Practical Paideia

Lindsey Ralls (Summit Christian Academy)

One book that has been on my list for a long time is Mere Christianity. I think I read it in high school, but since that was quite a few years ago I’ve been wanting to pull it out again. This weekend I finally made time to pick it back up. The copy I have was borrowed from Garrett, which means I have the opportunity to read the richness of Lewis while also enjoying the notes that Garret made in the margins. I highly recommend this approach. 

Lewis begins the book by defining the ‘Law of Human Nature’. He claims that this is a standard of behavior that exists in which humans agree. It comes to us naturally, and doesn’t need to be taught. Hence the name of the law. Lewis goes on to claim that generally, humans do not argue about the law itself; instead we make excuses about why we have broken the law. If you’re on the fence, all you need to do is walk through the halls of SCA to realize how true this statement is.

When I tell a student to tuck their shirt back on, they don’t argue with me as to whether or not tucking their shirt in is the right thing to do. Instead, they usually say something about how they were playing gaga ball and it became untucked.

When I remind a student to raise their hand before they speak in class, they don’t argue with me about whether or not they should raise their hand…they usually give me a sheepish look and mumble something about forgetting. 

The code of conduct (or Law of Human Nature), even at Summit, is an agreed upon concept. The issue is not knowing how to behave, but actually behaving.  

My favorite quote in Mere Christianity is when Lewis compares the Law of Human Nature to the Law of Gravity:

“The law of gravity tells you what stones do if you drop them: but the Law of Human Nature tells you what human beings ought to do or do not.”

While the Law of Human Nature is a law, it’s not like the Law of Gravity. We know what we ought to do, but there will be times when we don’t follow the law. At first thought, I’ll admit that it would be kind of nice if the Law of Human Nature was like the Law of Gravity. How pleasant it would be to walk through the halls of Summit and see all students doing what they should be – because it is a law that can’t be broken! But, in reality we know that’s not what we want. We want students who do the right thing not because they have no other choice, we want students who do the right thing because they recognize and want to do what they ought to do. 

A few weeks ago I asked the 7th graders to tell me what their chief love was. There were several answers about family and friends that were sweet to read. My favorite answer though, was the student who told me that while she recognized that her chief love should be God, she knew that right now it was her family. She realized what she ought to desire but also recognized that she was not quiet there. 

Can we teach our students what they ought to love? Can ‘ought’ be taught? I agree with Lewis (and Romans 1:20) that God has set his truth in our hearts. I also believe that the Holy Spirit plays a crucial role in helping us (and our students) act upon what they ought to do. Yet, I think we as teachers play a valuable role as well. It’s our job to remind students of what they ought to be doing, to have the hard conversations, and to be transparent when we ourselves fail to do what we ought to; all while pointing them to the hope of the gospel.