A college professor is in hot water for a class assignment. He asked students to write the name “Jesus” on a piece of paper, place it on the floor, then step/stomp on it. One student refused to participate and was suspended from the class.
“Anytime you stomp on something it shows that you believe that something has no value. So if you were to stomp on the word Jesus, it says that the word has no value,” he told WPEC.
Here’s a synopsis of the assignment:
“Have the students write the name JESUS in big letters on a piece of paper Ask the students to stand up and put the paper on the floor in front of them with the name facing up. Ask the students to think about it for a moment. After a brief period of silence instruct them to step on the paper. Most will hesitate. Ask why they can’t step on the paper. Discuss the importance of symbols in culture.”
Interesting. The headline says “stomp” while the lesson plan says “step.” I also couldn’t help but notice that the website that published this piece didn’t bother to interview anyone directly involved with this assignment, no quotes from the professor, no quotes from students who completed the assignment, no quotes from former students… nothing. They did, however get a quote from the university, so that’s a good thing:
FAU did, however, email this press statement: “Faculty and students at academic institutions pursue knowledge and engage in open discourse. While at times the topics discussed may be sensitive, a university environment is a venue for such dialogue and debate.”
I think that might have been an interesting assignment. Wish I knew more about it, particularly other student reactions. Hmmmm…
