Sunday, December 11, 2011
Correcting Student Papers
I volunteered to read over one seminarian's papers because English is his second language. His papers are not very long but it is a lot of work to diligently read every sentence and correct spelling and grammar. We do in in Google documents so I can highlight phrases, sentences, change the color, and place the correction in a COMMENT. I wonder how any staff could really give proper attention to hundreds of papers. There should be some automated on-line program to exercise students in grammar, spelling, style. But what really bugs me is some of the ideas that are being taught to him. His professor or textbook makes a few statements that disturb me. One statement is to the effect that Plato's Academy and Socrates methods form some unbroken tradition that appears in the Catholic Church and that when people are taught a "method" to distinguish "truth" from "falsehood" then this is somehow "formational" or transformative. Another paper which bothered me stressed that the Virgin Mary is totally sinless, yet ancient prayers from the early centuries refer to Christ as "the only sinless one" ... the early Church refers to Mary as "Panagia" (All-Holy) and "blameless" but stops short of placing her in the same sinless category as Christ. I understand the differing views of Roman Catholic vs. Eastern Orthodox on original sin and Immaculate Conception but I think its more prudent to be conservative and remain silent on certain matters. Also there are topics which the Greeks call "theologoumena" things which may endlessly discussed without coming to any conclusions but which are matters not essential to salvation (e.g. exact details of the how and why of Dormition/Assumption) -- Anyway, this "taste" for me of what it is like to correct papers makes me realize how difficult it is and also.. the problem of respecting the student's right to see things differently but yet make them aware that there are other ways to see them.
