I used to teach Ethics to college students.  The first and last time I used PowerPoint.  I don’t know why people like this program so much, it totally disrupts the spontaneity and natural flow of teaching.  From then on, it was just chalk and blackboard.  Also the last time I gave essay exams.  It’s true that grading them is a crapshoot – I may as well have thrown them down a flight of stairs to see where they landed to assign a grade.  Oh, and it’s true, the longer the response, no matter the amount of BS, the better the grade.

I once had a friend, an experienced Jesuit priest who worked in the prison system give a guest lecture.  One student asked the classic question – “Are humans good or evil?”  He then tells the Native American story of the two wolves.  A Chief is speaking to a young brave and tells him that within him there are two wolves constantly at war.  One wolf represents all that is good and true while the other all that is evil and twisted.  Concerned, the brave asks “Who wins?”  Chief answers “That’s easy.  The one I feed.”

On the final exam, I unfortunately did not have the energy to create a multiple choice exam, so I took the easy way out and presented some ethical scenario with plans to visit the nearby stairwell.  Quite surprisingly and pleasantly, at least one student ended their answer with that story.  A+.

That story has resonated a long time.