In my Greek classes, I give lots of quizzes and exams. I wish I didn't have to. In Basel, students never faced quizzes or exams or terms papers for that matter. Studying wasn't something they had to do. It was a part of their life.
Let's get real. Not everyone in an American college or seminary is a "student." They're more interested in a degree than in learning. What makes the difference between someone who's just going through the motions and someone who is committed to a lifetime of learning? Motivation.
Each of us is driven farther and faster when we do something we love. Harnessing the power of intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic reward is thoroughly satisfying and infinitely more rewarding. In Basel, a quiz over the reading material would have been unthinkable. Here in the States, we only do as much as we're required to do.
If we want to strengthen our academic institutions, get beyond our underachievement, and address the problem of mediocrity in our lives, our businesses, and our world, we need to move from Type-X behaviors to Type-I behaviors. From X-trinsic to I-ntrinsic. We can cling to our old habits or craft a new approach to help ourselves work a little smarter and a little better.
I'm trying to help my students do the latter.
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| Becky and I during our Basel days. |