What My Students Know
I am spending part of the afternoon grading exams that my Bible 101 students took on Wednesday. This test covered the second half of the Old Testament.
There is one thing that all my students know: Hosea married a prostitute named Gomer. They may not be able to explain the role that Hosea’s marriage played in his message. They may not be able to tell me the kings of the United Monarchy. They may not know what message Isaiah delivered during the Syro-Ephraimitic War. They may not be able to give me the dates of the exile. They may not be able to explain the world view that underlies wisdom literature. And far too few of them can correctly locate Jerusalem on a blank map.
But by golly they all know about Gomer the Prostitute.
And apparently “one of Solomon’s wives” is the default answer to any person on the test they are not able to identify. In a “Definition and Identification” section, I listed the names of some people in the Bible. The students are supposed to explain who the person was and the role they played. Among those who have been identified as Solomon’s wives are Baruch, Haggai, Nathan, and Qoheleth. The fact that all of these are male names apparently didn’t register. And among the more disturbing identifications are those who listed Bathsheba as the woman with whom Solomon had an affair. Nope, nothing oedipal going on here!
Update: I just came across this gem: “Haggai was a woman who tempted David, but he stayed faithful to Gomer (even though she wasn’t faithful to him).”
On March 15th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
now that was the highlight of my day!
On March 16th, 2008 at 11:23 am
I had two student last semester who thought that the “J” source stood for Jesus.
On March 17th, 2008 at 1:33 am
Sounds like you need more “pop” quizes because as Siegfried Engelmann has so succinctly put it, “If the student hasn’t learned, the teacher hasn’t taught” (quote found at http://www.brainsarefun.com/di2.html). From your remarks you seem surprised at what they hadn’t learned, you need to know that they are learning what you think they should before the final exam.
On April 2nd, 2008 at 7:43 am
What? what?