Overview of Matthew

As I begin to look at the study of Matthew, I want to take several posts to gain a bird's eye view of the entire book. This post I will give some introductory thought and then the next few posts will reveal the main sections throughout Matthew.

To begin with, I hold to the traditional view which says the disciple Matthew is the author of this Gospel. This disciple was also called Levi and who was the son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14) It is interesting to me to note that the call of Matthew (found in the previous verse) is the only call of a disciple in which only one person is called. We read of Peter and Andrew's call (Matt 4:18-20) and James and John's call (Matt 4:21-22). Matthew's call is the only recorded call where he is alone. This may go to show how much of an outcast his profession made him to his fellow Jews (Mark 2:14) or it may mean nothing at all. I just find it interesting.

I also believe Matthew was writing to Jews. There are many proofs of Matthew's audience throughout the book but a few of the specific items which I would focus on is first the lineage which Matthew starts his Gospel. The evangelist starts by showing that Jesus was from the line of Abraham and from the line of David. Second, Matthew uses the Old Testament in a very specific manner. That would be to show that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies (more will be said about this in upcoming posts). Finally, the focus on Jesus being the King and that His Kingdom has come is a significant characteristic of his Gospel which shows his audience are Jews.

The last thing I will discuss on the overview of Matthew is that I identify eight distinct sections which make up the whole of his book (these divisions of the book are something of a mix of my thoughts and those from different commentaries). In each of these sections, there is a large narrative section in which the story of Jesus is unfolded. Additionally, there is a section of significant discourse in each of these sections. The only exception to this is the section on the passion of Christ which does not have an extended discourse but is mostly all action. Finally, in each discourse found in each section there is challenge issued to the readers. These will be identified in the upcoming posts.

The next several posts will continue the overview of Matthew but will look a bit more closely at these eight sections.

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The Beginning of the Beginning of the New Testament

I have been doing some preliminary work for studying through the book of Matthew. The more I study it and the more I talk to others about it, the more I look forward to preaching through the first gospel. I will be posting my thoughts throughout the study on and off. I am not sure my posts will be a complete representation of the entire book. We will have to see. Nevertheless, posting helps me communicate my thoughts and maybe they will be an encouragement to you, too.

This first post I want to address the approach I will take to the book of Matthew. I have been through many studies of the different gospels and usually the study turns into a study of the harmony of the gospels: John said this, Mark said that, and it all takes place between these two verses in Luke. While I think a study of the harmony of the gospels is an important one, and while I think anyone going through one of the gospels needs to understand how they all fit together to tell the story of our Savior, I also think that each gospel writer had a message to tell in their own individual gospels.

Thus, I want to study Matthew and understand his message to his audience. I know studying Matthew will necessitate some reference to the other gospels. But I think Matthew placed the events of Christ's life and ministry in the order he did and mentioned the events he did to contribute to his overall message. And when these events are place in the appropriate chronological order with the other gospels, then Matthew's message becomes muted if not silent.

So, as I post my thoughts regarding my study through Matthew, I expect to only rarely refer to the other gospels unless that will contribute and clarify the story and message Matthew is conveying.

So let me know what you think of my approach. Is it valid? Do you agree? Let me know.

Next, I will post an overview of Matthew.

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That "That" That I Use

As an instructor and as someone who writes my thoughts down regularly, I try to continually educate myself on proper grammar, sentence structure, and other issues in the English language (I will deal with my use of the comma before "and" in another post). I have noticed THAT I have spent a great deal of time talking to students about the use of that word "that."

It has been my experience that most of the time, when "that" is used, it is really not needed, it can be simply eliminated from the sentence, and the sentence would read just as well. However, there are times it must be used. So I set out on a quest to find when and when not to use the word "that." I came across some helpful articles.

This article shows THAT the sentence, "He said that that 'that' that that man used was wrong" is a grammatically correct sentence and why it is so.

This article is a brief summary of the rules of when to use "which" and when to use "that."

This article gives the rules again but in a more technical sense (restrictive and non-restrictive clauses).

Sometimes when I read students papers, I can mark out about 80% of their uses of the word "that" and it reads great. However, these articles have helped me judge when it is time to use THAT word and when it is not.

I hope THAT this has helped you, too.

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Mind Cramping - Your Input Needed

I have been attempting to develop two sermon series for several weeks now. The first is a series through the book of Haggai. I have been enjoying the study and hope to post some thoughts about it in the next few days.

I have also been attempting to develop sermons from the psalms of ascension (Psalms 120-134). I recently taught through Psalm 119 and thought I should continue through Psalms. I realize it is not the same as preaching through Ephesians, or Genesis, or even Haggai. Hebrew poetry is a challenge, which I why I want to work through it.

As I have been working through these, I have really just cramped up in the brain. I just cannot think through some of these things. I have been praying through the study, I have just sat and read through the passages, and I have come to a standstill, so to speak. So I try to go on to other things and let my mind engage in other activities and then come back to these passages later and still nothing.

Let me be clear, I am obviously finding all kinds of valuable material and great application for sermons. It is, after all, the Word of God and is always alive and profitable. The problem I am having is attempting to find the teachable points needed in a sermon. Granted, I have a somewhat traditional model of preaching and some have issues with that. But my goal, as always, is to faithfully relay the text to the audience with relevant principles for today.

So as I was struggling with these things, my wife told me to post some of my thoughts and have others let me know what they think. So, I will be posting some of my thoughts, outlines, and other things on these passages and I any help you all could give me would be greatly appreciated. Also, if these are useful to you please use them and share them as needed. If you do that, let me know how you used them - just because I am curious.

I think I will begin with the Psalms. However, I will start with the next post. This post is already long and I do not want to combine topics (it is easier to sort when it is only one topic per post, so to speak). So I hope the following posts will help you and I hope you responses will help me.

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The Emphasis of the Image of God

In the previous post, I was discussing poetry, chiasms, and interpreting in Genesis. Continuing on the same topic, I want to post another example of a chiasm to show what a chiasm is and the significance of the structure when interpreting Scripture.

This example is found in Genesis 1:27, which says,

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

In the English versions, one can sense there is probably some structure issue present here. It flows like poetry. But, that is not proof. When one looks at the Hebrew, notes the word pairs in the passage, and diagrams the passage, it looks something like this:

(note the "X" in the background, which shows how this poetical form received its name)

While this is a little more intricate than Genesis 9:6, it is still a chiasm and still is worth considering. Several things are noted when the structure of this passage is analyzed. First, the issue man being created sandwiches this whole passage. While not the emphasis of the passage, there is no doubt that the author knew the origins of humans was a creative act of God.

Second, there is something that looks out of place in this whole passage. The third and fourth words in this passage stand out as not parallel to anything. This is indicated in the visual aid as "SDO man." "SDO" is short for "Sign of the Direct Object" which means that man was the direct object, or receiptiant, of God's creative act. Whenever something seems out of place or stands out in a parallel structure, that is also a clue to an important part of the passage.

Third, this is really two chiasms working as one, but they have the same emphasis or point. Specifically, the issue of the image of God is the focus of this passage. Yes, God created humans but He made them special. He made them in His own image. The second, bottom, chiasm shows something interesting about that image of God. God made humans with a plurality to them. This is like God, who has a plurality to Him in the Trinity. In His image He created humans and He created them male and female.

This, again, shows the impact structure has in interpreting a scripture passage. The past two previous posts were introductory material to discuss a larger passage in Genesis where the structure is critical for the proper exegesis of the passage. My next post will address this story, its structure, and the structural impact on interpreting that story.

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Structural Issues in Genesis

In a previous post in the series I have been posting on Genesis, I mentioned that one of the more fascinating aspects of the Old Testament literature is the artistry with which it was written. Hebrew poetry is an interesting and enlightening study for the Bible student.

In short, the basis for Hebrew poetry is the word pair or parallelism. Parallelism presents itself in many different forms. One of the more interesting forms is called a Chiasm. First, the word Chiasm (key'-as-um) comes from the Greek letter chi (key) which is written like an "X" (incidently, it makes a hard "K" sound as in the first letter of "Christ"). The reason this is important is because when diagrammed, this form of poetry is shaped like the left half of a chi or an "X."

Secondly, a chiasm is structured so that the middle of the chiasm or the middle of the X is the important part of the passage. For example, an simple chiasm can be found in Genesis 9:6:

            A. Whoever sheds
                        B. the blood
                                    C. of man
                                    C'. by man
                        B.' his blood
            A'. will be shed

There are several to note from this example which will teach us much about chiasms. First, when diagrammed as above, one can immediately see the word pairs and how this structure is shaped like half of an "X." The "A's," "B's," "C's," etc. are for showing how the word pairs relate.

Second, it should be noted that the parallels or word pairs are evident in the Hebrew. That is, a passage may look like a chiasm in an English translation of the Bible but that does not make it so. One must be able to show the same words or words based in the same root word to show the parallelism.

Third, and most important, the point of identifying a chiasm is not to take note of an interesting structure utilized in a passage. The purpose of examining any structure is for interpretive issue. As stated above, the important part of the passage is found in the middle or the apex of the "X." Thus, in the example above, the idea of "man" or "human" is the emphasis of this verse. Genesis 9:6 allows for capital punishment because of the value of human life. If someone is so callous and flippant about human life as to take a life, then that person will not be allow to live. (Note: I am not commenting on the current practice of the capital punishment in America - perhaps in a different post I will - I am commenting on the Old Testament practice of capital punishment.)

In the end, yes, one could gain that understanding from a simple reading of the text. Nevertheless, the author took time to construct this simple verse in an artistic way. As diligent bible students, we should experience the text in the manner in which the author intended. Taking note of specific structures helps the exegete to better interpret what the author was conveying to his audience.

As a sidebar, the present of chiasm in Scripture has been debated among biblical scholars. Some seem to think they are everywhere. Books like Chiasmus in Antiquity: Structures, Analyses, Exegesis and The Literary Structure of the Old Testament propose that it is the main way in which the Old Testament authors, and maybe even the New Testament authors, wrote their contributions to Scripture. Other works, like the article Chiasmus in Ubiquity, acknowledge this type of structure but claim it is no where near as common as the previously mentioned books indicate. (In fact, one can see the almost humorous argument between the two in the titles of the works: Chiasmus in Antiquity vs. Chiasmus in Ubiquity)

My next post will again address the issue of chiasms found in Genesis.

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Narrative and Poetry in Genesis

It is interesting to note that when one is reading through Genesis there are "tags" which indicate something important just happened. These tags are poetry. In English, the basis of poetry is rhyme. In the Japanese form of poetry called Haiku, the basis of poetry is syllables. In Hebrew poetry, the basis for poetry is word pairs. Thus, various forms of parallelism make up poetry throughout the Old Testament (a great source with which to gain a better understanding of Hebrew parallelism is the introduction section of Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, by Wilem VanGemeren). Most of the time, in English bibles, poetry is formatted differently and can be identified simply by noticing the change in format.

Throughout the book of Genesis, after most of the narrative sections there is a short (usually short - sometimes long) section of poetry. This indicates to us something to the reader. When a poetic section is encountered, the reader is to experience it as poetry. They are to allow the images to infiltrate their emotions and imagination. These sections of poetry may have also been used as mnemonic devises. As the Old Testament was relayed to generations upon generations, the stories were told and then essentially finished with a poem (or perhaps a song?). Thus, perhaps these poetic pericopes helped in the remembering of the story and the order of the stories.

Do not misunderstand what I am saying. I am not saying that Genesis 1-11 is poetry, as some Christian leaders teach. I am saying that Genesis is mostly historical narrative with some poetry interlaced throughout the entire book at integral points. Identifing these poetic sections provides a two-fold interpretive result. First, it shows that the narrative sections are in fact to be understood as historical narrative (or they would be written as poetry). Second, it should force us to take note of these important poetic sections.

See the visual aid below (click the picture to enlarge):


This brief investigation of the poetic sections of Genesis should teach us a few lessons:

1) The bible is an amazing work of art. God could have inspired the writers to write the accounts of the Old Testaments in saints in bland, journal-like entries. Instead, the stories are filled with action, emotion, and intrigue written in such a way as to evoke an emotional response from the reader.

2) When we read the stories of the Old Testament, it is critical we read them as the original audience read them. If we read over the poetic sections like it was just another part of the story, we are missing not only the beauty of the passage, but we are missing something of its meaning, as well.

3) The poetic sections should slow down our reading through Genesis. They are "pit stop" on the interpretive road; places for us to stop, lean back, and let our minds dwell on the preceding story. We should allow the poetry do what it was intended to do: stir our imaginations and emotions.

The mix of narrative and poetry throughout Genesis brings us to a deeper apprecation of artistry and understandability, while also bringing us to humble realization that we serve a great and good God, the same God who brought all things into existence as described in Genesis.

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The Origins of Public Schools

It being one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former times by keeping them in an unknown tongue, so in these latter times by persuading from the use of tongues, that so that at least the true sense and meaning of the original might be clouded and corrupted with false glosses of saint-seeming deceivers; and to the end that learning may not be buried in the grave of our forefathers, in church and commonwealth, the Lord assisting our endeavors.

It is therefore ordered that every township in this jurisdiction, after the Lord hath increased them to fifty households shall forthwith appoint one within their town to teach all such children as shall resort to him to write and read, whose wages shall be paid either by the parents or masters of such children, or by the inhabitants in general, by way of supply, as the major part of those that order the prudentials of the town shall appoint; provided those that send their children be not oppressed by paying much more than they can have them taught for in other towns.

And it is further ordered, that when any town shall increase to the number of one hundred families or householders, they shall set up a grammar school, the master thereof being able to instruct youth so far as they may be fitted for the university, provided that if any town neglect the performance hereof above one year that every such town shall pay 5 pounds to the next school till they shall perform this order.

The Old Deluder Act of 1647

Why is it that we never hear about this? I never remember reading in history class, either in public school or in seminary, that the reason the Massachusetts Bay Colony began to teach children to read and to write is so those children could read the Bible and be aware of Satan schemes and not be deceived. Christian schools sometimes get ridiculed for even existing but, in essence, they are just attempting to recapture the original intent of public schools. I find that interesting.

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The Key to the Structure of Genesis - Toledot

As I indicated in a previous post, I am teaching through Genesis for our Sunday School class. As I have been studying I have become more and more awestruck with how intracately the book has been written. This becomes evident when noticing the main structure of Genesis.

Most Old Testament scholars hold that the key to Genesis structure is a Hebrew world toledot (pronounced toll-uh-dote). This is the word translated "the account of" or "generations" which appears periodically throughout the book. For example, Genesis 2:4 begins with "This is the account of the heavens and the earth..." or, in Hebrew, "the toledot. of the heavens and the earth..." Then the biblical record details the life of the first humans. The word shows up at the beginning of a section of text and this heading,

thus summarize[s] the ensuing discussion, which traces the development of the subject from a starting point to an end. (Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing, pg. 71).

Toledot, then, is almost like a title or summary of the story which is about to take place. However,

contrary to what one might expect, the accounts are not essentially about the titular ancestor but about his descendants. For instance, the accounts of the lines of Terah, of Isaac, and of Jacob are primarily about their offspring: Abraham, Jacob and the twelve sons of Israel, respectively. (Bruce Waltke, Genesis, p. 18)

There are ten actual appearances of the word through Genesis. Some think Genesis 1:1 serves as a "toledot" without the use of the word. Here is another visual aid to show where these division occur throughout Genesis. It created it using Ross' and Waltke's commentaries. Hope it helps.

(click on picture for a larger image)

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Filling the Spaces of Creation

This Sunday, I will be leading our Sunday School in a discussion of Genesis. This study will last for two quarters. I am excited about delving into this important book.

The first lesson will be covering the first two chapters of Genesis. Granted, that is way too much ground to cover in one session but Lifeway's material always moves a bit faster than I care to go. Nevertheless, there is still good meat to chew on in the verses we do cover.

The outline of the message is as follows:

Value the Good Environment (1:1, 31)
Appreciate Humanity's Uniqueness (1:26-28, 2:15-17)
Respect God's Plan for Marriage (2:18, 21-25)

In looking at the first 25 verses of chapter 1 and taking a closer examination of the six days of creation, one sees not only God's awesome power in creation, but God's goodness and artistry in the act of creation. One simple example of this is the order in which God created everything and the way in which Scripture records His activity. In verses 4, 7, and 9 the author of Genesis records that God separated areas to make spaces: light and dark, water above and below creating sea and sky, and then separating land from the sea creating dry land. Only after God created all these spaces did He begin to fill them in the order in which He created. In verses 16, 20 and 24 the Bible records God filling up the spaces He just created: Sun and moon and stars to fill the light and dark, birds and fish to fill the sky and seas, and animals and plants to fill the land.

Here is a graphical representation:

Click for larger picture

It is this type of observation which manifests the design of God's creation and how masterfully Scripture captures God's work. God could not create fish with no place to put them. God could not place a cow in the sea without dry land. First spaces, and then filling them.

This is not necessarily a life changing observation from the first chapter of Genesis. But it does shows that God has a purpose for His creation and His purpose is organized, at times symmetrical, and always good for His creation.

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True Students

In contrast to the previous post about learning and students (here, here, and here), I must brag about the students of Pikes Peak Bible Institute (PPBI logo on the left). I am currently teaching a class in Christian Doctrines and we were fast coming up on the end of the class sessions. Technically, we were supposed to be completed with the class in the last week of November. However, I was a few weeks behind in my instruction and needed one more week to really cover all the material I needed to cover.

The students said to me, "Can we have the class go one more week so we can learn all we need to?"

I stood there stunned not exactly sure what to say. This was great. I have never taught a class where the students said, "We would like the class to go longer." I have to laugh about my initial response because I thought, "What is going on here? Can I do that?!? Can I schedule the class around the students' desire to learn?"

So, as you can well imagine, we are schedule to go one more week than we are supposed to go. What an amazing difference!! I can see it each week. To these students, grades are almost incidental. What they desire is to become better equipped so they can serve God more effectively. They think of their class time as a application of Ephesians 4:11-16:

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.(NASB)

These are true students, those who are truly interested in learning, those truly desiring education, those longing to be equipped from ministry. I will give my life in ministry to these type of students any time, for the rest of my life.

Part 4 of 4 (1 2 3 4)

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Same Thing, Different Setting

In my previous posts (here and here) I discussed my frustrations with my desire to teach for education while many students I have recently encountered have not wanted to learn anything but were motivated by something else. In these previous posts, the motivation was grades. However, I have also encountered a resistance to learning in the church. While not motivated by grades, there is still something that blocks these people's desire to learn.

I am the discipleship director at my home church. I provide classes which adults can come and learn more about the Christian life and attempt to implement these principles in to real life (NOTE: the issue of this not being real discipleship or if this is the best way to learn the Christian life is not really the issue here. The point here is that there were classes were learning was offered to adults students).

The last two classes have not went well. The first class was on prayer. There was a DVD instructor, group discussion, and the practice of prayer. It was not the best class on prayer I have ever seen but it was teaching, discussion and practice of the topic. Most anyone should have been able to take something from the class to implement in real life. However, regardless of my efforts to direct the discussion elsewhere, most of the discussion was criticizing the DVD and how it made prayer "too complicated."

Comments like, "We should just praise God in prayer and not worry about anything else," "I watch my 4 year old granddaughter pray and that is all I need to learn about prayer," were par for the course during discussion time.

I attempted to show them that Scripture speaks of prayer in a deeper sense. There is more to prayer than what a 4 year old knows. However, it was not well received.

The next class was on living today in light of eternity. Living each day with the knowledge that our lives today will impact eternity. I think a worthwhile discussion could come from that kind of topic. However, again, most of the discussion has been a critique on the curriculum. I would agree, it is not the best, but is there anything we can take from it to impact our lives? Is there nothing salvageable from this discussion?

The problem as I see it is a critical spirit, which is something that sounds like I have right now. But, my comments here and in the previous posts have been out of concern more than out of critical-ness. Am I failing as an instructor? This is always a possibility. Is there a critical spirit in the church which must be dealth with before people can mature? Am I attempting to "scratch an itch" in the church which is not there? All of these are things I wrestle with and I do not currently know the answer.

I know every experience as an instructor/teacher/preacher cannot be the example of what a classroom should be like. However, as a teacher, I need to see a change in the people I teach. I need to see that they have learned, which means they have implemented the material in their own lives.

I will keep teaching; I will keep attempting to improve spiritually and as an instructor; I will keep attempting to teach what I believe God would have me teach. I just pray that I am impacting His Kingdom for His glory.

Part 3 of 4 (1 2 3 4)

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Teaching for Learning...NOT Grades

In my previous post I discussed my frustration with students who are not as interested in education as they are in grades, specifically those students who have something of an entitlement mentality. I said, there argument is something like this: "I have paid a lot of money to be in this class. I have shown up every week and have stayed relatively conscious. I have turned something in every time something is due. Therefore, I should receive an 'A' for the class."

When a student says something like this, I attempt to remind them of several things:

1. You are not paying for a grade but for an education...specifically, to be taught by those who have experience and training in the field they are teaching. You are essentially paying for their time to help you become better equipped to do whatever it is you are attempting to do in life.

2. Attending class and remaining conscious in class is not the requirement for an "A." That is the minimum requirement to pass the class - which is the definition of a "C".

3. I try to explain to them that if you look at the minimum requirements of the papers and other assignments and aim for the minimum requirements, do not be surprised to receive the minimum grade you can get to pass. This really outrages them for some reason. When an assignment is given that says, for example, 10 to 15 pages with 5 to 8 sources. This does not mean that any paper which has 10 pages and 5 sources is an "A" paper. It means that any paper that falls within these parameters passes with some grade. Unless the student is an extremely gifted author, the changes are those that match the minimum requirements will not be as good as those papers in which the student has gone the extra mile, looking up extra resources, writing clear statements (which may take a bit more space), and things like that. I tell if you aim for the minimum, do not be surprised with the average grade.

4. I finally tell them, "I cannot just give you points or grades. You earn them. Besides, it is more important that you have learned something in the class and not necessarily what grade you received in the class."

Most of the time, these comments fall on deaf ears.

In one class I wrote a big "C" on the board and asked the class what this grade means.

"Average," everyone said.

Then I asked them what an average paper would look like.

....Silence....

Then I said something to this effect: "When you look at the minimum requirements to pass and aim for that, you are aiming for a "C." If you paper is riddled with APA errors (which is the convention used at this school) then that is average, because the average student will not be concerned if they have APA errors or not. The "A" paper will be one in which the student strives to find the best sources, and worked hard to fulfill the requirements prescribed by the assignment. They took time to proof-read their work and looked up how to correctly cite those sources used in the paper. That is an above average paper."

The student began to complain: "If the assignment is 10-15 pages, then anyone should be able to get an "A" for any amount of pages they write in that range!" "You are saying we all cannot get an 'A' because of averages." Etc.

I tell them, "I am not talking about grade distribution. I am not talking about the number of pages dictating the grade. I am saying that probably at this level of education, the minimum amount of writing does not produce the quality which is described as 'above average.'"

We go round and round. Needless to say, I have never be the most popular teacher at this school. But that is not why I am there. I am there to challenge these students, to make them strive beyond where they are at. I am there to help them but not pander to them. I am there to teach and not to pass out good grades. I am doing no one any good if I give out A's which are not A's. That would only be cheating the student and compromising the academic integrity of the school. And I would not be faithful to my standards.

My next post will deal with how I have dealt with something similar in the church
environment and differences that creates. For now, I would just say that I am not the world's best student. I do not pretend to have "it" all down. However, I know that the instructors which were most influential in my educations where those who were toughest on my and demanded the most from me. I learned from these instructors. I pray that eventually, my students may have the same experience from sitting in one of my classes.

Part 2 of 4 (1 2 3 4)

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Grades vs. Education

One of my passions is teaching adults. In general, adults who attend a class, whether in school or in church, want to learn something. Lately, however, I have been an instructor to students who do not really care to learn but, instead, are in the class to receive a grade. More specifically, they are in the class to receive an A, whether their work reflects that level of understanding or not. This is incredibly frustrating for me as an instructor. (I will be using "this student" a lot in the next few paragraphs as I do not wish to reveal anything about the students I am talking about).

I realize that part of the problem may be the result of my inadequacies as an instructor. Therefore, I am always looking for ways to improve a class, create better assignments, and sharpen my teaching skills. However, I am seeing more and more students who are not interested in learning anything from the class but are only interested in how to obtain that all-important "A".

Case in point: I just completed an Ecclesiology class at the Colorado Springs branch of a college at which I am an adjunct professor. This is a class dedicated to the understanding of the theology of the church and how the church is governed. To begin with, there was one student who had taken the class with me before but the student failed in the previous attempt to complete the class. So this was the students second time around. I told this student, "DO NOT turn in the papers I graded last time for this class! That would be self-plagiarism and would carry serious consequences." However, by week 2 of the class, this student was copying work from the previous class and turning it for a grade...again. This student did this for almost every assignment in class. This meant that each assignment failed the meet the criteria AND I turned in the work to the center director so that they could take action on it. This student was not interested in receiving an education; this student was interested in receiving a grade with as little work as possible. This student did receive a grade but not the one he or she was hoping for.

Another student in the same class was almost panicking because this student received a "C" on a major research paper. And that is exactly what it earned. It was not above average in its observations or its errors. It was average and so that is the grade this student earned. This student nearly went ballistic when the student saw the grade and immediately starting to ask for extra-credit. This student's comment was, "I have to redeem myself. I have never failed a paper before." These comments baffled me as I attempted to explain to the class that a "C" is good grade and it is not failing. However, for many adults students there are two grades: A and F. If they do not get an A on a paper or in the class, in their minds, they have failed. I should note that after I assigned the extra-credit assignment, this student did not really fulfill the requirements of the assignment (which is technically the definition of a "D") and ended up with a "C" on the extra-credit assignment (I showed too much grace, I know). My point is, I am not sure this student learned anything about the church and I do not know if this student knows the material in the class impacts this student every Sunday. But at least this student received a "B" in the class (there were other assignments which this student stepped up the quality of work and with the extra-credit pulled a "B" out of the class - which I am sure disappointed this student).

Another student in the same class attempted the extra-credit assignment because this student was very concerned they were 1/2 of a degree point between a B+ and an A-. Now, I do believe that this student did learn something in the class but it seems to be quite a lot of work to make sure you get that all-important "A" (the extra-credit assignment was reading an 18-page article and then writing a summary about that article). When this student turned the assignment, it was almost completely plagiarized from the article. In the first two pages of the assignment there were maybe 10 to 12 sentences which were original. The rest were directly from the article with no citations.

I told this student that, first, I would not accept this paper and if I did accept it, I would have to turn it into the office for plagiarism violations. Secondly, I usually round up to the nearest whole number, which means even without the extra-credit, this student would receive an A- (the other assignments were great and I am not sure what possessed this student to do this on the extra-credit).

These students were all Juniors or Seniors when counting their credit hours and they all should have known better. I expect this type of thing from adults who have not been in school since 1974. But these students had been in this particular program for at least a couple of years.

I could go on but I will not. My point is, I have seen more and more students with the entitlement mentality.There argument is something like this: "I have paid a lot of money to be in this class. I have shown up every week and have stayed relatively conscious. I have turned something in every time something is due. Therefore, I should receive an 'A' for the class."

My next post will deal with my response to these type of students. For now, I just would like to say that I frustrated with struggle between students wanting a grade instead of an education. I know I am not the only instructor who deals with this but is frustrating nonetheless.

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