On the Danger of Education
Woman Reading in the Studio; c. 1868; French; Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot; Source: National Gallery of Art
CEFR Level B1-B2
Education is dangerous. It gives people ideas. When people have ideas, they start to think. Thinking means asking questions. Asking questions means authority cannot have unwavering obedience. That is bad for The Authority.
I was raised to obey The Authority without question. I was told The Authority always has my best interest in mind. Whether or not I was explicitly taught this, I came to believe that it was disobedience to even want something different from what the person in authority wanted. Any of my own ideas got shut up in a filing cabinet called “They Must Know Something I’ll Learn Later.”
Fortunately, my parents were strong advocates for college education. I didn’t even know not attending a 4-year college was an option my peers seriously considered. Unfortunately, I had been sheltered enough from the culture my peers experienced that I didn’t understand socially normal things I encountered at college.
I didn’t know how to make friends because I was too scared my parents would disapprove of someone. I didn’t know how to relate to people who weren’t my parents’ age. I thought the “s-word” was “shy” (IYKYK). I thought Pride Week was a week to be proud of who one was, like the college version of an elementary school self-esteem assembly. College would have been a great place to start investigating what I missed, but I was so conditioned to not do or think anything unapproved that I kept my head down, focused on my studies, and missed many opportunities to learn about how others understand life. Anything I learned outside of academics was incidental. Is that normal for education-focused college students?
As for the “They Must Know Something I’ll Learn Later” filing cabinet? It kept getting larger and larger - more like a filing room.
My graduate program was Library and Information Science. There we learned about the principle and applications of intellectual freedom. Those discussions got me thinking. Thinking made me ask myself questions.
I had been taught that my version of Christianity was the only right one and that it was important for everyone to do what we did so that the US would be a Christian nation. A Christian nation meant that everyone would be happy and healthy and life would be rainbows and sunshine all the time. The principle of intellectual freedom says that people should be free to engage with whatever information they want and that one person or entity does not have the right to restrict access to ideas. I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Could I be a Christian and also a librarian?
The thought was too complex for me to deal with, so I did what I had been trained to do. I filed away my question and got on with the business at hand.
Years later, when working as a public library director, I again came face to face with that moral dilemma. This time, I sat with the question. The other options were to live with conflict tearing me apart from the inside out or to quit the job that supported my family. Neither of those were acceptable, so I let the question roll in my mind. Because I am still a practicing Christian, I asked God what I should do. I started wondering when I would be old enough to be in the realm of “I Know Something They’ll Learn Later.”
I came to accept that if I, as a Christian, were to enforce my way of understanding the world and my practices on others, then I would be creating the precedent that said others had the right to enforce their understanding and practices on me. To me, the logical outcome of the way I was raised would be that if someone in power created a rule that was contrary to my beliefs, I would have no way to argue for my right to live according to my beliefs because I had already demonstrated that I believed the one with power had the right to dictate what everyone else did.
I concluded that I wanted to be free to live and worship God according to my conscience. In order to protect that freedom, I had to give other people the right to do the same, even if it meant that they contradicted my beliefs, even if it meant allowing and promoting media that I personally found problematic. Protecting things I disapproved of was self-preservation. This realization didn’t feel like a compromise. It felt like freedom from a way of life where you are never quite sure what the rules are but you had darn well better obey them. The threat was removed. Peace was given.
That sounds great! Who doesn’t want a person to live in peace rather than fear? Unfortunately for those who would be in total authority, that realization opened that massive filing cabinet. Files spilled out of the room and I started questioning everything. I began to learn that “they” don’t actually know something I don’t. “They” just are happy to equate truth with something someone said that got repeated enough “everyone” now knows it must be true.
The more I sought answers, the more I realized “they” got a second-hand kindergarten education and proclaim it as a first-hand grad school education. Once I moved into (metaphorical) first, fifth, seventh-grade territory, I realized that things make a lot more sense when you don’t have to have a definite answer for everything. The more I found answers backed by provable data backed by verifiable evidence, the less intimidating things without answers became. Having to know the precise right answer brought me anxiety. Knowledge brought me the freedom to not know. The freedom to not know brought me peace.
Who would object to someone living in peace rather than anxiety? Unfortunately for those who would be in total authority, this peace relies on the freedom to ask questions. Asking questions shines a light on the slap-dash stage dressing. This is bad for The Authority.
Mine wasn’t a quick journey and the process continues, but now, years later, I stand in opposition to much of what I was taught was needed for people to be happy and for the country to be at peace. I no longer believe The Authority always has everyone’s best interest in mind. I no longer obey without question. I no longer say that The Authority is right simply because they are in authority.
I now think. I question. I use my mind to think rather than to conceal.
Education is dangerous, y’all. It changes lives for the better. And that is bad for those who want unquestioning, complete obedience.
Six 2-hour lesson plans to prepare a team to go on a vision or missions trip. Includes facilitator’s notes, suggested resources, and participant handouts. Participant handouts are limited to 12 copies. Please contact Jill Hames if you need more.
Please note: This is not a plug-and-play curriculum. These lesson plans assume the facilitator has background knowledge in the topics. Please see the syllabus and facilitator requirements below. You may also contact Jill Hames about scheduling a synchronous or in-person class with your group.
Syllabus
Session 1: Why a Vision Trip?
Discover what we already know, or think we know, about the host country
Explore data that may challenge our assumptions about our country compared to theirs
Consider the difference between Christian mission and missions
Learn the difference between a vision trip and a missions trip
Plan for food and money needs on the trip
Session 2: Cultural Intelligence, Part 1
Discover what we know about our culture
Explore how the same thing can mean something different in different cultures
Learn to talk about how we talk
Consider definitions of the Gospel
Plan for clothing needs on the trip
Session 3: Cultural Intelligence, Part 2
Discover what we “just know” and how that changes when we go to another culture
Learn about high and low context cultures
Explore indicators and practices of high and low context cultures
Consider challenges we may face in a high/low context culture
Plan for hygiene needs on the trip
Session 4: Support and Partnership
Discover how we understand the difference between support and partnership
Explore the difference between support and partnership in the context of churches in different countries
Learn about historical problems in Western missions work
Consider how historical problems may/may not influence missions work today
Plan for medical needs on the trip
Session 5: How to Ask Questions
Discover our metrics for rudeness and politeness
Explore context and other clues for how different cultures perceive the rudeness or politeness of different interactions and actions
Learn how to ask useful questions (The 5 Ws, Question Formulation Technique, etc.), including listening to understand
Consider how to summarize what has been learned in these five sessions for a full assembly of the sending church(es)
Plan for what the group will actually be doing (listening conversations, group-led project, host-church-led projects, etc.)
Session 6: Involving the Sending Church(es)
Short group presentations on what has been discovered, learned, and discussed over the past five sessions
Time for prayer and sending rituals
Remind all of the team’s purpose and the role the sending church(es) will have on their return
Enjoy a social meal between the team and the sending church(es)
Anticipated Outcomes
Participants will be able to explain the difference between a vision and a mission trip.
Participants will be able to discuss the difference between Christian mission and missions.
Participants will be able to identify the challenges in defining the Gospel as distinct from Christian practices and cultural ideals.
Participants will be able to identify and discuss context clues to help them decipher subverbal communication.
Participants will be able to identify aspects of high and low-context cultures.
Participants will be able to discuss the similarities and differences between support and partnership.
Participants will be able to identify and use methods for creating useful questions.
Participants will be able to present, in a group, to a group about what they have learned.
Participants will be able to succinctly state the purpose of the trip.
Leader Background
This training course is primarily designed for groups going on vision trips, as distinct from missions trips. Because of this, leaders are expected to be more knowledgeable than may be expected from leaders whose primary job is to wrangle a group and manage logistics.
This course could also be led by an outside facilitator to train leaders who will then form and train teams.
To lead a vision trip, the leader should have:
Familiarity with the different types of vision trips and understand the difference between vision trips and missions trips
Familiarity with intentional conversation techniques (e.g. Asset Based Community Development listening conversations) and ways to formulate useful questions
Personal experience in the host country
Personal contact with leaders at the host church(es)
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