Teachers are interreligious leaders of today and tomorrow. Many young peoples’ first impressions of global religious communities and encounters with people who are religiously different occur in the classroom. ICJS provides thoughtful programming and professional development opportunities for Baltimore-area teachers in public, private religious, and independent non-religious schools.
ICJS offers a one-year cohort for Baltimore-area teachers to gain knowledge and confidence in religious literacy, to develop and share lesson plans for their own classroom, and to think deeply about pedagogy with a network of experienced educators and scholars.
ICJS teacher programming has always been teacher-led. Donna Lee Frisch (1940-2020), a founding ICJS trustee and a former teacher at Bryn Mawr School, knew that students need to learn about religion to be informed local and global citizens, yet teaching about religion was tough. With generous support from the Frisch family, since 2015 ICJS has offered essential professional development opportunities for teachers and educators.
My most meaningful interreligious encounter was when I was in high school on an overnight, school field trip to the sacred City of The Ocean—OCMD. It wasn’t a conversation fostered by a trusted adult or a cool journaling activity that got me to see the light. It was a giddy, teenaged-girl gossip session with an…
I teach probability and statistics at the high school level at a project-based, arts-integrated public charter school. At our school, we strive to make sure every student is “Known, Loved, and Inspired.” My work here has driven me to write and implement a curriculum that integrates statistics, storytelling, and social justice. The goal of this…
In my first year as a Baltimore city school teacher, I saw and experienced many “aha” moments. But one moment stood out, requiring immediate action, follow through, and educational awareness. Picture a student hard at work, when all of a sudden another student begins making the following sounds: “Boom, Boom, Kaboom, Kaboom, Pew, Pew,” followed…
This experience working with the ICJS Teachers Fellowship has truly enhanced my viewpoint on interreligious diversity, in the classroom and personally. As a second-year theology teacher in a Jesuit/Catholic High School who is a devoted Christian, I initially struggled with planning lessons that would promote interreligious coexistence. I was afraid of having awkward and uncomfortable…
Explore this collection of resources prepared by Fellows for their schools and classrooms and available for your use. ICJS Teacher Fellows work in a variety of contexts, including public, independent, and religious schools and other educational institutions (e.g., museums). Subject areas include English, social studies, and religious studies.