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Don’t Believe Anything I Say
I was embarrassed. It was a stupid mistake. And I mean, “stupid.” I posted something on social media that looked “true,” when, indeed, it was false. Not “false” in the way of trying to mislead, but “false” in the way that I missed the clarification, “Upon further review, this story is false.”
I didn’t read all the way to the end. I rushed and did not do due diligence. True, it is a small thing. Not many read my reportage, save one, a friend, whose “wounds,” in this case, were good and true.
The momentary glitch in my thinking reminded me of what I have told students from Day One, “Don’t believe anything I tell you. Go. Search it out for yourself. Make sure what I’m saying is true.”
I have taught in multiple venues, across various disciplines, in public university, in Christian university, in K-12, in Ph.D. At some point in my teaching, I repeat the mantra, “Don’t believe anything . . .”
“Proselytizing” has never been my way of educating. My standards are high (ask my students), without apology. Why? Because I don’t want students to need me. There will come a day for any class, any student, that I will not be around to answer their questions. I want them then and there to be equipped, not only with the tools of learning (something else I harp on) but with the mindset that they bear responsibility for knowledge accrued and interpretation offered.
The world is full of voices clamoring to be heard. When young minds hear the latest “news,” will they take it as gospel truth or will they research, study, think, and question? When young minds hear the latest “study,” will their first thought be “Really!” or “Really?” When young minds see the latest “photojournalism,” will they seek the context and notice how the picture was cropped? It is not simply the subterfuge of “deep fakes,” as disturbing as that deceptive practice is, but it is concern for the definition of words, the bias of the reporter, the worldview of the paper, or the thin research of online content.
We have always tackled the toughest subjects in my classes since I began to teach in 1983. Humanist Manifestos I & II. Sexuality in music. In-vitro fertilization. Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Andres Serrano art. Filmmakers’ worldviews. Psychologizing of humanity. Immigration reform. Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth. Drug addiction. Mental health. The 1619 Project versus 1776 Unites. Abuse in the home. Business ethics. Racism. Sexual identity. If it mattered in the culture, it mattered in my classroom.
And I should be quick to add, my purpose in addressing cultural concerns was not “relevance.” No, I wanted students to see that biblical teaching (in Christian contexts) or perennial principles (in public contexts) were constantly in play. The world may seem a revolving door, constantly spinning, full of “change,” all seemingly “new.” Yet, it is the “old,” ancient wisdom, woven through human nature, embedded in the creation, which we see each day or each century. It is my responsibility as an educator to prepare my students, not for the latest technological marvel, but to steel them against its unethical use and inhuman abuse.
And it is in moments of my own ineptitude that I am reminded of the very ideas that are sacred to me as a professor. It goes without saying, perhaps, that I hold myself up as evidence of why students must research, think, question, and offer their own alternative points of view. I am in search of true Truth.
First published at MarkEckel.com I have been teaching over a 40-year span. “Don’t believe anything I tell you” has been my mantra since day one.
Great post, and particularly appropriate in today’s world, where everything should be questioned. From climate change, Russian collusion, green energy, CRT, trans genderism, even gas stoves. Here is an article that supports critical thinking, especially as it relates to science, health studies and drug efficacies http://www.rebresearch.com/blog/why-is-social-science-research-irreproducible-and-how-to-tell-what-is-true/
I’m concerned about this, Mark. You have experience educating young people, and I do not. Overall, though, my observation is that our education system has been doing a very poor job in the past few decades.
My concern is this. If you tell your students not to believe what you say, why should they bother listening to you? Doesn’t this imply that you have no confidence in your teaching, and in the conclusions that you’ve reached?
I don’t direct this specifically to you. It strikes me that we’ve had a loss of what I call “cultural confidence” over the past 50 years or so. (I think that I got the term from Mark Steyn.) Too much humility in teaching traditional values comes across as weakness, doesn’t it?
Because you can count on the existence of anti-Christian teachers, undermine all tradition and sensibility, who will be very persuasive to young people and will present their views with no lack of confidence. They’ll be telling young people exactly what they want to hear — that they can do whatever they want, chart their own course, determine their own values, and that anyone who wants to control destructive or anti-social behavior is an oppressive patriarchal fascist tyrant.
One of my Bible study groups happens to be studying Acts. We’ve reached Chapter 6. One thing that I notice is that there is not a hint of such doubt in the teaching of Peter, or John, or Stephen.
@ArizonaPatriot (Jerry) it is possible you may like this morning’s post better. I wish I had time for a fuller response but I’ll bullet-point a few ideas.
(1) Public university context. I work in the public university. I am constantly confronting students (and faculty) with ideas that run counter to what they hear in the rest of the university. But my job is not to proselytize, at which point I would become what I hate about the conduct of other professors in their classes. I plant ideas. The tagline for The Comenius Institute that I run is “Ideas change people, people change a culture.”
(2) Christian high school context. The opening story comes from my days teaching in a place where Scripture formed the foundation and permeation of our knowledge. But even there I would respond as prophetic voices such as Solomon or Paul did: “I beg you,” “I beseech you,” “Listen to my words.” The title to my post here is straight out of Acts 17.11.
(3) Approach is important in any context. How speak with people matters. The methods I use to speak with people matter. As an educator, the best educational process for me is to ask questions. Students don’t listen to top-down, ex cathedra pronouncements, just as much as we Americans hate for government to tell us what to do.
Hope that helps!