Teaching to honour the promise of the gospel
In Richard Pring’s article Lessons from the Gas Chambers he quotes a headmistress writing to new teachers in her school…
Dear Teacher,
I am the victim of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no man should witness: gas chambers built by learned engineers; children poisoned by educated physicians; infants killed by trained nurses; women and babies shot and burned by high school and college graduates. So, I am suspicious of education. My request is: help your students become human. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, educated Eichmanns. Let us gather in prayer and reflection on the invitation: help your students become human.
Trisha Watts in her song Remember My Love reminds us that we are dealing with mystery, the mystery of God’s love, and God desire for each one of us to be loved into life... Bernadette Farrell in her song God, Beyond All Names reminds us that we are dealing with mystery, but a mystery which is housed in all of creation, coming to consciousness in the human heart…
Lift up the Souls of Students….
Parker Palmer has for many years focused his life’s work on nurturing the inner landscape of teachers’ lives. He believes strongly that we teach who we are. A retreat program has been developed by The Centre for Courage and Renewal to prepare facilitators to engage teachers and other professionals in this inner work. In his article The Grace of Great Things written in 1997 he says: "I saw the other day a remarkable documentary called The Transformation of Allen School. Allen School is an inner-city school in Dayton, Ohio. It was for many years at the bottom of the list in that city by all measures. There were fifth graders who had parole officers. The dropout rate was incredible and saddening. The failure of those students in every aspect of their lives sickened the heart. And along came a new principal, a principal who—it’s relevant to note—came from the Philippines, a culture which has an inherent respect for things spiritual in a way American culture does not. And he brought the teachers together and said to them, in substance, as his very first proclamation as principal, that:
And in a five-year period, that school, the Allen School in Dayton, Ohio, rose to the top of every dimension on which it had been at the bottom, through hard work, through disciplined work, but through attentiveness to the inward factors that we are here to explore. This is not romanticism. This is the real world."
The Grace of Great Things
To lift up the souls of students we need to be in touch with our own souls….
The following poem invites us to reflect upon this important element of our lives… From The Way of Chuang Tzu, ed. and trans. by Thomas Merton
© 1965 by the Abbey of Gethsemani. Reprinted by permission of the New Direction Publishing Corp.
REFLECTING ON ‘THE WOODCARVER’
In the second stanza of his story, the Woodcarver speaks about guarding his spirit, setting his heart at rest, and ‘forgetting’ certain obstacles that would compromise the integrity of his work (attachment to gain and success, or to praise and criticism). Some of you may find it helpful to reflect on related needs and issues in your own active lives. At the same time the story explores at least four other kinds of ‘soul and role’ issues on which some may find it helpful to reflect. In the course of his inner journey, the Woodcarver transforms his relationship to four elements that are key to work of every kind:
In the gospels Jesus shares the Beatitudes to help us understand what God is asking of us as a people….
Macrina Wiederkeher invites us to pray these blessings:
Thoughts and Suggestions:
I have included a variety of resources to engage teachers in reflecting upon their responsibility to nurture the faith of children. To make the gospel real to the lives of children today is a key responsibility. To do this, teachers need to be committed to their own inner journey. The Woodcarver is one resource through which to ponder our own centeredness. Those preparing a prayer will know which resources might best engage staff in conversation and reflection on this important element of Catholic education. The excerpts from Pring and Palmer invite us to look closely at what we do as educators. The music invites us to ponder the mystery of God in our own lives and Word of God asks that we become living signs in constant need of recreation…..The Prayer of the Beatitudes could be read by one person with the group praying together those parts on bold type. |