Teaching Students to Know Goodness (and Be Good)

Truth, Beauty, and Goodness are three essential elements, first emphasized by Plato, for a virtuous life and a flourishing society. The first two articles in this series focus on Truth and Beauty in schools; however, Goodness in schools is more challenging as it incorporates teaching students to know goodness and to be good. 

Knowing What is Good

The academic disciplines that examine the essence of goodness are theology and ethics. Clearly, schools, colleges, and universities that are not religious do not teach theology, and ethics is rarely taught at any school. Unfortunately, most students are not formally taught what is good (at least at school). That is troubling in itself. This is why teaching goodness is going to be more challenging than teaching truth and beauty; it will involve incorporating new lessons, units, courses into the curriculum. 

If we are to teach students to know goodness, we must start with a rigorous study of theology and ethics.

Christian schools have the advantage in teaching students to know what is good. as most have Bible classes, along with classes taught from a biblical perspective. However, not all teachers in Christian schools believe that the Bible is the ultimate standard for goodness or have the training to know how to teach from a biblical perspective. Christian school leaders must hire well and provide ongoing professional development in both Bible knowledge and subject/grade specific pedagogy from a Christian perspective. Keeping this as an institutional priority is key to teaching students what is good.

Ethics or moral philosophy should also be taught, with age-appropriate curricula, so students understand how to view everything from an ethical framework. Thankfully, ethics curriculum is being developed as whole courses and as lessons inserted into units, so students can learn how to evaluate and make good decisions, including topics such as ... 

• Utilitarian and deontological ethics, ethical dilemmas, and fallacies
• Ethical decisions, values-based decisions, just cause, and moral choices 
• Personal ethics, professional workplace ethics, and public ethics

Each of these instructional topics will help to develop critical thinking, analysis, and debate skills essential in our world today.  And ... those are sure needed today. 

Living in a break-neck, technological age, the primary question is not, can we do something? (we can) but rather, should we do it? or Is it good to do something? These are their own set of modern ethical questions ... should we clone animals/people? should we use AI to write our papers for us? should we have relationships with humanoids? should we freeze embryos? should we genetically alter pre-born babies? 

Everyday brings a new set of these ethical questions. Answers to these questions take biblical and ethical wisdom, and humanity is (currently) woefully under-trained in these areas. I do believe that educators (especially Christian educators) have an amazing opportunity to fill this gap by teaching goodness.

Knowing goodness should lead to being good, and schools should help develop that, too.

Being Good

I spent 8 years as a dean of students at the college level and 13 years as a high school principal; both of these roles involved establishing a set of rules and then enforcing those rules. Because of these roles in educational leadership, I've spent over 20 years thinking about orthopraxy (or right-actions) in schools. One of the responsibilities of a school is to teach students to be virtuous (good) citizens.

Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer and educational philosopher, used the term pietas literata, emphasizing that schools should not only produce smart students but also pious ones. Luther was a strong proponent of universal education to teach all students to read the Bible (priesthood of all believers) and to encourage right actions aligned with God's word. 

Most Christian educators and Christian schools agree with Martin Luther's concept of pietas literata, with a goal of educated and godly graduates. They are training students to be good, and good is defined by the Bible. 

Unfortunately, the majority of American educators and schools do not believe that the Bible is the moral standard. The prevalent worldview in classrooms is individualism, where morality is defined by the individual person, essentially, whatever makes you happy is "good." Consequentially, they are training students to be individuals pursuing individual happiness. Not surprisingly, examples of this mentality are ubiquitous in our narcissistic and ego-centric society.

The best way to learn about goodness and even to be good is to emulate others who make good, ethical decisions and live pious lives. Knowing that adult exemplars are rare today, spotlighting those individuals who are living the "good life" is really important. Teaching students how to know goodness and be good is definitely needed in our society today, and Christian educators, at all levels, should lead the way!

Teaching Students to Create and Appreciate Beauty

I greatly appreciate art, music, and live theater, but I am not an artist, musician, or actor. In fact, I think I appreciate the arts even more because I do not have these gifts. When people ask me about the fine and performing arts, I often joke that I am called to be in the audience ... but, to be honest, I am not really joking. Audience member (patron of the arts) is a vital role for a flourishing society. Schools have a crucial responsibility to encourage the appreciation of the arts in addition to teaching the creation of art and music.

Plato identified truth, beauty, and goodness as essential elements for a virtuous life and a flourishing society. However, beauty lights up our life in ways that truth and goodness do not; in fact, I can know truth and act with goodness, but still live a life of despair. Humans need to create and appreciate beautiful things, and one of the best ways to do that is through the fine and performing arts. 

The False ROI Mindset

Schools should lead the way in helping students and the overall society appreciate beauty and the arts. Unfortunately, since the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 and its over-emphasis on test scores, schools have neglected the arts in favor of the more "measurable" subjects, like math and reading. This is a "Return on Investment" (ROI) mindset that has infected education. In short, subjects that lead to higher test scores, better school ratings, more college admissions, and, ultimately, higher alumni salaries are valued above subjects that do not provide those returns on investment. Although we often blame school districts and administrators for cutting the arts programs, blame falls more on our society as a whole ... and our ROI mindset with education.

The ROI mindset is killing the arts and, ultimately, our appreciation of beauty (and joy). We are economically rich and emotionally poor as a nation. It is no wonder that Bradley Birzer, a professor at Hillsdale College summarizing American culture in the State of the Nation report (2025), concluded, "We're so wealthy but so unhappy." 

Here are a few ways that schools can help bring back beauty and joy into our world.

Acknowledge God as Beauty Creator and Appreciator

First, we need to recognize God as the first and ultimate beauty creator. God's first quality on display was his creativity as he made the heavens and the earth. Educators should take seriously the call to train up students to be beauty creators, in reflection of our creator. God also was the original beauty appreciator as He paused at the end of creating each day, observed everything, and stated, "It is good." Teachers and students should regularly pause to look at God's creation around us and state, "wow, that is beautiful!" 

Additionally, we know that God wants us to create beautiful things. In Exodus 31, the Spirit of God fills Bezalel, giving him the ability to make beautiful artistic designs and various crafts for the tabernacle. Interestingly, this is the first time recorded in scriptures where the Spirit of God filled a human, and God fills and empowers an artist. God also gives intricately detailed (and beautiful) designs for the temple over multiple chapters (I Kings 5-7; 2 Chronicles 2-4). God cares deeply about beauty, and as we are made in His image, we also should strive to create beautiful things.

Schools should follow this rhythm of creating and appreciating beauty.

Led by an exceptional Christian teacher, beauty can be created and appreciated in any subject. I know that the words on a page, the cell in a microscope, and a complex math formula are all beautiful and bring God glory. All subjects can be involved in beauty creating and appreciating; however, I am going to continue to focus on the fine and performing arts in regards to beauty. 

Creating Beauty

Students creating art and music is something that is inherently imago dei human, and the process in itself is beautiful. With the expansion of AI generated art and music, schools must continue to provide opportunities for students to reflect God's image in these ways. This involves investing in qualified instructors in these areas to teach students both the knowledge and skills to create beautiful music and art. It also requires a time and schedule investment. "Specials," like music and art, are often relegated to the periphery of the elementary school day, and converted into "electives" at the middle and high school level. I understand that school districts and administrators have a difficult task balancing all that can be taught, so if beauty creating is not one of the core values, the school-wide investment may not be present. However, individual teachers can integrate music and art into the other subjects. 

Classroom teachers passionate about beauty creation can add enrichment activities to each unit. Thankfully, most of the top curricula have activities in each unit to help teachers incorporate art and music. Additionally, AI can assist teachers in crafting lessons that highlight music and art. e.g. ask one of the AI platforms to "develop an enrichment activity for a 6th grade marine biology unit that incorporates student created music." 

In addition to developing this aspect of God's image, beauty creating adds joy to learning. Teachers who integrate music and art will see their students' eyes light up and smiles beam when they take 20 minutes to enrich a lesson with music or art.

Appreciating Beauty

Some teachers may feel unqualified to lead "beauty creating" in the classroom, but pausing to appreciate beauty is God-glorifying and may be an easy on-ramp. It doesn't take much to begin the class by listening to a song or looking at a work of art. These "bell-ringers" can simply be a pause to say, "wow, that is beautiful" or it can be a more complex analysis (here's another good use of AI ...  Ask AI to come up with art appreciation discussion questions for Edvard Munch's "The Scream" for a 9th grade English class). 

If your school values beauty and is within driving distance to a metropolitan area, incorporate field trips for all grade levels to museums, theaters, concert halls to allow students to experience beauty in person. These venues understand the importance of introducing students to the arts, and most have very affordable or free programs. Students see so much manufactured beauty that you will blow their minds by taking them to see art and music in person. You may need to train them on "how to eat a [painting]" (reference to Eve Merriam's poem "How to Eat a Poem"). Here are a few tips for enjoying a painting:   

1. Stand back to take in a wide angle, appreciating its fullness and considering what is beautiful about the painting.
2. Focus on different quadrants so you don't miss any part of the painting.
3. Slowly move closer until you see the brush strokes and consider the skill of the painter.
4. Read the title and caption, reflecting on what is written by the curator.
5. Return to the back to take in the whole masterpiece again before moving on to the next painting.

I have fortunately taught and led schools in communities rich with museums, concert halls, and theaters, so this has always been a part of my experience. It has been a joy to take students to these and just watch them find joy in the beautiful. Sometimes it takes longer for some to appreciate, so finding the right level of exhibit or concert is important. I remember taking a group of high school students to a classic Italian opera (sung in Italian). While this would be a stretch for many adults, the students were captivated after the first 20 minutes. What a joy to watch their faces turn from furrowed brows and scrunched up noses to wide open eyes and mouths in awe of the beauty. (Yes, some students fell asleep as did some adults in the audience, but only a few).

I want to end this section where I began this article, honoring the role of an audience member. Our society needs individuals who value beauty, and I believe schools should be training up students to appreciate art and music (created and performed by fellow humans). As the Boomer generation passes away, we need the next generation to take up the role of patron of the arts, supporting beauty creation in the fine and performing arts. Educators and schools have a unique opportunity to show students art and music and declare together ... "wow, that is beautiful!"

But ... how do we know if something is beautiful? 

What is Beautiful?

When I am hiking in the Rockies and come to a breath-taking vista, I just know that view is beautiful, but when a student creates something in art class, how do you know if that is beautiful? Isn't it all just subjective? Here are three principles to consider.

1. Professionally trained art and music teachers must lead the learning. Unfortunately, some schools do not have the resources, conviction, or ability to staff these positions well. Students suffer if they don't have an expert leading them in beauty making.
2. Students must be educated in what is "beautiful" in the specific genre, medium, style, or expression, and this takes time studying exemplars and imitating beauty in art and music. 
3. Students need to enter with a humility, willing to take constructive criticism well. This must lead to working hard to improve. 
• btw, I do think a student's effort and improvement is beautiful and God-glorifying ... a consideration in grading (for another blog)

Actually, The Voice and The Great British Baking Show have helped me understand these principles better over the years of watching these shows. Clearly, the judges on these shows are professionally trained and have put in hours of work becoming experts in their craft. I know this because I sometimes hear a beautiful voice that doesn't get a chair to turn, and I'm sure that I could not tell if a cake was slightly over-baked. The judges are experts, know exemplars, and see the gap between what is produced and what is truly beautiful. Likewise, the contestants that ultimately produce beautiful things are willing to take constructive criticism and work diligently to improve.

Both teachers and students can learn a few things from these shows. 

First, exemplars are helpful learning tools. Contestants on The Voice use exemplars of the song, professionally sung and produced, to prepare for their auditions, and can you imagine the improvement if the bakers could see the exemplar in the technical challenge? Exemplars help students learn. 

Second, criticism should be constructive. While I hope that teachers deliver criticism with more grace than some talent show judges, students must be willing to take the criticism (even in front of their peers) and learn from it. Sadly, many students today wilt under criticism; hopefully, students can learn from these shows about how to take criticism and grow from this feedback. 

Plato was correct in identifying truth, beauty, and goodness as essential elements to a flourishing society. As these elements become more rare today, educators need to step in to shift our focus.

Helping students create and appreciate beauty will bring joy to their life and to the society as a whole. 

If you liked this article, check out the other article in this series on Truth, Beauty, and Goodness.

• Teaching Students to be Truth Discerners

Teaching Students Truth Discernment

I admit it ... I've been duped. I recently viewed an animal video on social media that was so amazing that I just had to share it with my family ... I'm glad I didn't share it on my social media accounts because it was an AI created "deepfake" video. While this animal video was quite harmless, being emotionally manipulated with fake AI videos is becoming more and more prevalent ... to get donations, defame political opponents, and promote untruths. One thing is true ... it is getting increasingly difficult to know what is true today. 

As educators, we absolutely need to teach students to understand and evaluate artificial intelligence, but we must begin with a more foundational question: What is truth?

Plato originally identified the core elements of being as truth, beauty, and goodness. Since that point, these three elements have shaped education, especially religious education. Unfortunately, the past century of progressive education has deconstructed each of these elements. We have created our own truth, redefined beauty, and discarded any standard of goodness. Consequently, we find ourselves in an epistemological, aesthetic, and moral mess.

Returning to those three core elements is the only way back, and educators must lead the way ... starting with teaching students to be truth discerners.

Build (back) a Foundation for Learning

The skills for learning have been decimated over the previous decades of progressive education. In order to teach students to become truth discerners, we need to ensure that a solid foundation exists, starting with getting back to the basics during the elementary years. Unfortunately, many upper school students need to relearn these elements before they can truly know truth.

Fear of the Lord -- Any conversation about building a foundation for learning must begin with faith in God, and this has not been a part of most of American education and educational philosophy. It is no wonder that our educational system is in decline. As Proverbs 9:10 states, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Obviously, Christian schools are at an advantage with this building block, but, sadly, many Christian school classrooms look too similar to public school classrooms, as many teachers are trained in state teacher education programs. If you want to find truth in education, start with fearing God and teaching Christianly. Make this integral to the educational process.

Teach Students How to Read -- Teaching students to read has been a pillar of education ever since there was the written word. As books and the printed word became more accessible, literacy became essential. In fact, shortly after Gutenberg's printing press, many pushed for universal education so that all students could learn to read (especially the Bible). Unfortunately, about fifty years ago educators changed the way they taught students how to read, even though research did not support this change; phonics and de-coding was replaced by whole language. This is still a literacy debate, and I encourage you to listen to the "Sold a Story" podcast series. In teaching students to be truth discerners, they must know how to read well ... don't miss this step. 

Upper School Strategies

If students fear the Lord and know how to read, they have the building blocks to seek truth, but as students transition into upper levels, educators must continue to guide the process. Here are a few essential strategies.

Read Primary Sources and Take Your Time -- At some point in the relatively recent past, reading became hard and took too long (possibly tied to a point above), so curriculum writers and publishers  shifted to abridged versions and secondary sources. The premise of abridgement is that every written work only has a few important paragraphs, so why would anyone read the entire work? However, if students only read abridged versions, they miss the author's full argument, context and richness of language, and, more damaging, curriculum writers are deciding what are the most important paragraphs to read rather than the teacher or student. Likewise, reading only secondary sources and summaries removes critical reading and analysis brain work. This is especially prevalent in academic research today; gone are the days of reading entire books (or even full articles) to gain the perspective of the author to add to a paper; instead, students grab quotes without context to support their point. We've lost the ability for critical reading, a key to truth seeking. Additionally, developing truth discernment requires reflection, contemplation, and discussion ... take the time. Yes, primary sources take longer and are more work, but they are essential tools in teaching students to be truth discerners.

Fact Check Everything -- Unfortunately due to lying politicians, statistical manipulation, and fake news, the new term in truth seeking is "fact checking." Verifying facts and triangulating reports used to be an expectation of a journalist with integrity; now, being the first to publish a story has pushed journalists to run with stories that have not been fully vetted. Walter Cronkite used to be "the most trusted man in America"; now, nobody trusts the news. This is actually a great lesson to use with students in writing essays, making arguments, and classroom discussions ... any statement that is made must be supported by facts (preferably from primary sources). This is part of the hard work of becoming a truth discerner ... and it is something that Christians have been doing since the early church. The Bereans were Christians of "noble character" who fact-checked Paul's sermons with the scriptures to make sure what he said was true (Acts 17:11). Imagine fact-checking the Apostle Paul (author of most of the New Testament)! If that is commended of the Bereans, we should also learn to fact-check ... but using the Bible as the ultimate truth. The Protestant Reformation used ad fontes (meaning "back to the fount" or "back to the source") as a battle cry encouraging Christians to go back to the Bible to check orthodoxy and orthopraxy. In fact, this is essentially Martin Luther's defense when he was being tried for excommunication at the diet of Worms; he stated that he would recant if they could show him his error based on scripture alone. He was trained well as a truth discerner and someone who used the ultimate primary source. 

One of the best pedagogical principles a teacher can use to develop truth discerning is to require evidence from primary sources for every claim that is made by students. If they know that is the standard, students will rise to the challenge. Having students orally defend their paper is a powerful summative assessment (or celebration of learning) that helps to genuinely measure learning. 

Test the Spirits of the Age -- Finally, truth discerning must have a philosophical foundation to analyze content based on a worldview. Students today do not study philosophy and have not been trained in literary criticism (which is typically reserved for upper level college courses in the humanities). High school students can handle literary criticism and philosophy, and this knowledge base will help them find truth. When I taught high school English, I always had my students analyze a short story from many different philosophical perspectives (e.g. Marxism, Feminism, Historical, etc.). This concept also comes from the Bible when the Apostle John warned Christians to "test the spirits of the age" (I John 4). Our melting pot world contains so many different philosophies and worldviews that philosophy and literary criticism are essential skills to truth discerning.

Of course, there are many more strategies to grow students in truth discernment, but these principles above will help educators begin.

Students today need to be strong truth discerners in a world that loudly proclaims that everyone creates his/her own truth. Objective truth is found in God's word, and that must be our starting point in education ... if that is where we start, our students will be well on their way to becoming truth discerners.

Higher Education Has Lost Its Why

Neil Postman in The End of Education (1996) predicted that colleges and universities would become places of "chaotic, irresponsible, relativism." Thirty years ago, he foresaw colleges losing their core beliefs and drifting from their founding mission statement; today, we see the manifestation of his prediction. Even further back, William Butler Yeats, in his poem, "The Second Coming" (1919), expressed his feeling that the world is falling apart due to a "lack of conviction": "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world." More recently, Simon Sinek, in his book Know Your Why (2022), challenged individuals to know their core beliefs, purpose, and reason for existence. 

Postman, Yeats, and Sinek are discussing the same thing; in order for individuals and institutions to flourish, they must know their "why" and operate authentically to their core purpose, their deep convictions, and their mission statement. 

In short, higher education has lost its "why." Many college campuses can be described as having an ethos of "chaotic, irresponsible, relativism" (Postman) where "the best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity" (Yeats).  

Recently, critics of higher education have become more bold to proclaim what Postman predicted. These vocal critics have caused our country collectively to ask, what is the purpose of higher education? While each college and university has its own mission statement, below are four general categories of why higher education exists.

Knowledge and Truth

Most people would agree that students go to college to get smarter. Knowledge has always been equated with power (knowledge is power) and freedom (e.g. the liberal or liberating arts). Truth (Veritas) is found in the motto of our earliest colleges ... Harvard's motto is simply Veritas (1636) and Yale's motto is Lux et Veritas (1701), translated "light and truth." Education from ancient history was about seeking knowledge and truth, as students would sit under wise teachers (rabbis) to learn as much as they could. This just makes sense ... As a student, I need to seek knowledge and truth from a teacher who has more of it than I do. That is the purpose of higher education.

That has been true for ages (and still is true to an extent), but technology has essentially made this "why" obsolete. I have all knowledge on my phone; in fact, my phone has more knowledge than the most intelligent professor. I don't have to pay tuition or sit through boring lectures to gain knowledge and truth; I have my phone.

Why do I have to go to college if this is the main purpose of higher education?

Career Preparation and Make (more) Money

If you ask students and parents "why college?" the answer is most often to get a good job, with the definition of "good" as being one that makes a lot of money. In fact, we've monetized the reasons for college by stating ROI stats, e.g., a college graduate makes $32,000 per year more than a high school graduate. But, is this the primary reason that colleges exist? Most colleges and universities do not have job preparation in their founding mission statement, but most strategic plans / vision statements do. Most colleges and universities tout job placement statistics and have departments of post-graduate success. Especially since the Industrial Revolution, American higher education has focused on preparing students for a job. 

This reason is also becoming obsolete; here are a few factors.

1. Skills learned in college are obsolete a few years later. The speed of change (especially in technology fields) is so great that what students are learning in college will be different when they enter the workplace. Regardless of the position, employers need to conduct extensive skills training on the job.
2. Most individuals change jobs throughout their career. The average person will have 12 different jobs during their lifetime, so going to college to train for a job will only help you get your first job.  After that, you'll be learning on the job.
3. AI is eliminating entry level jobs.  Ironically, students in STEM and computer science jobs are seeing AI and other technologies eliminate entry level positions. It has not been too long since President Obama promoted his "Computer Science for All" initiative, encouraging every student to code. This educational movement was successful with many students going into computer science, but now these students are graduating with outdated coding skills and a lack of entry level positions. AI is doing the same thing to other industries, like accounting, data and financial analysis, and law.

Going to college to get a good job should not be the primary reason, especially in our ever-changing technological world.

The College Experience

I hesitate to even put this down as a reason because no college would say that this is their "why," but it is definitely a factor for students and even parents ... and colleges devote a ton of resources to the "college experience." The 4-6 years in college has become a "rite of passage" for American students. At its worst, American higher education is seen as a time to party and dabble in hedonism. As the first time away from parents, college students indulge in some previously "forbidden fruit." Colleges are even rated on the "party scene"; Niche.com includes a "Party Scene" rating by using student surveys, access to local bars, Greek life, and student activities to grade a school on their party scene, publishing a Top Party Schools in America list each year. Some students consider this when deciding on what college to attend. In this regard, many college campuses have become the embodiment of Psalm 1:1 ... as students are walking with the wicked, standing with sinners, and sitting with mockers. And for the most part, our culture is accepting of this as an American "rite of passage."

While most parents would not want to send their child to a "party school," they do want them to have the college experience. Typically, this is connected to athletics ... with the experience being attending a top ranked football or basketball school to "experience" that atmosphere of college athletics. Catering to this, colleges pay student-athletes millions of NIL dollars to have excellent teams to attract more students.  

However, it is more than just the party scene and athletics, colleges spend significant resources on the more luxurious side of the "college experience," including deluxe accommodations, food service, campus activities, and international travel.   

In this aspect, our culture is exposed ... we value experiences over deep learning, but I don't know of any serious higher education leader who would say that their college exists to provide a "college experience."  It is not the why.

Higher education has lost its why; knowledge, job preparation, and the college experience are not strong enough reasons, and if they want the center to hold, they need to find their purpose.

Looking for a purpose, colleges have turned to promoting an ideology.

Ideology and Activism 

Most recently, especially as knowledge acquisition and job preparation have declined as reasons for higher education, colleges have embraced a new "why": ideology and activism. As we have seen over the past 5 years, college campuses are places where students are taught from a predominate ideology and encouraged to become activists for that ideology. Colleges and universities have become places for protests, riots, and unfortunately, violence.

While I may not agree with the ideology being promoted on most secular campuses, they are returning to a unified core. Neil Postman's criticism of higher education, as I began this article, was that it did not have a unifying core. So in that regard, higher education has found an ideology that a strong majority is promoting; while it does not align with many of their original mission statements, it does unify the institution. 

Have they found their why?  

Yes, I do believe that, at least for this season, their main purpose is to indoctrinate students with a specific ideology ... and they are really good at it.

If that is the case, students (and parents) must carefully evaluate the ideology being presented by the college. I would be bold enough to ask the question ... what ideology is being taught at this institution? ... before enrolling.

While not typically calling it an "ideology," most Christian colleges and universities promote a biblical worldview that unifies the campus and what students are learning. The faithful Christian colleges and universities anchor this worldview in God's word, striving to align all programs to the Bible. Proverbs 9:10 is a foundational verse for Christian higher education and a filter to use in evaluating college choices.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."

If a college or university does not begin with the fear of the Lord, the ideology being promoted on campus will not be glorifying God ... and will not lead to true wisdom, knowledge, and insight.

Of course, knowledge acquisition, job preparation, and the college experience are all part of the why of higher education, but ideology leads the way.  It is the umbrella that covers all other reasons, so students and parents should evaluate that first before selecting a college.

____

Bonus: A few years ago, I wrote an article titled, "Alma Mater: Looking for a College? Choose your Mom." This was a playful but cautionary tale about selecting a college that aligns with the values taught by your parents and church ... because you'll look like your "alma mater" after graduating.

Authentic Living in a Divisive Age

Nobody would argue, we live in a divisive age. When I watch Fox News and MSNBC, I feel the ideological divisiveness, but when I look at my neighbors, I don't see us living that differently. Isn't that interesting?

If a worldview doesn't change how we live, how practically impactful is the ideological divide? Just like "faith without works is dead" (James 2:17), ideology without living authentic to that belief system is moot.

Authentic living can be defined as living a life that is aligned with our core beliefs. Do we do this as Christians?

If we are all living authentically ... A Vegan should live differently than a Carnivore. A Muslim should live differently than a Mormon. A Marxist should live differently than a Capitalist. A Christian should live differently than an Atheist.

When someone does not live authentically, we often call this hypocrisy. This word originates from a Greek term, hypokrite, used to describe an actor in the theater, many who wore masks to play a role that was different than who they were. Actors then, as they do now, masterfully become a role that is not authentic to who they truly are, e.g. Anthony Hopkins is a nice person but plays Hannibal Lecter convincingly. He is a hypokrite, but hypocrisy has a negative connotation off-stage. 

Jesus used that Greek term multiple times to describe the Pharisees who would pray to get praise (Matthew 6:5), worship God with their lips but hate him with their hearts (Matthew 7:6) and look perfect on the outside but are evil on the inside (Matthew 23:27-28). Even though Christ warned so strongly against hypocrisy, Christians have always struggled with hypocrisy. Jesus even said to his early disciples, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46). This has continued to modern times as Gandhi famously challenged, "I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

Many people do not follow a lifestyle that aligns with their ideology due to ignorance (e.g., a Marxist may not know how a Marxist is supposed to live), but Christians are given, in God's word, a guide for living. Additionally, Christians are held to a higher standard, called to live set apart (I Peter 2:9), not conformed to the patterns of this world and transformed by the gospel (Romans 12:2). Unfortunately, there are many examples in both my life and in the life of modern Christians who are conformed to the thinking of the world and who do not look/act differently than the world.

We look similar to our neighbors because we follow common "patterns of this world" that worship the  idols of our time. You can evaluate these idols by asking two questions -- 

1. What do you love more than anything? 
2. What do we put our faith in?

If you look at my "neighborhood" we love money above all things, and we put our faith in our bank accounts and future financial security. We love entertainment, primarily sports and put our faith in teams that we follow with religious dedication. We love personal happiness that drives us to pursue recreation, leisure, pleasure, and "me time." We love our families and re-arrange all schedules to allow us to spend time in the pursuit of happiness with them. We put our faith in humanity and technology to solve all the local and global problems. Money, entertainment, happiness, families, and human innovation are not necessarily formal ideologies, but most people live authentically in line with these loves. 

Hedonists who pursue happiness at all costs are living authentically to their ideology. Secular Humanists who look only to humans and our intellect to solve the world's problems are living authentically, Nationalist who put their faith in political leaders and a country's laws/constitution are living authentically to that ideology. Greedy, materialists who are only concerned about making more money and getting more things are living authentically. Non-Christians are actually living authentically. 

I'm not sure about your neighborhood, but in my neighborhood, we all look quite similar because I am a hypocrite. 

Augustine classically framed this conversation by discussing "ordered loves": essentially, if we say that God is the most important love of our life, our life should align with that priority. After that, all other loves are ordered after God.

Do we place God first and strive to live in obedience to His word? If we do, we would look different from our neighbors.

Let us pray that our difference will bring glory to God.

The Slow, Hard Work of Learning

Educators ... what have we done wrong?

Why are our graduates so dumb and lazy?

I've been working in education for 35 years, and, as Facebook, brutally reminds me, my first students are now in their 50s, so I've helped educate the Millennials and Gen Z. Reflecting on these two generations, they are stereotyped as the Dumbest Generation (Millennials) and the Laziest Generation (Gen Z). That is not a great legacy for my years in education. Of course, stereotypes are not accurate, and I can point to so many former students who are brilliant and industrious, but stereotypes are given for a reason, and I bet most of us can provide examples that affirm these stereotypes. 

While educators are not solely to blame, we should reflect on what we have done to produce these generations.

Let's look at two factors: the Industrial Revolution and the "Easy Button" mentality.

The Industrial Revolution

In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, the impact of the Industrial Revolution swept through America. Our culture unquestioningly embraced the "good" of speed/efficiency in mass production, and consequently, that bigger is better. American capitalism has flourished during this time, and we are living in, arguably, the most materially wealthy time in history. 

Over the past 100 years, education has also adopted these pillars of the industrial revolution, but what is good for many industries, is bad for education.

Schools have embraced standardization, moving as many students through the assembly line as possible. Students are explicitly and implicitly praised for getting the answer quickly, finishing their test first, and "mastering" content as quickly as possible. In addition, bigger is definitely seen as better in class sizes and school enrollment. However, mass production is counter-productive to learning. 

Research has continuously affirmed that students need personalized instruction, specific feedback, and high levels of student engagement with the teacher and peers. Also, it takes time to learn well. Deep learning involves creating and strengthening neural pathways (schema theory), and that takes preparation, challenge, practice, repetition, and time ... and over the past 100 years, nobody in education seems to have had the patience for meaningful learning.

Was the industrial revolution good for education? We can debate this, but it has produced the dumbest generation. 

The Easy Button Mentality

Compounding this perspective on education is the explosion of technology at the end of the 20th Century. This has morphed the "industrial" perspective to what I call the "easy button" mentality.

Essentially, the easy button mentality believes that it is the role of society to take whatever is difficult and make it easy ... and making things easier is always good. Technology, of course, is the primary tool to make things easier.

One of the first products of this perspective is the television remote control (1950). Clearly, it is too difficult to get off the couch to change a channel, so a remote control is needed. Yes, a remote control is easier, but was that truly good for us? 

Another example is the power leaf blower. It is too difficult to rake leaves and sweep up debris after yard work, so we create a blower to move the debris into the street (or into our neighbor's yard). Operating a leaf blower is definitely easier, but was that truly good for us?

The easy button mentality can be seen in almost every facet of life, including education.

However, it goes against a universal truth, most concisely summarized in fitness jargon: "No pain, no gain."  If I go to the gym and use only the lightest dumbbells or the lowest level on the elliptical machine, I will not grow in strength or cardio-vascular health. In fact, when something becomes too easy for me, I should step up to the next level of weight or resistance in order to continue to grow.

That translates to other areas. If I never push myself outside of my comfort zone socially, I will not grow interpersonally. In fact, another saying re-iterates this: "There is no growth in the comfort zone, and no comfort in the growth zone."

Our brains grow much like our physical muscles do. We need to "work out" our brains and make them hurt. Ben Franklin said, "What hurts, instructs," and he is right. When was the last time your brain hurt because you were thinking so hard? Due the the most pervasive "easy button," our phones, I rarely use my brain for anything. I don't need to recall phone numbers, directions, or random facts; everything is a swipe away.

Yes, everything is easier for our brains, but is that truly good for us?

Ever since John Dewey, our educational system has been student-centered. This means that we have spent 100 years making learning easy for our students. In fact, learning styles (which became popular in education in the 70s-80s) have the premise that students learn easiest by using their dominant learning style: auditory, visual, kinesthetic. Consequently, teachers have spent the past 50 years designing lessons to match the learning style of their students. However, the opposite is true; students learn best when something is presented in one of a student's non-dominant learning styles because it makes the brain work harder. While the myth of learning styles is finally becoming recognized, education continues to make things easier ...

• Mental math is hard, so we develop more advanced calculators to make it easier.
• Reading primary sources is hard, so we have created textbook anthologies with secondary excerpts. 
• Cursive writing or even writing with pencil and paper is hard, so we use the computer to type ... but typing is hard, so we have voice transcribing. 
• Reading an entire novel is hard, so we have audio books.
• Completing any academic work is hard, so we use AI to complete assignments for us.
• ChatGPT Plus was given free to all college students in April and May (2025) because the last few months of the academic year are hard, so let's make it easy for them. 

Instead of student-centered (or learner-centered), we need to be learning-centered. Instead of asking how can we make learning easier for the student, we should be asking how can we best encourage deep learning and brain growth. We know that we learn best when our brains work hard, so making it easier is not learning-centric.

When Apple first showed up and offered free computers to schools in the 1980s, educators across the world accepted them with open arms and much fanfare but without asking if computers were actually good for learning. Today, we are finally asking that question.

Johnathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation, has set his research sights on the benefits of any screens in school, and he is finding little evidence that digital devices (of any kind) help learning. In fact, it appears to be making us dumber (The False Promise of Device-Based Education). This aligns with the generational stereotypes of those raised in the digital age of education.

Today, learning is easier for students, but is that truly good for us? 

Looking at these two aspects of our culture ... the Industrial Revolution's impact on education and our current "easy button" mentality, I am not shocked that we've produced the dumbest and laziest generations.

So what should education look like to reverse this trend?  Here are a few quick suggestions ...

1) Differentiation of Learning Styles -- use a wide variety in pedagogy and assessment to hit multiple learning styles (multiple intelligences is a better paradigm). This is done not to cater to the student's dominant learning style, but to ensure we are stretching the student's brain to work in their non-dominant learning styles.

2) Be Learning-Centric -- Identify what classroom activity or homework assignment is best for learning, and require the students to complete that ... even if (especially if) it is hard. Don't allow students to choose their own experience; they will most likely select what is easiest for them, stunting their brain development.

3) Take your time -- Speed does not correlate with deep learning. Resist the industrial revolution concepts of mass production. Carefully design curriculum to utilize what we know about meaningful learning and schema theory. It takes time to build a cognitive foundation, scaffold around the foundation in order to make our brains "sticky" so that students retain new materials. Then, take the time to circle back to previously learned materials in order to solidify meaningful learning.

4) Use Hard Assignments to Develop a Love of God and Others -- Simone Weil in her essay "Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God" claims that doing a complex math problem helps her build attention so that she can pray more intimately and love her neighbor more fully. As she says, "school studies" should help us fulfill the two great commandments to love God and others. (stay tuned for future blogs about this article as I read more from Simone Weil)

As we step into the learning groove of another academic year, slow down and make your students work hard. The slow, hard work of school is best for learning. 

Remember, "what hurts, instructs."

Rungs in the Ladder: Spiritual Disciplines

In my last blog post Where is your Ladder Leaning?, I challenged us all to embrace a teleological perspective on life ... looking at the end of the journey or the rooftop that your ladder is leaning against.

I find the ladder analogy helpful in keeping my eye on the "chief end" for my life, but it is also valuable to pay attention to the daily rungs in that ladder. Just as a long-term goal needs short-term steps along the way, a teleological life perspective needs daily actions that move us towards that future goal. 

Each teleological end, has steps along the way. Professional athletes pursuing a world championship have a strict, daily regimen of practice, strength training, and diet ... each discipline is a rung on the ladder to athletic success. If your main goal in life is to be wealthy, there are seminars, workshops, blogs, books, and podcasts telling you the steps you must take to achieve that goal. The same can be found (all for a price) if your rooftop goal is focused on health, beauty, or fitness. Religions, likewise incorporate disciplines (called spiritual disciplines) to achieve eternal bliss, states of enlightenment, or a celestial kingdom.

For Christianity, spiritual disciplines are different than other religions. Christian spiritual disciplines are for spiritual growth and to grow closer to God NOT to earn God's favor or to achieve salvation. To be honest, Christians have become lazy in our spiritual disciplines, and, to continue the analogy, it has weakened the rungs in our ladder and caused spiritual instability. 

Christian spiritual disciplines are relatively simple actions that ought to become habits of righteousness. If our chief end is to "glorify God and enjoy Him forever," we should follow God's plan and use it to "train up our children in the way they should go" (Prov. 22.6). 

Here are a few of those rungs that should be in our ladder (and trained up in our children) ...

Delight in the Bible and Meditate on it Day and Night.  

God clearly outlines a path for the "blessed life" in Psalm 1. After stating what we should not do, the psalmist provides a simple spiritual discipline: blessed is the one who delights in God's word and meditates on it day and night.

Two elements to this spiritual discipline. 

1) Meditate (read, consider, reflect) on God's word day and night. Simply, set aside time for Bible reading each morning and evening. 

What a great way to begin and end the day! Do we practice this spiritual discipline? Have we trained our children in this so that when they are old they will not depart from it?

2) Delight in God's word. Simply, find joy, wonder, awe in what you are reading day and night.

This seems contradictory to the word "discipline."  Isn't a discipline hard and difficult, not delightful? Deep hermeneutical Bible study is hard work ... that is a spiritual discipline, for sure, but is just delighting in God's word? 

What a great gift! God wants this to be a joy not a chore. How often do we delight in God's word? Do we share that delight with our children?  Yes, you can do a "hard" Bible study, but make sure you don't lose the delight in the work.  

Rejoice, Pray, Give Thanks 

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 adds three rungs to the ladder. We often focus on "pray without ceasing" as a spiritual discipline, but it is sandwiched between rejoicing and thanksgiving in this passage. Simply, our prayers (and our lives) should be filled with joy and thankfulness because of what God has done. 

Spiritual disciplines are habits that are so embedded in your life that you couldn't live without them. Do you habitually pray, rejoice, and give thanks without ceasing? Are you spending time in prayer as an integral part of your day? Would your family, co-workers, and neighbors describe you as joyful and thankful? Are your children "counting their blessings" and praising God for them? 

Train Together

Spiritual disciplines, like athletic training, are best done together. God calls us to practice the spiritual disciplines both individually and with others. Paul challenges us to continue to meet regularly together for encouragement (Heb. 10:25) and "to spur up one another to love and good works" (Heb. 10:24).

Most of the spiritual disciplines are also trained up in church. Faithful churches meditate upon and delight in God's word. They rejoice, pray, and give thanks. What an encouragement church is each week! It is also a spiritual discipline that needs to be trained ... has it become a practice that is such an important part of your life that it hurts to miss it? 

Additionally, God calls us to meet together with other believers in small groups (even two or three gathered - Matthew 18:20) to train together on these spiritual disciplines ... read God's word, delight, rejoice, pray, give thanks (and many more). Meeting with Christian friends is also a spiritual discipline that is simple and delightful, but one that shouldn't be neglected. To return to Psalm 1:1 ... the unblessed life is the opposite of meeting with Christian friends, i.e., walking with the wicked, standing with sinners, and sitting with scoffers.

Spiritual disciplines are rungs on the ladder to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Let's ensure that those are strong steps in our spiritual growth ladder.

To be honest, spiritual disciplines have been a challenge for me, and this blog was difficult to write. I struggle with most of these, and they have not become habits of righteousness. If I look at my ladder, I definitely have some rungs that need to be stronger. However, I am thanking God for being gracious with me. God helps me every step of the way, and I hope that you found some encouragement in this blog.