Comenius

The Comenius Institute is a Christian educational institute that will engage in the teaching-learning craft. In doing so, the organization will encourage study, discussion, research, and collaboration of students and scholars in the pursuit of theological truth with academic excellence. The Institute may present relevant materials for discussion through lecturers, guest speakers, authors, resident scholars, and students. It may facilitate the learning process through small group dynamics, mentoring relationships, and open forum discussion. It is the hope of Comenius to provide a place for learners to engage in spiritual-intellectual growth in an environment that encourages study, reflection, curiosity, discourse and collaboration through the in-depth pursuit of wisdom.

The Intellectual Life

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Want to be a Christian intellectual? Read The Intellectual Life. “Let us not be like those people who always seem to be pallbearers at the funeral of the past.                           Let us utilize, by living, the qualities of the dead” (15). A man who … Read more

Funnies

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“Humor plays close to the white hot fire of truth.” E. B. White “Our laughter contains the hope of redemption.” F.H. Buckley, The Morality of Laughter Laughter. We began each class hour the same way. When I was teaching in high school I would show the latest “Darwin Awards,” weekly “Calvin and Hobbes” cartoon strips, … Read more

Assumptions

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The discussion was anything but typical. Cytotechnology. Forensic linguistics. Finite math. I had to ask her if she would type out cytotechnology to me on my cell phone. I had not heard of it before even though I had seen its affects in medical research. “Does your professor ever talk about origins, where things come … Read more

Compass

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“I feel the pressure all the time.” Comenius students and I sat around the table talking. Our topics of conversation ranged from “internalized misogyny” to Haitian views of American racism to the vocation of being a student. One of the talking points revolved around a New York Times article about why sports fans may continue … Read more

Academic Free Speech

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Imagine there’s no freedom. It’s easy if you try. On the American university campus, you don’t have to imagine. I was teaching a class on Theological Interpretation of Media this past week. On Saturday morning (4 March 2017) I began by reading the full description of an attack on freedom of speech. The Vermont newspaper … Read more

Posting

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“It happens all the time.” We were discussing social media communication. My young friend and I were discussing what he sees and hears on the college campus. “Relationships are based on convenience,” he began. “Students surround themselves with people who think like they think.” My face frowned, “Isn’t that exactly the opposite of what should … Read more

No

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“No. No. No. No.” Every question I asked received the same response. She had been studying psychology, specifically, the theories of personality. “In your class was the idea of ‘person’ linked with ‘personality’?” I asked. “No,” she responded. “Did your professor discuss the origin of human personage?” I asked. “No,” she responded. “Were there any … Read more