Good teachers replicate the process of knowing by engaging students in the dynamics of the community of truth. (Palmer, 2007, p.117)”
Boy, Palmer is on to something here but it’s elusive. I know I’ve been part of it, not sure that I’ve ever achieved it in the classroom myself (though I hope I have). Throughout this book I keep coming back to an idea, not an original idea of mine, but one certainly within the Christian communities understanding of vocation. It’s fine to feel called to something, to claim that I have a vocation to be a teacher, or a priest, or a married person. But a vocation must be confirmed, much in the way that the authority of the Church confirms a person’s call by God in the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The call must be confirmed by evidence of ability, talent, giftedness for the endeavor. In modern society I simply sign up for a course of study, take the classes, do some field work and be evaluated in a rather artificial and superficial way. That’s the only confirmation we get in the profession of teaching. Well, as a student, teacher myself and principal, I can bear witness to the fact that some who might have felt called, don’t have the talent needed. I’ve witnessed that in every line of work, profession and vocation, and it makes me sad – because it tends to make everyone around the person sad!
"True community in any context requires a transcendent third thing that holds both me and three accountable to something outside ourselves, a fact well known outside of education. (Palmer, 2007, p. 119)”
Palmer in this quote is onto the unique contribution that I believe Catholic education makes to the field of education. We start with the transcendent. We begin with Jesus in the middle of it all, transcending the limitations of this life, and leading us to the transcendent love of God the Father. Christianity can, sometimes become, the default mode in Catholic education, what we fall back on in times of trouble or disagreement. But truly mission driven schools start every project, conversation, endeavor, with God at the center. The goal of the mission is to make good citizens ultimately of heaven – a transcendent place indeed. This is the great grace, and the greatest challenge, for Catholic education.
“In a subject-centered classroom, the teacher’s task is to give the great thing an independent voice – capacity to speak its truth quite apart from the teacher’s voice in terms that student can hear and understand. (Palmer, 2007, p.120)”
This takes great courage, self-control, comfort with ambiguity and I do think it’s easier in some courses than others. I think this is probably essential in Religious education in today’s context. Something worthy of more exploration and perhaps class discussion.
“The community of truth demands continual discernment: some observations are accurate and some are not; some claims of fact are valid and others are not; some hypotheses are warranted and others are not. (Palmer, 2007, p.141)”
This goes back to my earlier point and is applicable to the notion that the community should discern together about many things!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
As I read your comments, your use of the word "discernment" with this chapter reminds me of the quote (seen below) that I shared earlier in the semester. I think I shall try to use it when I introduce the "subject-centered learning" concept to my students. Thank you for helping me make that connection.
ReplyDelete"You are called to be men and women who reflect upon the reality of the world around you with all its ambiguities, opportunities, and challenges in order to discern what is really happening in your lives and the lives of others, to find God there and to discover where he is calling you, to employ criteria for significant choices that reflect Godly values rather than narrow, exclusive self-interest, to decide in light of what is truly for the greater glory of God and the service of those in need, and then to act accordingly.”
- Fr. Kolvenbach, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, 1997
The fact that you uncovered, found, or at least searched for God in this chapter says a great deal, though you would most likely say He can be found everywhere. I agree that "the great thing," "the third thing" is elusive but is, like God, ready to be discovered both by a discerning, committed teacher and by the learning community he/she is so important to.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that to create a sense of discovery and wonder should be the goal of Religious education training -- at every level -- not merely an accumulation or rote memorization of ecclesial facts.
Walter,
ReplyDeleteLove it man! Christ at the center; not to mention the Beginning and the End! The classroom practice (or the same in the life of the educational community) of this belief is transformative.