Articles & Essays Archives

Articles & Essays Faith and Teaching Resources Voices from the Past

The Courage to Begin

This post originally appeared on the Christian Scholar’s Review blog, and is reproduced with permission. One morning in July I sat with some fellow faculty at the tail end of a writing retreat, and the conversation turned to the dawning realization that there is less…

David I. SmithAugust 22, 2023

Vintage old wooden rustic ox yoke decoration in Austria

Articles & Essays Faith and Teaching Language and Culture Learning Teaching Literature

A Teacher’s Burdens (And Who Shoulders Them)

This post originally appeared on the Christian Scholar’s Review blog, and is reproduced with permission. I’ve been thinking about burdens again. Often my own, I must confess, but also the kind that I place on others’ shoulders. The question about whether I lift a finger…

David I. SmithMay 31, 2023

Articles & Essays Reflection on Scripture Technology in Schools

Grammarly, AI Editors, ChatGPT, and the Pedagogical Perils of Writing with Confidence

This post originally appeared on the Christian Scholar’s Review blog, and is reproduced with permission. In one of Grammarly’s ubiquitous advertisements, a hapless writer uses the popular AI-based editing software to improve an interpersonal communication. The furrowed brows accompanying the initial attempt (“we might be…

David I. SmithMay 31, 2023

girl with big book in hand in hand on a gray background

Articles & Essays Spiritual Development Technology in Schools

Here’s Your Assignment

This post originally appeared on the Christian Scholar’s Review blog, and is reproduced with permission. During focus group research for the book Digital Life Together, two secondary school students offered the following reflections about what happens when their teachers assign reading tasks: we’ll ask ,…

David I. SmithMay 31, 2023

Articles & Essays Scholarship Technology in Schools Uncategorized

An Accidental Visual Reminder of Humility

This post originally appeared on the Christian Scholar’s Review blog, and is reproduced with permission. I have an image pinned to the noticeboard by my desk that resulted from a moment of incompetence but seemed worth keeping in view. It was generated while working on…

David I. SmithMay 31, 2023

Articles & Essays Faith and Teaching Featured Language and Culture Learning Reflection on Scripture

Hearing, Speaking, Learning.

This post originally appeared on the Christian Scholar's Review blog, and is reproduced with permission. Some years ago, I was sitting in my campus office minding my own business when the phone rang. It turned out to be Matt, a student who had been in…

David I. SmithApril 1, 2022

Articles & Essays Faith and Teaching Featured Reflection on Scripture Spiritual Development Voices from the Past

Learning to Pray

This post originally appeared on the Christian Scholar's Review blog, and is reproduced by permission. The way we pray says quite a lot about us. Our prayers and the way we form them project a story about what ought to be. When we draw upon…

David I. SmithApril 1, 2022

Articles & Essays Faith and Teaching Featured Voices from the Past

A Tale of Two Transformations

This post appeared first on the Christian Scholar's Review blog, and is reproduced with permission. I was recently provoked to fresh reflection on two very familiar passages as I prepared to share them with education students. One is about schooling; the other is about being…

David I. SmithApril 1, 2022

Articles & Essays Faith and Teaching Featured Resources Spiritual Development

Students and Vocation in the Present Tense: Part 3

This post originally appeared on the Christian Scholar's Review blog, it is reproduced by permission. This is the third in a series of reflections on student vocation. I began in February by dipping into Protestant theologies of vocation and noting that the Christian’s basic calling…

David I. SmithApril 1, 2022

Articles & Essays Faith and Teaching Featured Resources Spiritual Development

Students and Vocation in the Present Tense: Part 2

This post originally appeared on the Christian Scholar's Review blog, and is reproduced by permission. In February I posted a piece in which I wondered how we think about our students’ vocations and how that might affect how we teach. I pointed to a common…

David I. SmithApril 1, 2022