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The Bible on Wisdom: 169 Teaching Mantras

June 3, 2022June 2, 2022 by Mark Eckel

COMMON SENSE. The phrase has come to mean the practice of right judgment in practical matters. But the phrase assumes two basic ideas. “Sense” is wisdom, a deep grounding in discernment; some might say a person is quite perceptive or understanding. The individual then applies the accumulated insights from life to particular concerns. “Common” takes for granted that there is an assumed thinking for all people, places, times, and cultures. A universal ideal exists which is then applied in some local reality.

When we say a person has “common sense” we generally mean they are taking the best of what they have studied about humanity and human relations, then using it to make a decision. Hebraic-Christian thinking suggests that “common sense” is Wisdom embedded in world for the benefit of all humanity (Proverbs 8:12-36). We make sense of what is common from One who has our best interests at heart.

Flipping an idea on its head or turning a concept upside down is often my approach to opposing claims. “What if?” is a fair question of any position. When the Jews approached Jesus about the murder of their countrymen by the Romans in Luke 13, Jesus did not take the bait, an opportunity to agree or disagree. He chose a third approach. His response shatters the original concern. Instead of being concerned about the sin of the Romans or the sin of those who were killed, Jesus shines a light on the sin of those who brought the charge. The Son of Man’s intention seems clear: each of us must consider our own eternal state.

Proverbial statements and questions in my classes over the years have followed Jesus’ process. Instead of pointing fingers at others I ask us all to look in the mirror. What is true of me? What should I change? How am I culpable for my actions?

Enigmatic, thoughtful statements leave space for people to ponder. Declarative, assertive statements suggest dogmatic positions. Far from a belief that “we can know nothing for sure” is the understanding that everything is known – just not by us.

“If I can’t show you how it applies, it won’t be on the test.” Over the decades of teaching, my intention is practicality. Teaching should be useful. I am a pragmatic person; I like to see how ideas work in real life. However, the origin of ideas – to me – makes the most sense being rooted in Eternal Truth.

Short and sweet. I am a big believer in Proverbial wisdom; crisp, condensed sayings that capture attention with straightforward instruction. Here are 169 mantras heard in my classrooms over four decades of teaching. I would never expect universal agreement; but I hope each gives you pause. They still do for me.

My views of authority and humanity impact everything else
There are no moral vacuums
Every tick of the clock brings us one second closer to death
Justice is impossible if it’s left up to just us
Gratitude is the basis for ethics
Complexity is a marker of design
Everyone bows the knee to something
The private affects the public
Choice is consequence
Ideas change people, people change a culture
Just because the road is well traveled does not mean it’s the right path.
Gratitude and discipline are the twin pillars of life.
Everything is theological
When evaluating another point of view, ask, “What am I *not* hearing?”
Whoever controls the definition, controls the conversation.
Every audience asks the same questions: “So What?” “Who cares?” “Why am I listening to you?”
Communication of any subject should be what Emily Dickenson said: “Tell It Slant.”
Narrative in this world comes from Another World.
“Common sense” has an uncommon source.
Everyone everywhere seeks answers to the same questions.
If we don’t have a philosophy of life, one will be provided for us.
Everyone has doctrine.
Movies are beliefs wrapped in stories.
Think, or thinking will be done for you.
Just like nature, culture abhors a vacuum. Vacuums fill by those who fill them first.
Our theology drives our sociology.
The monster in the mirror is scarier than the monster under the bed.
“Courage” is knowing what to fear.
“Good” must exist for us to know what “evil” is.
Saying something is “wrong” assumes you know the standard for “right.”
Social conscience begins by looking in the mirror.
Where we spend our time and money shows our commitments.
Mystery cannot exist without certainty
Life has limitations
To make a difference, we have to be different
Life is not made from straight lines
“That’s boring!” says more about the speaker than the subject.
“Who says?” is the first question to answer in life.
“The pursuit of happiness” can become the pursuit of emptiness.
Is “choice” a servant or a master?
Time plus chance cannot deliver purpose.
The phrase “social justice” prompts two questions: “What is your social?” and “What is your basis for justice?”
Doing good is the best response to what is bad.
There can be no peace without justice and no justice without a righteousness
“Materialism” is not what we have, but what has us.
If human rights come from government, government can take human rights away
Everyone is a leader somewhere, most importantly, in one’s own life.
If all we see is “wrong,” we will never appreciate anything that is right.
“Progressive” thinkers should acknowledge when progress has been made.
“Conservative” thinkers should acknowledge progress must continue to be made.
If you blame God for the “bad” do you thank Him for the “good”?
Evolution by impersonal forces gives no basis for planetary responsibility
God does not wear a watch
“Legacy” is not so much what you leave behind but who you leave behind.
The graveyard schools the schoolyard
Just because someone knows more than you, doesn’t make them right.
My environment may accentuate my behavior but is not the root cause of it.
Life is not a crap shoot
Where you’ve come from, and where you’re going to, helps you know how to live now.
Every day everyone puts their trust in something or someone.
Experience is a teacher but not necessarily the best one
Trying to make sense of the world takes more than our senses
If we come from the ground, up, we are nothing more than dirt.
Permanent truth helps us make personal decisions
The more difficult question to answer is not “Why do bad things happen to good people?” but “Why do bad people do good things?”
With apologies to Billy Joel, we *did* start the fire
Internal change depends on an external change agent.
What we do now counts later
Our reason for living is a question of how we got here.
Unity is the basis for community.
What do you want to be known for?
What must I know, be, and do because of what I’ve learned?
The finite cannot define the infinite
“Ownership” is my one-word definition of student-centered education.
You can’t have the Christian fruit without the Christian root.
If we don’t remember who we are, it won’t matter what we do.
We live in the tension between ideal and real
“Tension” – not “balance” – best explains how we live in a world of contrasts
Thinking begins with views of origins and ends
History begins in Eternity
Assertion is not argument
God’s longsuffering and justice are the bookends of history
The Creator created creatures who creatively create from creation.
What is written on pen with paper was first written on the human heart
Mathematical patterns are a result of design
Humans do not create truth, they discover it
Production from and protection of creation is human responsibility.
The three rules of interpretation: 1. Context 2. Context 3. Context
Speaking badly of others tells us most about the speaker
Encourage in writing, criticize in person
“What did it mean for them, then?” precedes “What does it mean for us, now?”
Using the word “should” means you are dedicated to a system of ethics
Inclusivity depends on exclusivity
“Racism” is a matter of the human heart
Don’t believe me. Go study for yourselves.
Ethics never change; they only await our application
Give people space and grace. We do not know what unseen horrors they may face
My disagreement with you matters little if I don’t care for you
The whole of Christian responsibility can be summarized in one word: Others.
Begin sentences with “I need to” instead of “I wish they would”
If you question a document’s historicity, then you begin to question its authenticity and ultimately, its authority
Historical truth depends on documentation; scientific truth depends on experimentation.
Revelation rules reason
Reality is not what we make it but what is
The natural world depends on the supernatural world
The source of discord in all relationships comes from either refused or abused authority.
All knowledge should be evaluated by the S. P. U. D. test: Is it sensible, practical, universal, and dependable?
All truth originates from, is united by, and is, God’s Truth
Instruction is for transformation, not information
Christianity’s view of salvation is the difference between two five-letter words: based on GRACE, all other religions & worldviews depend on WORKS.

Teaching of any kind depends on both content and communication. The first without the second is lifeless. The second without the first is foundationless.
There is a God-shaped-hole in each person
Something is not true because it works, it works because it’s true.
There is no defense against love
Love is the best apologetic
Expectations: we tend to lower them for ourselves but want everyone else to meet ours.
The difference between “fascism” and “communism” is spelling.
If we speak about what is good, the bad will be harder to hear.
Jesus removed social boundaries simply by being with all social classes.
If you only learn to follow an authority’s words without thought, you will allow anyone with the loudest voice or the most letters behind her name to sway your thinking.
The greatest theological phrase: “But God.”
When citizens reject God, the state becomes God.
No one ever teaches because they think they’re wrong.
Jesus does not see human status; He sees human need.
The teacher who teaches best, teaches least
If we never think we could be wrong, we already are.
Autonomy is its own tyranny.
“Labels” maintain manufactured design; helpful in finding ketchup, death to inquiry.
Beware the echo chamber: hearing only those with whom we agree.
Truth exists because Truth is the Source of all that exists
What does life look like if everything runs the way you think it should be run? Can everyone else, live with your “should”?
If we think a “perfect world” is possible, then we must ask, “What does your ‘perfect world’ look like?” and “How will you get there?”
If we think human knowledge will be our salvation, then we must ask, “Which human?” and “Whose knowledge?”
“Humanly, speaking” suggests, from our earthly vantage point, we can only know so much.
In sociology we call it “the human condition.” In theology we just call it “sin.”
Persuasion begins with attraction. Inviting others to a viewpoint is an allure, not a lure.
Biblical revelation explains creational revelation. Our job is to look and listen.
When people question my beliefs about eternal judgment, I tell them, “Take it up with Jesus. He said it first.”
If God exists, everything is Sacred, nothing is “secular.”
I do not tell others my belief is “better” than theirs; I do point out, however, that my Hebraic-Christian belief is distinctive from theirs.
You can’t have the sociology of Jesus without the theology of Jesus. The first depends on the second.

142. Study The Book, know The Book, memorize The Book.

143.We see best by what we hear first.

144. Everyone is biased. We all begin with assumptions

145. The importance of watching movies is the importance of being human.

146. The story we live comes from stories we read, becoming the story we tell.

147. Attack ideas, not people. [Antonin Scalia]

148. As soon as you ask a question you have biased your research.

149. Rather than saying “There’s a problem” say, “I’m going to find a solution.”

150. A person can live 40 days without food, 3 days without water, 5 minutes without air, but not one second without hope.

151. The most important “T” word is not “truth,” it is “transcendence.”

152. “Providential good fortune” is a Christian way to say, “I hope the best for you.”

153. Christianity is not for wimps.

154. The Bible is studied in this order: observation, interpretation, correlation, application.

155. Interpretation – “What did it mean for them, then?” – must precede application – “What does it mean for us, now?”

156. Equality” means everyone should have the same outcomes; “equity” means everyone should have the same opportunities.

157. All other religions say, “This is what you must do.” Christ says, “This is what has been done for you.”

158. A culture which creates its own definitions acknowledges no authority but itself.

159. If you disrespect authorities, don’t be upset when others disrespect your authority.

160. There are two rules of life: #1 There is a God. #2 You are not Him.

161. Education can be reduced to one simple rule: put the cookies on the bottom shelf.

162. Doubt is its own certainty.

163. Encouragement costs nothing.

164. My unseen job in teaching is to inspire my students

165. Vocation IS ministry

166. Lament does not seek to explain pain but gives voice to human anguish, rage and despair.

167. “All” means all and that’s all “all” means.

168. For the Christian, “good works” are possible because of the “good news.”

169. Do good, do good, do good (Titus 3:1, 8, 14)

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).

Picture Credit: Josh Collingwood, SnappyGoat

Giving Students a Chance

May 31, 2022 by Mark Eckel

He gave me a chance.

I’ve been giving students a chance, ever since.

Find out why knowing a student’s abilities matters so much: watch our Truth in Two (full text below).

Picture Credit: Josh Collingwood, SnappyGoat

FULL TEXT

I scored 126^th out of 126 students. When I was a junior in high school our class took a test for possible college level English curriculum in our senior year. Having been told the results, I sat sobbing on my bedroom floor. For some reason, grammatical prowess in my mother tongue eluded me. Syntax seemed like “sin tax” to me.

And grammar was the first of three levels in the senior curriculum. I had to pass out of one level to get to the next two: essay writing then free writing. I had been behind the door when grammar was taught in middle school. Somewhere, somehow, I missed lessons on prepositional phrases, split infinitives, and hanging gerunds. I tried and tried to pass through to the next level. No amount of tutelage helped. I languished in the wasteland of grammatical incoherence.

But the thing was, I could write. I knew instinctively what sounded right. I heard the words even if I didn’t understand how they fit together. And Roy Honeywell knew it.

Roy Honeywell had been my junior English teacher. He knew what I could do. “I would like to read a paper from someone in the class whose writing could be an example to others. He shall remain nameless,” Mr. Honeywell intoned as he read my papers during eleventh grade not once, not twice, but three times.

Now Roy Honeywell was the dual-credit, college-prep teacher in my senior year. He agonized with me as he tried to fill my grammatical knowledge gaps. I took and failed test after test. We were a month into the senior year. Everyone else had matriculated to levels two and three. I was the only one who could not pass the grammar section of the program.

The overwhelming feelings of failure touch me even today. I can feel now, what I felt then. The emotional slough I wallowed in then is the swamp I see before me every day.

But the feeling of clandestine secrecy from what happened next lies just beyond the swamp. Roy Honeywell knew what I could do. He knew I could write. So, one day he came to my desk and told me that I did not have to pass the grammar exam. I could proceed to level two.

“This is just between me and you,” he stated in firm, hushed tones. “You show me that you can write like I know you can, and the grammatical understanding will follow. I have faith in you.” And he walked away.

I did not know what would happen next, but he did. After scoring 126 out of 126, it was not long before my writing scores ranked at the top of the class. I knew I was doing well when Mr. Honeywell began to anonymously read my papers before the class again. I will never forget when he cast a quick, smiling glance in my direction before he began to read my writing.

“I have faith in you.” The words still inspire me today. Roy Honeywell gave me a chance. I have been giving students, like you, a chance, ever since. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally grateful for second chances.

10 Questions to Ask Another Point of View

May 17, 2022 by Mark Eckel

Do you get mad and yell?

Or do you ask questions?

Watch our Truth in Two, finding out how to counter another point of view (full text below).

Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, SnappyGoat

FULL TEXT

From time to time, I want to teach in these videos what I teach in classes. I believe it’s important for people to hear how universal truth applies in the public square. The ten principles I recite here are taught at a public university. But the principles can and could be applied in any communication. Here are my ten principles to consider when rejecting an argument or another point of view.

(1) Have you acknowledged your own assumptions, preconceptions, starting points, sources of and claims for truth?

(2) Have you recognized your own reasoning is susceptible to error, falsehood, bias, and that you, and those who agree with you, are not the final arbiters of truth?

(3) Have you heard, read, and watched the best sources of the other point of view, honestly listening to understand?

(4) Have you interpreted what you hear *not* through spokespersons sympathetic to your own point of view?

(5) Have you appreciated the best arguments from the other person’s perspective, unfiltered by your own prejudice or prior commitments?

(6) Have you compared and contrasted the best arguments from the other point of view with your best arguments?

(7) Have you asked questions which may illuminate truth or error?

(8) Have you tested the credibility and verifiability of your own point of view with the same vigor with which you have tested other perspectives?

(9) Have you rejected intellectual discrimination by those parties who ignore evidence, exclude by silence, or rely on unverified sources of information?

(10) Have you sought a simple, understandable explanation of your point of view which could be made clear to anyone?

You could be communicating with your spouse, boss, friend, or an online questioner. These ten questions could be a real help toward hearing another point of view. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, President of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.

Suicide Prevention

April 26, 2022 by Mark Eckel

I told her, “Get out of bed every morning

and put one foot in front of the other.”

Find out how words saved a life; watch our Truth in Two (full text below).

FULL TEXT

A student emailed me asking if we could meet via Zoom. I vividly remember that night and conversation. Our online chat was unlike any other virtual meeting I have ever had. The young woman was visibly shaken. She recounted any number of negative experiences, including the loss of her job because she stood up against discrimination in the workplace.

She was so distraught about her life that she considered ending it.

I had listened to her for the first half hour and saw the darkness that enveloped her. In the second half of our hour meeting, I began to speak of hope. I explained that my Christian faith gave me hope. I told her stories about my family and workplace injustices done to me. But I pleaded with her not to give up. I said,

“Get out of bed every morning, thinking, ‘I just need to put one foot in front of the other.”

She spent the last 30 minutes of our conversation in tears.

Honestly, I did not know what would happen. I prayed for my student over the coming weeks. We kept in contact and she finished the semester. But I wondered about her future.

Fast forward two years. This spring I received an email out of the blue from that student. In part, this is what she said,

I’m reaching out to you because I wanted to thank you. I graduated this past December. I owe a great deal of that to you. You inspired me in such a way that no one else has. Your stories pushed me to finish and not give up. I came very close to giving up. Your words inspired me. I am applying to graduate school next year and I owe that to you.

A teacher does not always know what impact his words will have on a student. Sometimes, those words may just save a life. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of The Comenius Institute, personally thankful for the life-giving hope of Jesus.

Things I Have Seen in Public University

April 21, 2022April 15, 2022 by Mark Eckel

Max (not his real name) was worried. “I just don’t know if I’m a good enough writer. I don’t have any confidence that what I have to say makes sense.” It was a private conversation between a student and a professor. I pointed at the projection screen. “Whose paper did I just show to the class?” A few moments earlier, with his permission, I had shown his written work as an example to everyone. My voice conveyed serious generosity. I did not give him opportunity to respond. I clapped him on the shoulder and announced, “You got chops, man! Hear me when I say, ‘You’re a good writer!’” A sheepish smile spread across his face. Max just needed encouragement. No matter what a student writes about, my job is to come alongside to inspire.

One undergraduate wrote about race cars, another about near-death experiences. Someone else regaled the benefits of “man’s best friend,” still a different student reported being a victim of a DUI. A critique of Barbie dolls was the premise that questioned artificial beauty standards imposed on young women. Defending and uplifting the art world was accomplished by a masterful dialogue paper where promotions and objections were all considered. “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” was well presented. Getting children outside to play, removing the constant use of “screens” by primary ages, warned against electronic stimulation on a child’s brain. BDSM used as a therapeutic tool was the resource promoted by a person who seemed to speak out of personal experience. Social stigmas related to masculinity, specifically, how men could dress in dresses, was a paper that spoke to the subject carefully while giving examples from his own personal life. Should “one nation under God” be in the Pledge of Allegiance? Should church leaders be celebrated? Interests span a wide range in a public university freshman class.

The subjects are as varied as my students. One young man, a Chinese American, recounted the diligence of his parents to work 14-hour days so that he might have a better life growing up in America. One young woman, a Mexican American, berated her parents, loathing her life, for the expectations placed on her from a couple who worked long hours so that she could go to college. Another woman, struggled with the negative, repressive teaching she received from her church about sex and her slide into sexual freedom that caused her great pain. One more teenager spoke out about the imposition employers laid on young workers, requiring additional hours of labor for substandard pay. A young man gave acclaim to his father who had taught him the wonder of caring for wildlife. Another man questioned the overriding, negative impact that virtual reality could have on perceptions of the real world. And a young woman, obviously hurt by flippant words, reprimanded her own generation’s use of “texting” as a communication tool.

One person wrote, “I want you [the general public] to know how it feels to grow up as a Hispanic in America.” Hers was a recounting of grievances, slights, and discriminations, that she had witnessed in her life. I write quite a bit on each submission. Here was how I responded, in part, to her paper:

______, thank you for your passionate consideration of what it means to be bilingual. I have always considered people who speak multiple languages some of the most intelligent people I know; they can cross not only linguistic boundaries but cultural communities. I view your situation in a positive light. You have something those who are monolingual do not – an appreciation for nuance and cultural consideration. I have a very good friend who immigrated from Guatemala. He tells me of his struggles to learn another language and another culture. We just spoke the other day. He recounted how thankful he was for living in this country with its multiplicity of benefits for so many people. He recounted for me the many, many times I helped him with his English so he could write his papers for a master’s program. He is now considering a PhD program. I wish all of this for you. Each one of us must conform to whatever “system” we are in; you do as a student of IUPUI, I do as an adjunct professor. We all navigate ideals, even “languages” that are not our own. We will do so the rest of our lives. If everyone “spoke anything they wanted,” as you have suggested, imagine the difficulty of communication. I hope that you will find the benefit of being “multi-” over “mono-” as a profitable step for your future. I have no idea about what you went through coming to the U.S. I hope that your experience of connecting to another culture will prove a boon to you. You have something few have in this culture, and I wish you well in your exercise of it. Your insights are not lost on me.

Anyone reading my above comment can see that I want my student to consider alternatives. I want my students to learn universal truths; in this case, responding to difficulties in life now, will be how you respond to difficulties in life later. Teaching for me is not relegated to departments, classes, lessons, or instructions. Sure, I teach English. But I am first and foremost a teacher. So, I teach. No matter the situation, I teach. A “professor” is a person who “professes.” I profess – not proselytize – what I believe. Every professor, professes. If I were to simply read a paper and comment on grammar, I would display disinterest in my students; to me, an educational slap in the face. Student subjects of interest become my subject of interest. Why? Because I care about students.

One paper raised the question about “near death experiences” (NDE). Because death is something everyone encounters and should prepare for, I introduced the writer to a Liberty University professor who has extensively researched the NDE phenomenon. “What it Means to be Human” is the title of an essay expressing a desire to help people by creating a relaxing place to congregate for conversation. It was heartening to see the others-centered response from a young woman who had been assaulted the semester before. “Rape” was the subject of another paper of a student who advocated abortion in situations of sexual trauma, assuming “choice is everything.” In contrast, there was a young woman who was celebrating her big family, a decidedly “pro-life” perspective. My comments on every paper pressed students to consider other points of view.

If there was one paper that left me slack jawed, it was the writing of a young Christian man. In choosing a topic, he had hit on the idea of explaining why he goes to church. As we discussed his work one day, I asked what had driven his interest to write about the reason for his faith. His face brightened; a big smile replaced the serious expression of writing revision. “My *peer reviewer is Max” (the man above, who has “chops”). “Max is not a believer,” my Christian student continued, “I’m writing the paper as a witness to him.” I have many stories to tell about my teaching in public university. But a student who is intentionally explaining his belief for the benefit of his peer, well, that story is in a category all its own. My philosophy of teaching is about “owning” what you believe. If you own what and why you believe, your communication of ideas will change people and by so doing, change the culture.

*[Our process in English is to have partners or peers share their work with each other to give encouragement as well as constructive criticism.]

These thoughts are from the Spring 2022 semester of my teaching at IUPUI. If there is one truth that summarizes all my comments above, it is, that I love my students. To support the writing and videos at MarkEckel.com, you can donate here.

Hospitality of Ideas

March 9, 2022March 9, 2022 by Mark Eckel

“Open-minded” does not exist.

Everyone is “closed-minded” to something.

“Broadminded,” however, means one entertains others and their ideas.

We may disagree with each other but being hospitable, means we listen.

Watch how we welcome people and their beliefs, without giving up our own (full text below).

We should be hospitable to all, caring about them and why they believe what they do.

Find out more about becoming a Christian APOLOGIST. I would be glad to talk with you about the work of RATIO CHRISTI (here). Subscribe to “Truth in Two” videos from Comenius (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), hosts a weekly radio program with diverse groups of guests (1 minute video), and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Snappy Goat

FULL TEXT:

Often when people say someone is “closed-minded” they mean “You don’t agree with me.” The same folks don’t see they may be the ones “closed” to the ideas others may hold.

Being broad-minded as a Christian means I listen to others, showing a hospitality of ideas. The distinctiveness of the Bible’s message begins with “holy,” meaning set apart or other than. The First Testament is very clear that Yahweh is distinctive from all other gods. When the prophets say “There is no other God” they mean other “gods” exist; but comparatively, there is no comparison. As Moses summarized in Deuteronomy 32:31, “Their rock is not like our Rock”.

Our responsibility as Christians is to be generous, welcoming of people with perspectives other than our own: and when given the opportunity, to explain the unique nature of Jesus’ gospel message in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me”.

As a Christian thinker, I am broad-minded, listening to others, secure in my answers for certain questions about the origins, ends, and ethics of life. If we can understand that all of us are in some way “closed” in our thinking, but “open” to people, no matter their beliefs, we might be better able to understand and respect others even while we hold to our own philosophies.

At the Comenius Institute we are secure in our core beliefs. We are secure in the fact that The Eternal, Personal, Triune God exists. We are secure in the fact that the natural world came about by a supernatural process. We are secure in the fact that God Providentially sustains His world.

But we are very “open” to the opportunities of broadmindedness, displaying a hospitality of ideas.

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, President of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.

How I Make Decisions: 4 Steps to a Workable Plan

March 7, 2022February 26, 2022 by Mark Eckel

“How do I know if it’s the right thing to do?” This question has been asked often by students in my four decades of teaching. Many years ago (first published online in 2009) I developed what I call “The S.P.U.D. Test.” I was using it again this week in classes. Perhaps this work page will be of help to you in your decision making.

“The S.P.U.D. Test”

Dr. Mark Eckel, IUPUI Senior Associate Faculty, English

Is the belief sensible to what is? Is it prudent and logical? Or is the viewpoint based solely on emotion, experience, or the desire of the moment? Is the thinking true to life or do you respond, “Oh, come on!”? Words that correspond to sensibility would be validity, genuine, truthful, legitimacy, or authenticity.

How is your idea “sensible”?

Is the belief practical and workable in everyday life? Can people live this way? Or when applied to reality is the viewpoint useless and unbeneficial? Words that correspond to practicality would be realistic, pragmatic, rational, reasonable, concrete, or expediency.

How is your idea “practical”?

Is the belief universal for all people in all places at all times in all cultures? Has the viewpoint produced a helpful impact for people throughout history? Or are people hurt by the ethics of the platform? Words that correspond to universality would be general, worldwide, comprehensive, or commonality.

How is your idea “universal”?

Is the belief dependable and consistent? Are the ideas based on a changeless set of standards? Or are they based on the whim of human decision? Words that correspond to dependability would be honest, standard, trustworthy, responsible, constant, continual, or reliability.

How is your idea “dependable”?

Educational Leadership: 5 Methods of Teaching Students to “Own” Learning

March 7, 2022January 31, 2022 by Mark Eckel

My one word definition of education: Ownership.

This past week one of my classes and I were reviewing the year. I wanted to know their comments about the learning process. It was a great discussion lasting an hour and a half.

“As much as it pains me to admit it,” one young man began his comment, “You were right.”

He smiled. I smiled. The class smiled.

“You made us go through this incremental process of building knowledge,” others began to nod their heads. “I did not like it. I just wanted to get the final paper out of the way. But you kept pacing us, slowing us down. You wanted us to reflect on what we were learning. And I was surprised how helpful the progression was for me.”

Another student reflected on what her mom told her.

“My mom has Masters and PhD degrees,” the young woman was obviously proud. “She told me when we were going over my final paper that the work we were doing in this class was work she was taught to do at the graduate level. She was so pleased that I was learning the process of researching and writing in preparation for college.”

Family connections continued.

“Yes, my sister is a senior in college studying English,” my young charge smiled, knowing I had her sister in my class years before. “She told me that how I was learning to write papers was such good preparation for university studies. In fact, she also said, I would be far ahead of other students in my college classes.”

During the week I had also begun reading Turn the Ship Around! Retired Navy captain of a U.S. nuclear submarine L. David Marquet tells the true story of changing the culture of leadership. He proposes a leader-leader model where everyone is empowered with authority over knowledge.

It struck me that Marquet and I share the same philosophy. We want our people to own authority, knowledge, and responsibility. Similar to the captain’s philosophy I have taught students:

Tools of learning they would use throughout life (essay here)

Principles of life they could employ throughout any vocation (essay here)

Outcomes depend on what is done with opportunities (essay here)

Assumptions frame the application of their knowledge (essay here)

Objectives are met only with intentional practice (essay here)

“I won’t be around when you have questions in the future,” I began to close the class discussion. “How I am teaching you now—the mindset, ways of thought—you can employ for the rest of your days wherever you are, whatever you do.”

“One of my former students, a philosopher with a PhD” I was remembering an email I had received earlier in the week, “Put it this way,”

“Your high school classes were good, time well spent. I was not aware that the ‘bricks’ gathered in the class would become incorporated into the ‘walls’ which now support the ‘upper stories’ of my life. Looking back now, I don’t know what I would have done without them.”

One young man, nodding his head, said, “This year I have learned to own my education.”

Ownership. The definition stands. The process continues.

Mark’s view of “ownership” is because he stands on the shoulders of giants such as Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Wycliffe, Tyndale, Calvin, Luther, Comenius, Edwards, and so many more. This essay is being written toward Mark’s forthcoming book “Up Against the Lockers: Teaching-Learning as Christian Practice.” Dr. Mark Eckel has taught junior high school classes through PhD studies and is President of The Comenius Institute. [This essay was originally published in May, 2017 here at Warp&Woof.]

Educational Leadership’s Missing Word

January 11, 2022 by Mark Eckel

“Come together, right now, or else,

be torn apart.”

Find out what “Remember the Titans” should teach us by watching our Truth in Two (full text below).

Subscribe to 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).

Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Snappy Goat, By impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9969828

FULL TEXT

Based on a true story, Denzel Washington plays the part of a black football coach in a white community in the movie Remember the Titans. The coach’s team is half black and half white. And the players hate each other. Trying everything he can to bring his team together, he finally decides to take the young men on a run – at three in the morning. Made to traverse rough terrain for hours, the high school boys find themselves at the Civil War’s bloody battle ground of Gettysburg. Thousands of men from the Confederate and Union armies lost their lives there. In Denzel’s words,

“Take a lesson from the dead. If we don’t come together, right now, on this hallowed ground, we too will be destroyed. Just like they were. I don’t care if you don’t like each other right now, but you will respect each other. And maybe, just maybe, we will learn to play the game of football like men.”

Remember the Titans has much to teach the educational establishment today which tends to focus on three words: diversity, equity and inclusion. But Remember the Titans explains you can’t have those three words without this word: Unity. We hear much in our culture about partisanship, division, war, and a country being torn apart; but very little about “unity.” Nationally, we could do no better than to repeat a famous line from Martin Luther King I Have a Dream that

“little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers”

So maybe we should start preaching one word: “unity.” Focus more on what brings us together than what tears us apart. Take a lesson from MLK and Remember the Titans: come together, right now. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, President of the Comenius Institute, personally dedicated to racial unity.

Economic Realities

January 10, 2022December 16, 2021 by Mark Eckel

Helping students to understand the outcomes of their assumptions.

These are comments I send to each student after they have written their final project for one of my classes. The lines of thought deal with issues of anthropology, sociology, and economics based on the movie “Parasite” (Joon-ho, 2019). Most students write about class, capitalism, discrimination, equity, or the like as a theme that they draw from the movie and then do a semester full of research on their topic. I have suggested alternate viewpoints throughout the semester, pointing out socio-economic approaches students in a public university do not always hear. Student tendencies espouse a general socialistic perspective where “government” is seen as having jurisdiction over monetary affairs. I never press my views on students but I surely have them consider the implications of theirs (or any) socio-economic theory.

My general comments about the “Argumentative Writing” final project:

Definitions of words matter. Words such as flourishing, economics, discrimination, prejudice, class, status, bourgeoisie, or capitalism all deserve to be defined as they are used in your paper. And remember, whoever controls the definition, controls the conversation. Your responsibility is to be evenhanded in your coverage.
Humility and charity matter even with those groups with whom you desperately disagree. Verbiage that demeans any individual or institution detracts from rather than adds to your position.
Beliefs about humanity and authority are woven through every single discipline. What you believe about the nature of people – whether people are perfectible or corruptible – and what you believe about authority – is the source of right and wrong solely human or does it include a transcendent source? – will impact every single point of view you hold.
There are three “families” in Parasite, not just two. Joon-ho’s point is that status is not simply one pitting the “rich” against the “poor” but includes how the “poor” treat those who are “poorer.” The “human condition” intersects all ethnic, national, and class lines.
Try to consider problems as “human” rather than pitting one group against another. To point out a problem and seek a solution is one thing; to disparage others – and in the process, making enemies – is quite another.
Discussions of economics are, at their core, ethical discussions. The trust we put in a system of stewarding wealth assumes our predisposition to right and wrong. And if the “human condition” is the central problem of ethics, then any economic system can degenerate.
If you believe you must replace an economic system such as capitalism, you must immediately ask, “What is the replacement?” And if you choose a replacement, have you investigated how that economic system has been a benefit or a detriment to the poor where it has been tried elsewhere in world and throughout history? How does any economic system impact the poor, whom you wish to serve?
Considering your general concern for the poor, what will you do personally to care for those less economically fortunate around you, right now, where you live? Remember, change begins with you.
Never forget that a government does not have any money. Government does not create wealth (though its policies surely impact wealth creation). Government services are available only through taxpayer dollars. When you say, “The government should pay . . .” remember it’s your money you are talking about.
Always remember that there are different points of view on any subject. Be wary of accepting the arguments of those with whom you already agree. Search out the other side. Consider your sources. Ask, “Am I being fair to the position or people I’m critiquing?”