A few months ago a student interviewed me for a project he was doing for an Education course. The questions concerned my approaches to teaching and my general understanding of the dynamics of education. The following are my responses. The questions are missing but I think you'll be able to figure those out, based on the responses.
Interview…
#1 The first move is to actually convey to my students that an academic approach to the study of religion is very different from what they might be accustomed. The hope is that right from the beginning they will be prepared for something different. To treat religion from a perspective of critical analysis begins with understanding what critical analysis is, so I do that too. In the RELS department we treat all religions without regard to claims of “truth” and this requires as much of an objective view as is possible. This allows for a methodology that brings students outside the parameters of their own faith to a place where hopefully they can appreciate others. Historical, cultural and literary criticisms provide the tools for this objectivity.
#2a See above and…. a) I make a point of telling stories to illustrate philosophical or theological concepts. I understand the storytelling to operate in much the same way as a lab experiment helps a science teacher convey a theoretical concept concretely. b) I use analogy as well, in much the same way. c) asking students to critically reflect on readings both secondary and primary allows for them to exercise their use of critical analysis d) group discussion is a good tool for the expression of personal or academic questions or issues the students might raise as a result of the study of religion. e) I share with students my own personal narrative which I hope will provide an atmosphere of honor and trust.
#2b I most certainly draw upon the example of my own best teachers; their methods and styles. As a former Director of Religious Education in a ministerial setting I am well aware of the power of the role of teacher and am very self-reflective of how I utilize that power in the classroom. That lecture material be comprised of the best scholarship available and not my own opinion is crucial to my understanding of responsibility in the classroom, especially given my former ministerial role where persuasion was part of the job!
#3 Through my study of feminist theology and a general study of the philosophy of religion, I came to understand how vital the critical analysis of religion is for engendering peace and justice in the world. When I discovered how intimately the emergence of a religious tradition is tied to political (institutional power), social (domestic power), and cultural (public power) concerns, I realized that human influence (and so, human flaw) in the construction of religion had set up inequalities that had become a part of the very fabric of those religions. The idea of deconstructing venues of power which had always been considered to be divine revelation became a way for me (however small) to contribute to the dismantling of those structures of ideology; to attempt to bring a word of liberation and to try to ease some of the suffering that patriarchal religions support and indeed uphold within the context of patriarchal society.
#4 I was a Director of Religious Education for 8 years while pursuing a Bachelor’s degree part-time (and while raising a family). After the degree I pursued a Master of Divinity degree. I taught for four years in the theology department of an all-girls Catholic high school before teaching on the college level where I am now in my 7th year of teaching. Since I was a “non-traditional” student I brought many life experiences to my studies, i.e. I approached my studies in theology and in the feminist critique of religion always with an eye to their practical application in the world and not merely for intellectualism’s sake.
#5 Basically, I subscribe to the old saying, “When the student is ready, the teacher will come.” All I can do is present the material. What “happens” in terms of growth, or change or awareness is entirely up to them. The hope of course is that their knowledge of and tolerance for other religious traditions will increase.
#6 The most difficult task is the realization that my teaching may create occasions for very real confusion and doubt. It is true that these are the initial breakthroughs to a more mature approach to religion, but nevertheless the process is painful. The easiest (and most pleasurable) is interacting with and getting to know my students as individuals. Very simply put, they are a joy to me. They make me laugh. They make me cry. They give me hope.
#7 I think it is important for students to know their teacher on a personal level, whether that occurs as a result of interaction outside of class (the minority to be sure) or as a result of the teacher’s sharing of self in the classroom. When I interject my own narratives into the lecture material, I think the students get a glimpse into the life and growth of a real person and this resonates with them in many ways; they are able to relate my experiences to their own; we are able to establish a relationship of mutual trust (I trust them, so they trust me…and each other); they see that I honor them as human beings so a relationship of mutuality is established rather than one in which they feel hindered by the power of a professor/teacher relationship. In truth, I am able to risk sharing myself with them because it is the only way I know how to teach.
#8 Oh my. Education is important for so many reasons. It is important because it broadens one’s world and one’s world view. It encourages introspection and self-reflection, and in getting to know oneself one acts through response and not through knee-jerk reaction. It teaches rationality which allows for action based on deliberation and not on emotion. It reveals the creativity, the joy and the suffering ofhuman history and in that revelation there may be hope that the same errors of history will not be repeated. Education has the potential for opening a student to the world of the “other” and in that there is hope for compassion and understanding. Education ironically (and if done well) will offer to the student a world of questions (and hence, possibilities) rather than close-minded adherence to definitive answers (which may not “work” at all)….I could go on and on here, but I think you got enough!
#9 I am always surprised by my student’s willingness to struggle and wrestle with what may prove to be some of the most difficult questions of their lives; questions of faith; of good and evil; of the possibility that “truths” upon which they have always depended may not be “true” at all. Their courage to face the fears of uncertainty that questioning brings is always an inspiration and a delight to me.
#10 My favorite courses are 1) Approaches to Religion, my “evil and suffering” class because of my own conviction that how a religious tradition explains human suffering, is directly related to how they will respond to suffering. The task of critiquing traditional understandings of suffering is such important work in the alleviation of suffering in the future. 2) Comparative Religious Ethics because in this course we explore what the world’s religions hold in common rather than how they are different. When this is done through the topic of ethics there can be the possibility for realizing that there really are universally held ethics and that perhaps we all aren’t so different after all. 3) Women and Religion because it offers the opportunity for me to explore, throughout an entire course, a feminist critique of religion. It allows me to express my passion for an issue that led me to study religion/theology in the first place; the liberation of all those who suffer from systems of oppression and domination.
My passion for these is boundless.
No comments:
Post a Comment