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Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

This blog will be written from an orthodox Christian point of view. There may be some topic that is out of bounds, but at present I don't know what it will be. Politics is a part of life. Theology and philosophy are disciplines that we all participate in even if we don't think so. The Bible has a lot to say about economics. How about self defense? Is war ethical? Think of all the things that someone tells you we should not touch and let's give it a try. Everything that is a part of life should be an expression of worship.

Keep it courteous and be kind to those less blessed than you, but by all means don't worry about agreeing. We learn more when we get backed into a corner.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Opus 2013-355: Old and Young: Simple Words Are Not Always Simple

It is so easy to forget how ignorant today’s students are.

Last week I was going over the Bill of Rights and trying to get the students to understand their importance.  I was working through the First Amendment to the Constitution and reviewing the five basic rights given there.  I ran into a problem when I casually asked them what was the “press.”  I wanted to go on to a discussion of the modern application to internet.  My question was simply to set up the next step.  I wanted to hit them where they live so they would begin to see that the issues of liberty did effect their lives.  I quickly realized I had a problem.  All I was getting was blank stares. 

They had no idea what the Bill of Rights meant by “the press.”  Later in the day I got some comments about people who take pictures but no one seemed to know what us older folks take as simple information.

It is so easy to assume that people understand basic ideas and vocabulary.  It doesn’t work that way with the generation being taught by post moderns.  Words mean what you want them to mean.  Anyone who has ever worked on a car knows what a ratchet wrench is.  My eighth graders have been using the word for a year and a half.  I still don’t know what they mean by it but I get the impression it isn’t good.  Every time I pull out my ratchet wrench I just get peals of laughter.  The word means what they want it to mean.

Press means nothing because they don’t want it to mean anything.

I realize that educators bear some of the blame but these same children have spent even longer in the presence of their family.  Does anyone do anything but text and rap any more? 

homo unius libri

2 comments:

  1. In answer to the last sentence - NO. If you haven't already used these words, tell them that the printing press was the original version of mass communications, so "the press" came to mean those who printed books or newspapers. As times moved along, it came to mean ALL forms of communication, including their smart phones and such. Therefore, when someone wants to protect the press, they want to protect their smart phones! I'm sure you've probably tried this very thing, but maybe you used words that were too big. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True, "press" does have five letters. But "book" has four and they don't get that one either.

      Grace and peace.

      Delete

Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.