Resources and Reflections for Teachers

Somewhere in all of our classrooms is an angsty kid scarfing down metaphorical communion wafers while the pastor’s back is turned. They’re not sinners or hypocrites. They’re just hungry. Teachers in a religious institution have an obligation not to feed them catechism, dogma, or heaping spoonfuls of guilt. Instead, we should give them the confidence to ask bold questions about themselves and their world, so that when they arrive at their truths about religion, about faith, or about their sense of self, it is because they found that truth on their own. 

In a most bizarre holy season of Passover Seders over Zoom, webcast Lenten and Easter services, and streaming Ramadan courses, I have found that my students are hungry for the comfort of their school and faith communities.  They are searching for whatever anchor we can provide as adults, teachers, and faith leaders.

Circumstances now compel us to transform ourselves from classroom teachers to asynchronous virtual learning providers in just a few days. Now, we are teaching through pandemic.

We all want acceptance and love. Tolerance is no longer enough. We must accept our brothers and sisters of all faiths, give them the space to practice that faith in a safe environment, and show love to them even if their beliefs and practices are not the same as ours.

"As I approach lesson planning this year, I feel empowerment rather than the apprehension I felt last year. The opportunity to develop some religious literacy in my class this year, however small, is very exciting."

Last summer I had a life-changing experience visiting migrant centers in both El Paso and Juarez. The picture that most Americans will never see of men, women, and children awaiting a decision that will impact their lives in conditions that are difficult to bear, is at best daunting and at worst hopeless.