Transforming Teachers - Transforming Teachers (Global)

The Book that made your world

The book that made your world By Harold Klassen

Wishal Mangalwadi has written three books about the impact the Bible has had on the modern world including his home country of India.

The insights into history, language, literature, science, and technology helped reshape my understanding of these important subjects as I saw in new ways the transforming power of the truth of God's word.

Bach's inspiration

"Besides being the baroque era’s greatest organist and composer, and one of the most productive geniuses in the history of Western music, Johann Sebastian Bach was also a theologian whose expression of inspiration was music. Nearly three-fourths of his 1,000 compositions were written for use in worship, and Bach’s deep religious faith could be found even in his secular music. Between his musical genius, his devotion to God, and the effect of his music, he has come to be known in many circles as 'the Fifth Evangelist.'" The Epoch Times has an interesting series of videos about Divine Messengers: Visions that Forever Changed the World. The first video in the series gives insight into Bach's life and thinking, but also illustrates how God can use even a single imperfect person to draw attention to His greatness and goodness and in doing so, change a whole culture.

From God’s Genius to Human Frailty: The Adventure of Teaching Science (and More) Christianly

God Is A Genius By Mark Witwer, February 17, 2022, Faith and Science, The CACE Roundtable

From the very start of my career, I simply loved teaching. The fact that I was teaching in a Christian school was a plus, but as a rookie, I could not articulate a clear philosophy of Christian education.

By the time I retired from full-time teaching two years ago, I had come to love teaching Christianly. I describe teaching Christianly as nurturing minds and hearts by allowing my faith to inform both what I teach (offering a Christian perspective on the subject matter) and how I teach (attending to the formative power of practices).

The discussion that follows explores some of my favorite strategies for teaching Christianly, grouped under two broad topics: God’s Genius and The Embrace of Controversy. My focus is on science, but most of these ideas can be adapted to other disciplines as well.

Questions concerning technology

In his newsletter on technology and society, The Convivial Society, Vol 2: No 11, L.M. Sacasas posted forty-one questions in "The questions concerning technology" that can help us think about the ethical implications of our tools. It is easy to act as if our tools are completely amoral, but Sacasas' questions quickly dispel that fallacy. His questions are important for both the creators and consumers of technology. He starts with

What sort of person will the use of this technology make of me?
What habits will the use of this technology instill?
How will the use of this technology affect my experience of time?
How will the use of this technology affect my experience of place?
How will the use of this technology affect how I relate to other people?

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Ten commandments for tech

Tech 2 Amy Crouch in Comment, June 10, 2021, from Cardus, asks some important questions about technology's promises and suggests a new framework "centred not on ease or distraction, but flourishing. Perhaps we don’t need greater convenience in our communities and callings. Perhaps instead we need help to venture further on the straight-and-narrow path of righteousness."

Our tech devices are designed to make life easier, but maybe ease isn’t what we need. They’re designed to captivate us, but maybe we need time to look up and around.

Silicon Valley’s technologies promised a revolution in speed and convenience, and they certainly delivered. Yet it’s starting to look like those were the wrong promises. 24/7 communication and distraction haven’t relieved us from stress, boredom, or loneliness.

As our lives become increasingly mediated by algorithms and machines, tech designers need to rethink those promises.

If tech companies aren't willing to transform their priorities, all of us as users still have the responsibility to consider our personal use of the tech "gifts" that we're offered continually. That kind of personal transformation may be revolutionary, but it isn't impossible by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God.

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