Group items tagged

the loyalty that institutions show, or fail to show, to the people who work for them—particularly the part-time faculty.

Those of us who serve on hiring committees, it seems to me, often face similar dilemmas. How much loyalty do we owe those individuals who have served us faithfully as part-time faculty members, in many cases for years? Should we give preference to them because of that, as many posters on this blog have suggested? Or should we try to hire the best people possible, whether or not they’ve worked for us?

So what happens when some of our own adjuncts apply for tenure-track positions, and we determine that, in our professional judgment, they’re not as qualified or just not as good as other applicants? Do we owe it to them to hire them anyway? To the extent that they’ve shown loyalty to the department by working there all those years for meager wages, do we have a moral obligation to show them loyalty in return by offering them tenure-track jobs when available?

it turns out that the one thing present in every successful person is one consistent trait. It’s not a person’s education or lack of it, or their IQ, their upbringing, their financial abundance or lack, their test scores, their birth order or their gender. It’s one odd, rarely mentioned quality: Grit.

But grit is more than just an attitude. It’s about the actions we take when faced with doubt and obstacles. In 2006, Drs. Angela Duckworth and Martin Seligman discovered that the correlation between self-discipline and achievement was twice as large as the correlation between IQ and achievement.

A clear goal Determination despite others’ doubts Self-confidence about figuring things out Humility about knowing it doesn’t come easy Persistence despite fear Patience to handle the small obstacles that obscure the path A code of ethics to live by Flexibility in the face of roadblocks A capacity for human connection and collaboration A recognition that accepting help does not equate to weakness A focus and appreciation of each step in the journey An appreciation of other people’s grit A loyalty that never sacrifices connections along the way An inner strength that helped propel them to their goal

These three uses of “uncircumcised” imply that the foreskin is an impediment or obstacle to hearing, speaking, and producing good fruit. That is, the state of being uncircumcised impedes something, which, if it did not have the foreskin, would otherwise be prepared for true function and vitality. But since it has the foreskin, it is impeded

There is a progression in Leviticus from “outward” holiness to “inward” holiness or better, from the holiness symbolized in sacrifice, cult, and purity laws to holiness exhibited in the obedience of a prepared and consecrated people which Leviticus 17-27 envisions.

The foreskin of their heart was the cause of their stubbornness in 24:10-23, which led to God’s curse coming upon them in exile. They became as the “foreskined fruit trees” in Leviticus 19:23 that were unable to yield fruit. Their hearts still had the foreskin, the impediment or obstacle which prevented them from vital covenant faithfulness and ensuing blessing