Thursday, September 21, 2006

Why I won't be teaching business ethics

Business students most likely to cheat.

Teaching Christian Ethics is fun. Teaching Christian Ethics is about taking a bunch of people who already follow the rules and challenging them to get really radical. Challenging them to get beyond just following the rules.

Sure, there's some cheating--they don't all already follow the rules, and the stress certainly does get to some of them. But the basic presumption among people who take Christian Ethics is that something like "following the rules" is a good thing.

What on earth do you teach people who don't even follow the rules they already know about? Who think that "following the rules" is something idiots, wimps, children, or prudes do? Who pride themselves on their own cleverness in cheating successfully?

How do you even talk to them?

4 comments:

Unknown said...

You know I think that preaching is like that. I think that is what Jesus was doing then, and is doing now.

It is truly difficult.

Oh and welcome to revgalblogpals.

Rachel Gonia said...

Welcome to the regalblogpals. I'm a fellow Duke grad--from what seems like many years now! Lived in Chapel Hill and am UM as well--
Enjoyed reading through your blog and especially the MEchurch ad!

Anonymous said...

This comment is unrelated to the current entry, and instead picks up from your other blog: an entry on agrarianism. That site requires sign-in for comments, so I came here instead (I'm a Rev Gals lurker). Anyhow, here's a link you might find helpful -- http://www.webofcreation.org/. The website is sponsored by an ELCA (Lutheran) seminary in Chicago, and it has all sorts of resources for getting congregations to think "green."

LutheranChik said...

One of the more eye-opening experiences of my college career was taking a required course in advertising ethics. An oxymoron, you say? That's what 90 percent of the class, including the professor, seemed to think. Oy.

Happy Delurking Week, by the way.