The Education System: One Body, Many Parts

Approaches to assessment often highlight the power struggles, clashing interests, competition over scarce resources, and differing perspectives that complicate the relationships between teachers, students, districts, and government or accrediting bodies.

I’ve paraphrased this portion from 1 Corinthians 12 to help me engage the multiple perspectives and seek justice for the various interests that make up our education systems:

One Body with Many Parts

¹² The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the education system. ¹³ Some of us are teachers, some are students, some are administrators, some are community leaders and parents, and some are governing bodies. But we have all been baptized into one body by one society, and we all share the same purpose.

¹⁴ Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. ¹⁵ If the teacher says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a politician,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the community leader or parent says, “I am not part of the body because I don’t work in a school,” would that make it any less a part of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an accrediting agency, how would you love? Or if your whole body were a student, how would you learn anything?

¹⁸ But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. ¹⁹ How strange a body would be if it had only one part! ²⁰ Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. ²¹ The teacher can never say to the government, “I don’t need you.” The administrators can’t say to the students, “I don’t need to listen to you.”

²² In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. ²³ And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that are often not seen (like late hours in preparation or interactions in classrooms),²⁴  while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. ²⁵ This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. (paraphrased from 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, New Living Translation)