In an age when America’s basic social institution is being challenged, TCC Professor John B. Benson was recently one of eight educators chosen nationwide to make a contribution to the overhaul of the textbook “Marriage and The Family”.
When approached by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company to help rewrite Gilbert D. Nass’ book, the professor was ready. He had previously been in correspondence with the company to complain about discrepancies in the test, guidebook, and test bank questions. Adding to his own expertise, Benson had provided the company with feedback obtained from students.
“I had asked students to write letters to the publisher outlining some of the problem areas,” he said. “This may have been one of the reasons I was asked to help rewrite the book.”
Professor Benson believes in teachers doing more than just teaching.
“It is part of a teacher’s academic responsibility to share their knowledge with others. This includes the writing of books,” he said.
Benson, a professor of psychology and sociology, is currently teaching two marriage and family courses and three introductory courses in psychology. He will teach a course in marriage and family this Spring. He is considered a kind of marriage expert. And, he puts into practice what he teaches in Sociology 232, “Marriage and Family”. His neighbors would tell you he takes his role as husband and parent very seriously. He is often accused of being overly protective of his children and frequently putting his family first.
“The subject matter I teach daily is directly related to my own life,” Benson said. “When I talk about family in class, I’m not trying to teach one thing and live another. The family is important.”
To pinpoint improvements for the second edition of “Marriage and The Family,” the professor spent more than 10 days going over the content and coverage of the text. He also offered suggestions for the book’s organization. He addressed such areas as: love, parenting, the anatomy and physiology of sex, reproduction, child development, contraception, finances, dating, and mate selection. And, he offered guidance for decision-making.
“When asked by a publisher to review a book, you are required to go through the text chapter by chapter and make input on all areas that need revision,” Benson said. “Then too, they ask for an extensive outlook and comparison with other texts, to make their book more competitive.”
Today, the church as well as educators are concerned about the future of marriage and the family. Wide attention is being focused on the divorce rate, which is reported up five percent annually. Also under scrutiny is the claim that 85 percent of all marriages are just hanging together because of the children or the fear of starting all over.
Professor Benson commented on some of these areas of concern:
“Marriage is a basic way of life, and marriage itself will be around for a long time,” Benson said. “However, we will probably see many changes. I don’t think marriage will fail or fall; probably it will just change with the times. We are going to see more trial relationships and society accepting this as part of the courtship. Young people today are thinking that these relationships are serious and a lifetime selection. I certainly teach in ‘Marriage and Family’ that students should think a long time about marriage and a very long time about having children. It won’t be very long until only the wealthy will be able to afford children. It’s estimated that raising a child in the year 2000 will cost over 200 thousand dollars. That’s only taking the child from the cradle to age 18.
I’m all in favor of parents sticking together, if possible, and working out their problems. I believe it is childish to run and get a divorce if you have a problem. You have many other problems in life, and you find ways to solve them. I think we have made divorce too easy. Couples should do a lot of counseling and trying before they decide on divorce. To me, it is acting very immature to take the easy way out.
We do have a lot of couples staying together who do not consider themselves happily married. Maybe they are doing it for the kids. But there are other stresses involved, too. It is not easy for a person with one salary to make a go of it these days. It’s expensive to live alone. So, many people are staying married for selfish reasons. They cannot afford to live elsewhere.”
Professor Benson was asked what advice he had for students contemplating marriage. He would like to see students bring love out into the open and take a scientific look at it.
“One of the things we work on in psychology and sociology class is for students to take time and research a definition of love. You should know the characteristics of love and what love really is. It is not something all puffy and floating around. It can be brought down to earth. Many students want to keep love kind of holy, reserved, and unscientific. Today, more than ever, we need to take love out of the closet and examine it before we make a commitment,” he said.
Professor Benson has spent 20 years of his life aiding students to prepare for marriage and life in general. He joined the TCC faculty in 1968, after teaching in public school. He has a B.A. from Berea College, Berea, Ky. His M.S.E. is from Henderson State University, and he holds a Diploma of Advanced Study from the University of Arkansas. He is active in church and will this month teach the Harper Class at the First United Methodist Church on the Arkansas side. He is a former president of Phi Delta Kappa, an educational organization. He and his wife, Marie, are both involved in Scouting. She is the chairperson of the Blue Bonnet Assn. and has been for two years. They have two children, Michael, 13, who recently received his sixth superior rating on the piano, and Elizabeth, 11, who is a Girl Scout and is interested in art and music. She also plays the flute.
(Note: Communication is in danger in the American family. It takes a great deal of maturity to deal with love. Love is not unscientific. It can be defined. There are many pitfalls in marriage, and it is not for everyone. If you want to climb down out of the clouds and keep from going over the high side and landing in banana-land, better put Sociology 232 on your agenda).