitude or an > expected sound bite? I think we would act differently if we really practiced > caring and acted caringly, rather than just mouthing it. Do we mean "I care" > when we disengagingly say, "It's not my job?" Do we mean "I care" when we > haughtily say, "I don't have time?" Do we mean "I care" when we say > disparagingly, "They're letting anyone in?" Do we mean "I care" when we > negatively act in a way that reveals "Students nowadays can't.....don't....?" > Do we mean "I care" when we annoyingly say, "This generation....in my day > when I was a student?" Do we mean "I care" when we resignedly say, "Well, > you can't get to all of them; so why try?" Do we mean "I care" when we're > more interested in and care about informing and credentialling than > transforming? Do we mean "I care" when our hearts and minds are in the lab > or archive? Before you answer any of these questions, keep a few things in > mind: > > First, how did you feel as a student when you were treated as if you > were far, far less than angelic? Second, how do you feel when as a faculty > or staff member you are not respectfully treated by colleagues or > administrators? > Third, the more we can be honest with ourselves, acknowledge our own > imperfections, the more we can accept those imperfections in a student. > That is, we can have empathy, sympathy, and compassion. You know, I learned > that humility does not mean self-effacement; it does not mean thinking of > ourselves as worthless or useless. But rather it means being honest with > ourselves and accepting our limitations. Once we know and accept our own > limitations, we can more readily accept that in another human being. Fourth, > if you believed and lived Genesis 1:27, I bet you'd notice each student. > You'd feel differently about and speak differently to and of each student. > You'd find the time to spend more time with each student who needed your > time. You'd complain less about students. You'd give more. You'd accept > each of them both as she or he is and as she or he can be. You'd forgive > them for not being mini copies of us, for not being perfect, for not doing > everything we want them to be all the time. You'd accept each of them both > as she or he is and as she or he can be. You'd work harder to help each one > help her/himself transform her/himself. You'd be a person of unending second > chances. I bet eventually you'd teach fully, and urgently, and carefully; > you'd see teaching as an essential part of your professional life rather than > apart from it or an intrusion on it. Fifth, what would you do if a student > came up to you and said, "I'm giving you one more chance. I'm important. > I'm worthy. You don't pay enough attention to me. You aren't interested > enough in what's happening in my life. I'm giving you one more chance. > Notice me. Care about me. Help me." And finally, each time we can generate > empathy and sympathy, have passion and compassion for, encourage and support, > have belief in, faith in, hope for, and love a student before judging or > blaming or weeding out, we change the world. And, as we continue to strive to > change the world just that much more we can leave it better than when we > found it. > > So, "in the image of God were they created." It is an awesome notion > that gives us tremendous energy and tremendous responsibility. It's the > unlimited source of unlimited dedication, commitment, perseverance to > transforming rather than merely informing and credentialing. Once you > believe each student has an astonishing inner light, you'll fight to keep her > or him away from the dark. And, you'll fight even harder to drag him or her > out of the dark and to help her or him be the crack in her or his own dawning. > > Make it a good day > > -Louis- > > > Louis Schmier > http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org<http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org/> > Department of History > http://www.therandomthoughts.com<http://www.therandomthoughts.com/> > Valdosta State University > Valdosta, Georgia 31698 /\ /\ /\ /\ > /\ > (O) 229-333-5947 /^\\/ \/ \ /\/\__ / \ > / \ > (C) 229-630-0821 / \/ \_ \/ / \/ /\/ / \ > /\ \ > //\/\/ /\ \__/__/_/\_\/ > \_/__\ \ > /\"If you want to climb > mountains,\ /\ > _ / \ don't practice on mole > hills" - / \_ > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13376.b3aa19fe9dc706a3b4cdaa8ddb37d852&n=T&l=tips&o=20961 > or send a blank email to > leave-20961-13376.b3aa19fe9dc706a3b4cdaa8ddb37d...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13368.9b8fe41d7a9a359029570f1d2ef42440&n=T&l=tips&o=20962 > or send a blank email to > leave-20962-13368.9b8fe41d7a9a359029570f1d2ef42...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. 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