Religion plays a big part on Bluffton’s campus, ranging from students’ faith, their major and the school’s Mennonite affiliation.
Introduction to Biblical Worldview is one of the general education classes all Bluffton students are required to take as a religion credit. Depending on the time the class is offered, students may have Jackie Wyse-Rhodes as their professor.
Jackie Wyse-Rhodes photo by Dani Easterday
Wyse-Rhodes has been working at Bluffton as a full-time faculty member since 2015; however, she did teach here in 2012 for a semester. Bluffton is the only school where Wyse-Rhodes has taught as a full-time faculty member.
“From the few professors I have experienced so far, Jackie stands out as the most passionate one, and it’s clear to see that she has a deep passion for religion,” said Adam Duncan, sophomore marketing major.
“As a Christian, Jackie challenges me because she provides different answers and beliefs and leaves it up to us to think and decide on what we believe. She doesn’t try and change our beliefs, but she keeps us thinking more open minded.”
She has taught individual classes at other institutions, such as Northwest State Community College, Emory University, Candler School of Theology and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. She first taught a college class in 1998.
Walking into a class taught by Wyse-Rhodes, students never quite know what to expect. Rather than having the usual, often boring lesson of note-taking and listening to a lecture, Wyse-Rhodes tries to come up with different ways of teaching class.
“It depends on the day,” explains Takayla Gadberry, sophomore psychology major. “Sometimes it’s a typical lecture with discussion times, but [we’ve] also done more interactive days like when she brought in the archived bibles. She’s [also] very open to having her opinion challenged and hearing what we think since so much of religious is based on the way you were raised.”
These teaching techniques come from her graduate time at Emory University, where she was trained in pedagogical methods. She also learns a lot about teaching from her friends and colleagues who are professors at other universities.
“We actually have a Facebook group where we ask for advice and share our teaching ideas,” Wyse-Rhodes said.
While also being a professor, Wyse-Rhodes also spends quite a bit of time on her dissertation.
For eight years, she has been working, writing and revising her dissertation. A dissertation is a long essay about a particular topic or subject. It is also known to be a requirement in receiving a doctoral degree.
“My dissertation discusses four ways in which the natural world is portrayed in Jewish literature of the second temple period: a model for human righteousness, a sign of things to come, a giver of testimony and an instrument of judgment and a heavenly mystery,” Wyse-Rhodes said.
She expects to have her dissertation finished in the next couple of months. However, the path to finishing it has been quite long and difficult for Wyse-Rhodes.
“The biggest obstacle has been a persistent anxiety about getting things right,” Wyse-Rhodes said. “I am learning to let go of perfectionism and to be confident in my own voice.”
Wyse-Rhodes is excited to have her project done and released.
“However, I believe in my project, and I am thrilled to be releasing it out into the world this year,” Wyse-Rhodes said.
In her time as a teacher, Wyse-Rhodes has learned a lot from her students, such as new ways of asking tough questions, how to stay curious and learning new ways to read the text. She often enjoys the classes where the students do most of the talking.
“Each class I teach changes my view on the Bible and the world in some way, small or large, and that’s why I want to spend the rest of my career in the classroom,” Wyse-Rhodes said.
