I teach at a university that requires its students to take Bible courses. We’re a Christian university, and the tradition of our religious heritage has placed a very high value on biblical literacy. I am a fully-vested and dues-paying member of that club with all the rights and privileges pertaining there unto; I have always… Continue reading Furniture of the Mind
Posts
Doing Less Better
Image from Hall's (2021) article "5 ways to secure productive efficiency in 2021" This post runs a little inductive; I'll make my point at the end. Every week, since March 14th of 2020, I've looked at my task-list, and deferred the task "Write a blog post." By my count, I've deferred that task 45 consecutive… Continue reading Doing Less Better
Quick and Dirty Online Migration Tips
Several of my friends, in the last 48 hours, have shared with me their concerns about having to turn traditional residential courses into online courses in a matter of days. Since they know I do all of my teaching online, I mainly get questions that are really best answered at the course design/development stage; changing… Continue reading Quick and Dirty Online Migration Tips
This One Thing I Do
If I live this life, free from condemnation, what would it mean for others to experience “no condemnation” from me?
It’s All Fun and Games Until…
The apostle Paul, in Romans 7, describes a condition of spiritual angst that is very familiar to most religious people. “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Later, in the same chapter, Paul summarizes his battle with sin;… Continue reading It’s All Fun and Games Until…
Better Never than Late
I recently mentioned to a colleague how my syllabi include a "no late-work" policy for course assignments. He asked me, "In a sentence, why did you harden up your late policy?" He knows better than to ask me to answer anything in a sentence. I have come to believe that having a "no late-work" policy… Continue reading Better Never than Late
Confession of a Racist: Mens Rea, Blameworthiness, and Racism
As a white male, it sometimes feels like the conversation about race and racism has been rejuvenated in an era of social media, #blacklivesmatter, Donald Trump, neo-white nationalist pride, news about politicians dressing in black-face when they were in school, etc. Many of my friends and neighbors, however, are likely to find that belief infuriating;… Continue reading Confession of a Racist: Mens Rea, Blameworthiness, and Racism
Productive Nerd – TextExpander and Grading
Some of you use to read my old web-site, The Productive Nerd. I expalined just a bit why I took that site down here, - but that doesn't mean that I stopped thinking about productivity in higher education. One my primary frustrations in higher ed is the lack of control we have in the selection… Continue reading Productive Nerd – TextExpander and Grading
Grades, Shame, and Salvation
The title of this post sounds strange, indeed. I suppose that one could imagine a hundred different heresies emanating from the idea of connecting grades to salvation. Let me see if I can expand on just one of those possible heresies... Several of my colleagues and I have been working on a proposal for a… Continue reading Grades, Shame, and Salvation
Christian Virtue in Education
I have recently been engaged in several different conversations that seem to emanate from the same core question: what does it mean to engage with students in the online setting, and what are the (potentially) distinctive features of Christian online education. Parker Palmer (2010) accurately defined one of the primary ironies of spirituality and higher… Continue reading Christian Virtue in Education
J. Scott Self, Ph.D. 