God's Favoritism In The Story Of Israel Favoring His Son Joseph In Genesis

From a biblical perspective, God provides clear examples of the effects of favoritism in the story of Israel favoring his son Joseph in Genesis 37:1 – 28. Genesis 37:3 tells us that “Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons… and he made an ornate for him” (New International Version). This favoritism resulted in the brothers hating Joseph, being unkind and both words and action (Genesis 37:4, 18 – 28, NIV). Mentioning the brother’s hatred as a result of the favoritism and the ornate robe given by their father begins the conflict. Similarly, the teacher who shows favoritism within the classroom may unintentionally cause dissidence among the students. Jacob unwittingly perpetuates the hatred and jealousy by sharing his dreams with the family (Genesis 37:5, 8, 11, NIV), much like the favored student who likewise responds to the teacher’s preferential treatment. Other examples in the Bible, like the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4) and Isaac (Genesis 25 and

ix). Additionally, to further demonstrate the issue of favoritism being unethical, the teacher’s behaviors towards students impacts the class as a community. As such, determining whether or not the classroom community expresses a sense of “equal value and dignity of all, or… express[es] privilege and exclusion,” (Strike & Soltis, 2009, p. 75), which reflect the effects of favoritism within the learning environment. This principle applies directly to the case of favoritism (see introduction description of Sam and Tom) regarding how students access to learning and sharing knowledge in the