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.
Being a part of this year’s Teachers Fellowship at ICJS has given my values much-needed depth and articulation. I found myself in earnest agreement with the mission and purpose behind the meetings and events we participated in. Over and over again, whether it’s on the news, in an article online, or in a podcast, we…
Spelled phonetically and carefully underscored with an undulating white chalk line: yaweh. Strategically placed by the anonymous penman amongst decades of permanent signatures, a place was made for God, in the classroom. I stood for several minutes, attempting to absorb every drop of the spirit that the message contained. My colleagues and I mused about the…
I am a teacher in Baltimore City at the Academy for College and Career Exploration (ACCE), where one of my responsibilities is to teach a college-level class to high school students. Although I have experience as a special educator, this was my first year teaching this particular course. My main goal was to build a…
As a campus minister at a Baltimore-area Catholic high school, I plan retreats and faith-based programming for students of varying faith backgrounds. The work of campus ministry is often done by telling stories. Lots of stories. In fact, I believe campus ministry is so effective because it is a community formed by simply sharing oneself…
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.