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…
At the beginning of the year, I assigned an essay entitled “This I Believe” to my speech class. The assignment is modeled on the radio program of the same name. The very first essay produced on the program is entitled “A Doubting Questioning Mind.” In it, the 16-year-old author Elizabeth Deutsch writes, “I have visited…
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…
This year has been a tumultuous one for most people on the planet. Natural disasters, man-made conflicts, as well as spiritual turmoil have come together to make a very troublesome climate overall. Classrooms in particular are very active with discussions of these very real issues that affect students and teachers both. The role of the…
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.