Teaching?

I must have missed something.  Some Florida college instructor used this as a "critical thinking" assignment.  He had students write "Jesus" on a piece of paper and then put the paper on the floor.  Students were instructed to stomp on the paper.  This was supposed to show something about tolerance or intolerance or something of religion??????  I must have missed something; at least I hope I did.  How utterly ridiculous!

If it's true, as I heard it, how does this guy have tenure?  Who gave it to him if this is the type of "teaching" he does?  Maybe he thinks it makes him cool, that his students think him "cool."  I don't know.  Maybe he doesn't really know anything and this is all he can do.  I don't know.

C'mon, this is a college class?  Aren't there better ways to teach "tolerance" or "intolerance" and "critical thinking" (whatever that is)?  Do parents willingly pay the exorbitant college tuition of today for this kind of "teaching?"  I'm pretty sure most of his students just laugh at the guy, at least I hope they do.

And I'm left with two related thoughts.  I'm not sure what "critical thinking" actually is.  It has been a buzzword in education for some time and buzzwords in education are like scripture--don't ever question or challenge them, no matter how stupid.  Over my 42 years, I've confronted a lot of similar things, pretty stupid things.  In fact, I'd tell people outside of education about them and they likely thought I was lying--I wasn't.  My buddy likes to tell the story of the school that spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars, special ordering television sets.  He was incredulous, noting he had recently bought the same set for about one-third as much at one of the local appliance warehouses.  Somewhat nonplussed, the school administrator finally blurted out, "But they're not safe!"  Huh?  "Not safe?"  Yeah, he said, "They might blow up."  My buddy and I burst out laughing, with me urging him to return the set so he didn't get hurt.  The old "Values Clarification" stuff of the '70s was another silly thing.

I think "critical thinking" in my own education was professors writing on my papers, "No sloppy thinking allowed" and "If this is the best work you can do, I suggest you transfer to another college."  Such comments were justly "critical" and they forced me to do a lot more "thinking." There..."critical thinking," I guess.

This whole "stomp on Jesus" silliness makes me wonder about the Broadway play, "The Book of Mormon."  I guess it's a spoof of Mormonism, really making fun of it.  Of course, there are aspects of Christianity which have been spoofed, too, particular Catholic schools with their nuns ("Nunsense," "Do Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?" come to mind).  Yet, the whole world holds its collective breath if someone draws a cartoon critical of Islam??????   I guess there are enough things in this world to make fun of without taking on religions.  I'm talking about creeds, tenets, etc., not idiosyncrasies; those are fair game!

I'm reading a book that reminds me of "Pretend History."  Many books and Hollywood, especially, have perpetuated the myth of the peaceful Amerinds, the natives the Europeans found when arriving in the New World.  According to this view, the episodes of violence--battles, war, death, scalpings, and more--were all the result of those nasty Europeans (and some of them were nasty!).  But that's just what it is, a myth.  It's "Pretend History."  As this book correctly points out, it wasn't the Europeans who introduced slavery to the Indians of the Americas.  And the Indians themselves were pretty good at human sacrifices.  They didn't need any outside help.  There were wars of extinction and the nastiest of brutalities.

I was going to write tonight--a column and a review--but it's later than I thought.  Reading sounds better, esp since I just received an e-mail confirming that a new book order shipped out to me today.  And, the kids need to be cleaned up....

Out......