Professors are often confronted with skepticism of students and find ourselves answering some version of the question, “What’s the point?”
I have just completed a summer term that has been a refreshing reminder of my answer to that question.
I started the summer apprehensive, as I was teaching a new course — the Economics of Religion — and in a style I had never before attempted: completely discussion-based with no formal lectures or exams. Classroom time for this course was to be much less structured than in my typical classes, and while the idea of this type of learning environment excited me, the uncertainty of it made me nervous. Would students read and be willing to discuss? Would they be serious enough about the topics to learn from discussion with peers? And, the one that is probably least important but frightened me most — would we have enough to say to fill the allotted time?
Not only did my students prove my anxiety unfounded, but they also renewed my faith in their generation’s ability to think critically and discuss rationally and respectfully. For around two hours each week, I had 20 students of varying religious backgrounds engaged in thoughtful, polite and lively discussion of how economic principles apply to individual and corporate religious behavior.
My favorite moment of the entire term came during our first class meeting, when we began to talk about the introductory chapters of our text. I opened the floor with the question, “What do you think?”
One student responded, “I have never thought about my religion in this way.”
Variants of this sentence were repeated by many students throughout the term and in their final assignment, which required them to apply what we had read to their own personal religious experience, or lack thereof.
In all of what we do as faculty and staff at a college, this sentence — “I’ve never thought … in this way” — is the point.
Labor economists have two theories on the value of a potential employee’s college diploma to an employer. One theory says the diploma simply serves as a signal to the employer that the applicant is a good worker. The second theory says the diploma represents years of accumulated knowledge and skills beyond high school.
My mission as an educator is the intersection of those two theories. It is irrational to believe a student will remember all or even most of the material covered in the college courses he or she takes. But, a college diploma should serve as a signal to potential employers that a graduate has gained and honed both a willingness and the ability to think about problems in new and challenging ways.
Above all others, this skill is most likely to translate into a productive worker who is receptive to on-the-job training and is capable of working well with others.
An educator’s job is to create “I’ve never thought … in this way” moments.
If you are interested in learning more about the subject of religion and economics, I recommend the book “Marketplace of the gods: How economics explains religion” by Larry Witham.
Reg Murphy Center