Religious Literacy Final Reflection

Prompt 1 and 2-enhanced religious literacy, successes and setbacks

I came into this week thinking and believing that everyone has a valid viewpoint when it comes to religion.  I don’t think I have ever felt that one is “better” or “worse” than another.  I also feel like my idea that within religions things vary as much as between religions, so that idea was not new to me.

What I took mostly from this week was the power of people to be so, so kind and respectful to each other.  I saw cultures and religions come together to find commonality of human experience.  This doesn’t happen when you simply read books or watch videos.

On that note, I have increased my belief that experience is the best teacher.  Going to physical spaces and talking with physical people was wonderful, and while I didn’t learn everything about every religion, I am more “religiously literate” than I could become from a text.  It was great to see things in real time as they are practiced in this area.  I’ve been to plenty of churches in my life, but I had no idea what existed within ten miles of my house and in the service are of my school.  This learning was most valuable.

Prompt 3-essential question

Given that there are many cultural and religious beliefs and behaviors in a classroom, and given that religious, political rhetoric is so emotionally charged, biased, or filled with logical fallacy, how do we navigate a text with neutrality?

I almost think this question is inappropriate now!  It’s not offensive or off topic, but I think the idea of navigating a text with neutrality is almost impossible.  Eliminating religious or cultural passion is impossible and probably not appropriate. 

Yes, as an English teacher, I need to help kids read texts and create texts that eliminate as much bias as possible.  This is just good reading and good writing. 

However, what I need to do as an educator is not to wash these differences and viewpoints away, but to bring them out.  We need to discuss these differences in order to understand them.  Bias and stereotypes and misconceptions do not go away by ignoring them.  This week has reminded me of this.  My fear of textual bias needs to take a backseat to human understanding.  There is a line I need to walk as a professional that validates and accentuates all the culture in my room.  THEN we can tackle an issue or a text WITH multiple lenses, not simply knowing that they are there.

Prompt 4 and 5-further plans and impact on practice

I think I alluded to my future in the above passage and my other blogs posts.  Not only will I bring my kids to as many of these cultural and religious centers when they are older, but I am definitely due for a change in my view of children from other cultures and faiths.  I am an ELL teacher, I’ve taught kids of almost every culture, but it wasn’t until this week that I realized I wasn’t actively engaging them.  Sure, I’ve read books, I’ve been trained, I’ve been exposed, but I haven’t been the best teacher I can be for students from other cultures. 

In short, I have learned to remind myself to branch out, to ask questions, and to get to know my kids on a different, more “personal” level.  I am mad that I can’t tell you where some of my students were born, what they celebrate, what their cultural beliefs might be.  This needs to be my job. 

All education research points to notion that kids learn when they feel respected and honored.  A week ago I would have said I was good at this.  Now I’m not so sure, and I plan to fix this.  Thank you to John Camardella and our school district for making this possible!