PACES & PAideia

At the beginning of my technology class today my professor opened by reading a passage from Philippians 4. He reminded us that we are to rejoice in EVERYTHING…including technology glitches, projects, and new adventures. He concluded that segment of the lecture with the phrase from Philippians 4:5, “The Lord is near.” I was so thrilled to be reminded that the Lord is near to me as a student, as a teacher, as an administrator. Whether I am taking a class or gearing up for the brand new school year, “The Lord is near.” As I ask Him for help …He hears me.

One concern my professor lamented today was so similar to a lament you have often heard from me: our students must become “producers of art” not just “consumers of art.” Dr. Holder chronicled how he had relished the days when Radio Shack was a site to learn to build radios (and phones) and now it is now merely a place to purchase those items. He subtly mentioned the downfall of a generation from producers to consumers of technology, as I have shouted my concerns for years.

This begs the question:  are we teaching our students to produce art, music, architecture, technology, government policy, gardens, homes, galleries, museums, lovely meals, hospitality ?

In training our minds (and our students) to rejoice in everything we must also teach them to rejoice in their situation and surrounding by using what God has given them to produce, not merely consume, to the glory of God.