Sunday, September 14, 2014

God's not Dead on teaching at research schools

Enjoyed God's Not Dead last night... 

Talking some more with Tonia: Before becoming a Christian, she had an experience like the movie at U of L. At IUS-- or more broadly, at any school whose primary mission is teaching-- it's much more difficult to imagine. (There's probably a regional component to this as well-- more likely on the West/East Coast vs. the middle of the country.)

First of all, the movie's prof is not *teaching* but propagandizing. People who like to teach will tend to teach, not spew crap in service to other agendas. You'll still find people who like to propagandize-- and its extent is more likely through tenure. But I'd expect it to be the exception much more than the rule-- or at the least, a relatively small proportion within most classes. 

Second, teaching is work; propaganda is easy/lazy. Again, I'd expect to see more of that at places where research is primary and teaching is somewhere between modestly rewarded and denigrated. You'd also expect it in fields where the concepts are easier, leaving more room for opinion and fluff. 

Third, profs at a school whose primary mission is teaching will be judged foremost on *teaching* (although research/publishing is expected and supported). Unless it's deeply entrenched, the movie prof's antics would be laughed at, not applauded. In contrast, research schools don't care (nearly) as much about teaching, so it would be more likely in those contexts.

1 Comments:

At September 15, 2014 at 8:53 AM , Blogger Most Dance said...

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