The Bible in general and the gospels in particularly have strong warnings to those who consider themselves to be great teachers and examples. Look again at the warnings to the Pharisees in Matthew 23 and/or the implied criticisms of religious leaders in Luke 20. Pick out one warning you would particularly like *your* teachers/leaders/professors to pay attention to, and explain why that warning is particularly important.
I had to really stretch to find anything I could relate to my teachers and professors in either of these passages, and so my thoughts are not completely serious and may not even make sense to others. I find my teachers to be pretty humble guys, and I don't know that "they [would] love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues" (or churches, or Noon Forums). I'm sure they "love to be greeted with respect," but who doesn't? Since they are teachers of history, maybe I could twist Matthew 23:30 to fit: "You say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding ... blood.'" As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20, so looking back, they can point out the ill-considered decisions of the past. But of course, that's the point of studying history: "He who does not learn from history is doomed to repeat it." I would say, however, that in my teachers' zeal and limited time to cover a lot of material, I sometimes feel that there is no opportunity to ask questions. But I couldn't find a way to tie that to these verses.
ReplyDeleteI think many of the first few verses of Matthew 23 can be good reminders for professors today to watch out for: "they do not practice what they preach" (3), "they tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them" (4), "Everything they do is done for people to see" (5). I myself have been fortunate enough to not deal with professors that have these vices - at least not to a notable degree - but I have had friends who tell me stories. Some have said they get told off if they refer to their professor as anything other than "Doctor _", or others that show up in suits with a smug look and talk with so much unnecessary verbosity that students are lost. These more extreme examples, again, I've not personally experienced, but I know they happen. I think the "cumbersome loads" verse is applicable to most students, especially when a very long paper or presentation is due and the professor gives nothing more than a grade with no feedback - I usually expect somewhat quality feedback if a lengthy paper or presentation is due. Another verse I think can be applied to professors is verse 23: "You give a tenth of your spices... But you have neglected the more important matters of the law... ." I've had teachers that focus more on the technical format of a paper, niche debates, or busy work while neglecting real-world applications of content and quality discussions.
ReplyDeleteMatthew 23:23
ReplyDelete“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness."
I chose this verse because it reflects some of the cruelty professors have put me through with tough grading and heavy paper writing :). They focused on how coherent they were sounding in lecture or making sure they got to the main points in the class period. Yet- they would grade meticulously and forget the practice of mercy on fellow students. Their justness was based on more personal preference rather than a set system of grading.
Matthew 23:4 "They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger."
ReplyDeleteI find this verse particularly important when it comes to certain professors who "tie up heavy burdens" of excessive work and assignments, especially busy work, that only takes away time and focus on the primary material of the class. I hope those professors might see through this verse that some of these extra burdens are making our student shoulders tired, and that much of the work is unnecessary.
I would have to say Matthew 23:3 They Preach, but do not practice. I think that what my professor or teacher says to me or has me do or thinks is something i should be doing instead and they don't do it I wont respect them because why should i be doing if you don't do it as well. It builds trust within teachers if they do it as well because i see them doing it I'm going to think its the right thing to do but if they don't I'm going to wonder why they asked me to do it but they don't.
ReplyDeleteDrew Henriksen
DeleteThat was Drew Henriksen
ReplyDelete