In a world dominated by the market economy, the purpose of education is “to provide useful information and marketable skills that will enable students to compete and survive in the jungle of the global market” (Goheen and Bartholomew, Living at the Crossroads, 166).  What advantage do students gain over their peers by taking courses in Bible and theology? How does such an education equip them to live and contribute in a market economy?

Christians who are critical participants in culture have a different understanding of education. The purpose of education is not to serve the god of mammon or the market.  From a Christian perspective, education is, as Goheen and Bartholomew put it, “for the purpose of equipping students to witness faithfully to the gospel in the whole of their lives” (170).

Biblical and theological studies (or teaching Bible) is contrary to the interests of the market economy which dominates our lives. It is “impractical,” a “waste of money” and “worthless” when measured against what the market economy holds to be of ultimate value. But for Christians who believe that the biblical perspective on life is the real story by which our lives are to be lived, there will be great value attached to an endeavor that challenges the idols of our age.

So, in the midst of a culture that tries to stifle Christian witness and in a global economy that undercuts that which is of ultimate value with cheap knockoffs, I teach Bible.

CC Image courtesy of churl on Flickr

I’ll be the first to admit that my handwriting has deteriorated as I’ve spent more time with the keyboard than with the pen.  However, I do marking the old-fashioned way — spilling lots of (green) ink on the submitted papers and assignments — and hope that the students are able to read my scribbled comments.

It is obvious that keying (whether at your computer or on your phone) is corporeally different from writing by hand. But neuroscience is suggesting that it might also result in different cognitive skills:

Cursive’s flow works the brain differently and builds distinct cognitive skills. Handwriting reinforces reading and spelling, develops motor memory as it becomes automatic, teaches students to focus and may help them remember what they learn.

Neuroscientists know that the brain changes throughout life depending on how we use it.

As keyboards replace cursive, new neural pathways are created and new cognitive skills replace the old.

The quote is from Toronto Star reporter Andrea Gordon’s piece on “The Death of Handwriting” — part of her feature series, Disappearing Ink.

If the handwriting is on the wall for cursive, neuroscientists  fear that the cognitive skills that handwriting builds may be lost or, according to one psychiatrist, that our brains “will develop in a different way that no one has really thought through.”

That, of course, has implications for all of us, especially those who are engaged in the field of education.