Education Archives | MarkEckel.com

A Biblical View of Arguing

April 15, 2024 by Mark Eckel

How do you argue?

Do you argue biblically?

Find out what and how here (2 minute vid + text + Links).

Dr. Mark Eckel is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration at Liberty University. Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (webs ite) and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video).

Pictures: Josh Collingwood, Snappy Goat

FULL TEXT

“All I wanted to do was argue.” So said a student in the first session of my public university course, “Argumentative Writing.” He was however surprised – in his words, “caught off guard” – by the first two sessions I taught on “Humility” and “Charity.” For instance, about humility I said, our arguments should be gracious, considerate, careful to represent other ideas with accuracy. And I said about charity that communication is a community-based, convivial, invitational work of intellectual hospitality. Turns out, students had only thought about a course on argumentation as a knock-down-drag-out verbal brawl. My teaching was based on listening, care for others, and broadmindedness – concepts these students were not accustomed to. You can view the two videos where I introduce these concepts via links at the end of this Truth in Two.

Those who know me well will think it is no wonder that I would take a non-combative approach to persuasion. Though I enjoy conversation and discussion, I don’t like conflict and I don’t like to argue in anger. But unbeknownst to students, my approach in the class was not based on my own personality but upon biblical truths. – Proverbs set the tone of dialogue. Proverbs 15.33 says, “The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom and humility comes before honor.” And as for charity, Proverbs 15.23 is clear, “To make an apt answer is a joy to a man and a word in season, how good it is!” Christians should carefully consider graciousness in our conversations rather an argumentative spirit. Don’t forget that at His first public reading of Scripture it was said of Jesus’ hearers, “They marveled at the gracious words coming from his mouth.” – Disputation and disagreement are important in life. But our argumentation should be woven with humility and charity. For the Comenius Institute, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration at Liberty University, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.

LINKS

Humility Video Link

Charity Video Link

Do You Want Censorship or Ownership?

February 13, 2024 by Mark Eckel

Don’t take my word, listen to a teen who knows firsthand,

the results of educational cancellation and self-censorship.

Watch our Truth in Two to find out why hearing all points of view is essential (+ text & link).

Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (webs ite). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

Pictures: Josh Collingwood, cancel markus-winkler-7EwWeNyzSwQ-unsplash (1).jpg

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During an interview with public university faculty, I was asked, “What is your philosophy of education?” I smiled and said, “My philosophy of education is based on one word: Ownership. I have always wanted my students to own their beliefs for themselves.” My colleagues had not heard that response before. For my part, I have taught junior high through PhD courses. I have taught in Christian and public institutions. My answer to “Why I teach” is always the same: own your beliefs.

So it was with sadness that I read Zach Gottlieb’s article in the LA Times titled, “The Teenage Mind is Almost Closed.” Gottlieb calls out “cancel culture” and the lack of free speech in public education. Here is his conclusion.

I see teenagers unintentionally becoming more unforgiving and judgmental rather than open-minded and compassionate. When we can’t or don’t talk freely, we lose the chance to find real common ground, acknowledge complexity or grasp that even our own opinions can be malleable. If we listen only to those who already agree with us, we won’t make wider connections. We won’t grow.

It seems that instead of students getting to own their beliefs, teens are getting owned by someone else’s beliefs. You can read the essay for yourself with a link at the end of this Truth in Two. From the inception of my teaching, I have abided by the example set by the Bereans in Acts 17.11. There it says, “The Bereans were more noble than the Thessalonians because they went back to Scripture to see if what Paul said was so.” One of my many mantras has always been, “Don’t believe anything I tell you. Go search it out for yourself.” When students own their beliefs, they will be more responsible for their beliefs and practice their beliefs better. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.

Listen up. The closing of the teenage mind is almost complete – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)

Folly of Experts

December 12, 2023 by Mark Eckel

Trust in academic experts OR

The One in whom is hidden all the treasures of knowledge?

Watch our Truth in Two on the “folly of experts” (full text below).

Pictures: Josh Collingwood, Snappy Goat

FULL TEXT

Working on a university campus I am most tempted to believe “experts.” In higher education, expert theories and theorists abound. Professors tend to present themselves as authorities as to what is acceptable, or not. Specialists in their fields of study may consider themselves to have reached the pinnacle of academic prowess. However, when I read First Corinthians 1:20, I am reminded what God thinks of “experts” when Paul writes, “Where is the sage? Where is the expert? Where is the scholar of this world order? Has not God made a fool of the world’s wisdom?”

God is calling into question the people who depend on human reason. A human-centered view of wisdom is based on intellectual aptitude, the idea that I may be smarter than you. A human-centered view of expertise resides in earthly experience, the idea that I have done more and seen more than you. The human-centered view of scholarship rests in an accumulation of the brightest academic minds, the idea that my way of knowing is better than yours.

But God has made a fool of the world’s wisdom. God’s wisdom is premised on a crucified Savior, Jesus. Academic experts are dependent upon self-reliance, a trust in oneself, which may lead to self-constructed knowledge, leading to self-affirmation, leading to self-assurance, leading to self-importance. The wisdom of the world is a belief that there is no need for God, and there is no Transcendent source of Truth.

At the Christmas season we are reminded that God’s wisdom comes through the baby born in a manger, who will be crucified on The Cross, Jesus. The promised Messiah who, according to Isaiah, is the Wonderful Counsellor excellent in wisdom. Yes, I am tempted by academic experts, but I depend on Jesus “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth in The Christ of Christmas.

[Isaiah 9:6; 28:29; Colossians 2:3]

Carrying the Fire

November 14, 2023 by Mark Eckel

How do we pass on what has been given to us?

We carry the fire to the next generation.

This is how we see our job at Comenius (1 min vid + text + QR code).

Use our QR code here to donate to The Comenius Institute.

Pictures: Josh Collingwood, Snappy Goat

FULL TEXT

To “carry the fire” is the ancient practice of transporting a blaze from one place to another. Nomadic peoples moved the embers of a fire in clay pots to ignite the next fire, in the next location. The metaphor of continuation has been used in an astronaut’s biography, musical lyrics, and most recently in Cormac McCarthy’s writings. In The Road a father and son travel alone in the vast emptiness of a post-apocalyptic world. The father uses the metaphor of “carrying the fire” to encourage his son toward perseverance, goodness, and hope. Much has been made of the phrase, “carry the fire.” Each of us, in our own way, “carries the fire” in what we pass on to those who travel The Road with us.

Hi, I’m Dr. Mark Eckel, president of The Comenius Institute. For me, since the inception of my teaching, carrying the fire has always been the same. As Psalm 71:18 says, “Until I am old and gray, I will declare Your mighty works to the next generation.”

We at Comenius want to thank our patrons for your support. You make our work possible. During this season of giving, we would ask that you continue to fund our campus efforts with faculty and students at IUPUI. Your patronage will maintain the institute’s educational opportunities to create, write, speak, and teach. On behalf of the Comenius Institute, I am glad to have the opportunity to “carry the fire” of Jesus’ words and works – a witness to unbelievers and an encouragement to Christians everywhere.

October 17, 2023 by Mark Eckel

Thought control comes in many forms,

But always with the same result.

Find out why by watching our Truth in Two (with full text and Afterword).

Pictures: Josh Collingwood, Snappy Goat

FULL TEXT

You don’t have to be “religious” to be a fundamentalist. I grew up in a very fundamentalistic church. It was not the doctrine that was the problem; I believe strongly in the fundamentals of The Faith such as God creating out of nothing, Jesus’ virgin birth and His resurrection from the dead. The problem was, and is, the rules added to Christian belief. For instance, when I was young, watching movies was forbidden. Well, I wrote a book on movies some years ago; I guess I kind of outgrew that human-centered rule. But you see the problem – people make rules that tend to please or benefit them. Control by some government, group, or institution can become “fundamentalism,” where someone else says they know what is best for you; and then makes you do it.

You don’t have to be “religious” to be a fundamentalist; your fundamentals will determine your sexual, political, racial, national, or historical viewpoint. The university can have its own fundamentalism replete with evangelists, apostles, dogmas, and liturgies. Not abiding by human-determined codes of diversity, equity, and inclusion can get you in trouble. Not affirming someone’s self-identification by their preferred pronouns can get you in trouble. Not agreeing with professors who tell you what to think can get you in trouble. You see the problem. When people determine what the fundamentals of their faith are, then they can tell you to “Be kind” or “Be respectful” – until the fundamentalist determines that your views are wrong. The result could be grade reduction, cancellation, or viewpoint suppression.

No, you don’t have to be “religious” to be a fundamentalist. All you need to be a fundamentalist is to control how others think or speak or act. Fundamentalism is simply a desire to control others. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, encouraging everyone to think and speak freely, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.

AFTERWORD

There is a difference between fundamentalism and fundamentals.

Fundamentals are beliefs that set the formation of my thinking. My fundamentals begin with a supernatural view of the world. Here are a few markers of those fundamentals: (1) the historicity of the Bible coming from God to man (2) the personal God who is there and is not silent (3) Jesus’ virgin birth, perfect life, physical death, historic resurrection and anticipated return.

A friend of mine repeated a point he had made many times before in our conversation. He began to recount the same idea again, the point he had just made. We happened to be in a room with a piano. I stood over the keys and hit middle C over and over. “What are you doing?” he said. “I’m playing your song, your point of view. Only your music has only one note.” In our discussion, my friend had subscribed to a fundamentalism of sorts; he only wanted one point of view to be aired, which he repeated again and again. He believed that by pounding one idea, by itself, without critique, he would sustain his argument.

Termination

October 6, 2023 by Mark Eckel

Termination*

My responsibility

Is not to proselytize

Nor to prescribe

But to offer ideas

Thoughts that germinate,

Breaking concrete, seeds

The smallest, most compact

Focused amount of change

Inserting by its nature

Not the will of the deliverer

But the possibility,

The explosive nature,

Of a proposal

A suggestion

A conception

With the intention

Of another direction

Another determination

An option toward conclusion

Holding a promise

Beyond self

The scope of which

No one can fathom

Offering an Other-worldly

Prospect, with a view

An outlook, a vista

The spectacle that is, will be.

So I invite, broadcasting seeds

Offered to all who will consider

These, conceivably, a new termination.

*I believe my teaching, writing, mentoring is only a point on a line; at times, a punctiliar act, over time, allowing a sprout to grow, perhaps in a harvest, toward a new day, a transformation. And these ideas are not my own.

41 Years of Teaching: My Takeaways

August 23, 2023August 23, 2023 by Mark Eckel

My 41st year of teaching began this week. Here are my takeaways.

1. I was designed to teach. I love to teach. I was made for teaching.

2. Each class I teach is a charge, a commitment to a body of students. I take that duty seriously.

3. My one-word philosophy of education remains the same: ownership. Students must take possession of what they believe, becoming custodians of their thinking-being-living.

4. Students bear responsibility for their education. The work they put in is what they will get out of any instruction.

5. In a public educational age where some beliefs are mandated, a subscription to prescribed orthodoxies, I believe in heterodoxy: students have freedom of thought and speech, bearing the weight of personal research to solidify ideas from all perspectives without limits on information.

6. The frontal lobe of teenage brains is still forming. So, help in directing ethical boundaries is essential to my professorship. Helping first year students understand that choice-is-consequence, for instance, is one of many ways I encourage reflective thought when it comes to the categories of right or wrong.

7. Universal life lessons are essential to my teaching since “inquiry” is part of the course title I teach; questioning and investigation will be lifelong pursuits.

8. Students are savvy. Their remarks and concerns are honest and transparent, and I treat those thoughts with great care, encouraging deep thinking, from temporal to eternal matters.

9. I care deeply for students. I enjoy, respect, and give my full attention to all individuals as people bearing God’s image. Based on the biblical concept of the *imago dei* I believe the trust I have been given is a sacred commission.

10. In one of the final questions yesterday, a young woman asked, “Could you give us one principle of wisdom for the semester?” I paused, thankful for such an astute mind, and said, “Take responsibility for your life. Refuse to blame others for your decisions. Accept the ideal that what you do could provide benefits or detriments for your future. The choice is yours.”

I wonder every year if I still “have it.” Judging from the first class, Providentially speaking, it will be a good year.

Students are Responsible for Learning

July 12, 2023 by Mark Eckel

I don’t give grades,

Students earn grades.

Find out why in our Truth in Two (full text below).

Pictures: Josh Collingwood, Wikipedia

FULL TEXT

My favorite teacher movie is The Emperor’s Club. Kevin Kline plays Mr. Hundert who inspires his students to learn the great principles of history. Mr. Hundert makes no apology for the hard work it will take to master the subject. And the teacher has high expectations for his students as well as himself. But I think the down-deep reason I resonate with The Emperor’s Club is that education is meant to be rigorous.

Perhaps Mr. Hundert’s ideal is behind the two questions, I ask my students, to ask themselves. In each of my college syllabi the questions are posed: (1) What do I want out of this course? And (2) What am I willing to do, to get what I want out of this course? If students decide to go to college because they want a degree, then the result of their work is theirs alone. Students decide how important the class is. Students are responsible for the work they do. Students account for what they produce in a class. Students earn the grades they receive. Students oversee their own learning.

And here is a story you won’t soon forget. I used to hate my students. I know. That sounds very harsh. But hear me out. I never had an education course before I started teaching and had no idea what to expect. I thought students would hang on my every word. Ha! Nothing could be or is further from the truth. But here is the thing. I discovered that my responsibility was to do the best teaching I could do. I surely failed many times. But the next lesson was a life-changer in my second year of teaching. It dawned on me that once the teaching was given, the student was responsible for the learning.

It wasn’t until years later that I discovered The Emperor’s Club. But by then, I knew that Mr. Hundert and I would be asking the same two questions. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth, for student benefit.

Teacher Appreciation

May 9, 2023 by Mark Eckel

The greatest gift you can give your students

is inspiration.

Find out why by watching our Truth in Two (full text below).

Pictures: Josh Collingwood, Snappy Goat

FULL TEXT

My fourth-grade teacher infamously said to my mom during a parent-teacher conference, “Mark is bright, not brilliant.” That phrase, “bright not brilliant,” has been lodged in the core of my person ever since. I see it every day. In my teaching. In my writing. In my learning. In myself.

But any lack I feel in my scholarship or any academic abilities, I find to be an advantage in other ways. I have this uncanny (I believe it to be supernaturally given) ability to understand complicated concepts and make them intelligible for others. Or, as I like to call it, I believe in putting the cookies on the bottom shelf so everyone can reach them.

And this is what I want to say to teachers everywhere during Teacher Appreciation Week: be who you are, the way God has made you. I bet you have talents your students love you for. Your hands-on creativity gets children involved in their learning. Your ability to ask questions gets students to invest in their own intellectual growth. Your kindness gives children the charity they may be missing elsewhere. Your strong content and clear communication grants pupils’ strong knowledge to do research. Your ability to show practical examples of your subject shows young people how to practice important skills.

I could go on and on about your exceptional abilities. But there is one thing about teaching that every good teacher knows is most important: inspiring your students. When you present ideas in a way that enlivens a classroom, that sparks inquiry, that ignites excitement, that encourages ownership of learning, then, you know you have succeeded as a teacher. It may be the glimmer in the eyes or a smile on the faces, but you know you have just energized student comprehension.

My fourth-grade teacher was right: I’m bright, not brilliant. But like my teaching colleagues everywhere, I know I can inspire student learning. And there is no better legacy than those we leave behind. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally telling the truth about teaching as we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week.

Excellence & Benevolence

May 1, 2023April 25, 2023 by Mark Eckel

How I teach

Should be the same anywhere.

Find out how I teach on the public university campus (2 min vid + full text below).

Pictures: Josh Collingwood, Snappy Goat, Polly Riddell

FULL TEXT

I was asked in a conversation with a public university colleague, how I would summarize my teaching on campus. I had a two-word response: I try to teach with excellence and benevolence. I explained the words this way.

“Excellence” to me means that I hold myself to a high standard of both content and communication. I want to set before my students the best content ideas that will help them hone their skills as thinkers and writers. For example, if I am teaching about ethics, I set before them great thinkers such as Thomas Sowell, Bari Weiss, Glenn Loury, or Robert P. George to help them wrestle with what is right or wrong. And as a communicator, I spend hours ahead of class time to make sure the message of that session comes across in ways that students will understand.

The word “benevolence” to me means that while I will not lower my high standards, I will always lower myself to help students. Expectations are high because I am preparing young minds for a world where they will spend the rest of their lives reasoning and communicating. Learning how to think, how to communicate, will give a strong foundation for living. At the same time, so many of my students struggle with mental health issues. I spend countless hours commenting on their papers or counseling in private conversations about the struggles they are facing. The old adage is true, people don’t care what you know, until they know, you care. My chats with students are constantly woven with charity.

Excellence and benevolence are the two words that summarize my response to the question, “How do you do your work on the public university campus?” High standards and great care will always mark my teaching. I have passion for the subject and compassion for the student.

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found and speaking the truth in love, wherever it’s necessary.