Recently I saw the Life of Pi with my husband and consider it a great movie to use in my world religions class. I envision it to be a final assessment completed in three parts.
Each portion would be an assignment after a portion of the movie has been viewed in class. At my school we have access to an online class software where we post assignments, the syllabus, and the course calendar. In an attempt to use technology in more meaningful ways I have been using the interactive assignment feature in my classes. It allows for students to complete a variety of types of work such as a quiz with multiple choice answers, fill in the blank and short answer. It allows students to upload images, videos and documents. One of the great things is that it time stamps the assignment so I can always know when they completed it. Once it's graded it automatically syncs with my gradebook and students do not need to print it. They just submit and it's done.
I will ask students to take notes on the movie. Depending on the class, I may put together some graphic organizers, so they know what to look for, but I have not created them yet.
After the first day, I would pose this short answer question to students:
1)Recognize 4 out 5 major world religions in the movie. How does Pi practice them? Why would it be okay for a Hindu to practice so many religions?
After the second day, I will pose this short answer question to students:
2)While Pi is trying to survive he worls through the 4 Noble Truths. Identify the 4 truths and use examples from the movie to support each one.
Finally after the last day of the movie I would give them this essay question, they would need to complete this and submit the document:
3) Pi seems to practice all 5 major world religions in some way. However, to the best of your knowledge which religion is he really. Use examples from the movie to support your theory.
I also considered the possibility of using spinning it to be self reflective so the question I would pose could be:
From your own belief system how would you explain the tiger not looking back at Pi when they finally reach the shore. Use primary sources (such as scripture) to support your answer.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Doing What Is Right
Every year I stand before classrooms of high school seniors and I teach them to consider what is Right. What is Justice? I encourage to have a voice. I tell them that we all have a responsibility to speak for those that do not have voice. To stand up for those that have been disenfranchised. It is easy to say isn't it? It is easy to tell kids what Right is in the theoretical realm. The idea that of course you would allow the husband to take the only medication that will save his live. Of course you understand that the train conductor must kill his own child to save the entire train of people who are too children.
However, when it becomes personal it really is difficult. When you consider the face of your child on those tracks obviously the choice changes. I know it would for me, no matter how self it may be. I would still a million dollars from a bank if it would save my husband and I would willingly go to jail for life for it as well. But some situations are not so black and white, even when they are personal. Some things in life are grey.
Frankly, most things in life are grey. There is so little that is black and white. We as a society attempt to clarify some things. We draw lines in the sand. No person can run for president under 35. Is a 34 year old lacking that much competence in comparison? Roe v Wade permits abortion however few would agree to third trimester abortions unless it was medically warranted. We draw lines in order to make the choices that we face in life black and white.
How do I as teacher have my students be motivated more by truth than by fear? Even better, how do I do the same for myself?
However, when it becomes personal it really is difficult. When you consider the face of your child on those tracks obviously the choice changes. I know it would for me, no matter how self it may be. I would still a million dollars from a bank if it would save my husband and I would willingly go to jail for life for it as well. But some situations are not so black and white, even when they are personal. Some things in life are grey.
Frankly, most things in life are grey. There is so little that is black and white. We as a society attempt to clarify some things. We draw lines in the sand. No person can run for president under 35. Is a 34 year old lacking that much competence in comparison? Roe v Wade permits abortion however few would agree to third trimester abortions unless it was medically warranted. We draw lines in order to make the choices that we face in life black and white.
How do I as teacher have my students be motivated more by truth than by fear? Even better, how do I do the same for myself?
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
All Muslims Are Terrorists, Still?
A freshmen in class as we begun to discuss the religion of Islam made some remarks about Muslims being terrorists. Admittedly, I still find it mind blowingly hocking that there are STILL people out there that believe this, particularly educated people and certainly not privileged people that have the resources at their disposal to know better.
Immediately after 9/11 I could have understood the confusion and perhaps even the need to point the finger at someone "other" in the wake of the devastating losses and violence on our own land. But we have hit the limit on ignorance. It is a fact that hundred of thousands of Americans are Muslims. In a recent story on NPR, they report there are 91 mosques in the greater Chicago area alone. That should be a radically clear indication of the population of our free land.
As a teacher, I am responsible to set them straight. I am responsible for giving them language to use that is appropriate. I am responsible for ending the blind bigotry towards 1 billion of the world's people. It isn't an easy task. I need new ways to help my students engage the material. I have had them create Public Service Announcements. Watch a great episode of Muslims in America by documentarian, Morgan Spurlock. We have discussions, however it's not enough. I can do more, but what?
Immediately after 9/11 I could have understood the confusion and perhaps even the need to point the finger at someone "other" in the wake of the devastating losses and violence on our own land. But we have hit the limit on ignorance. It is a fact that hundred of thousands of Americans are Muslims. In a recent story on NPR, they report there are 91 mosques in the greater Chicago area alone. That should be a radically clear indication of the population of our free land.
As a teacher, I am responsible to set them straight. I am responsible for giving them language to use that is appropriate. I am responsible for ending the blind bigotry towards 1 billion of the world's people. It isn't an easy task. I need new ways to help my students engage the material. I have had them create Public Service Announcements. Watch a great episode of Muslims in America by documentarian, Morgan Spurlock. We have discussions, however it's not enough. I can do more, but what?
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Piling Up the Knowledge
In the last few years in education there has been a shift from teaching content to teaching skills. The idea is that skills are things that students can use forever whereas content can be only used in the moment to pass a quiz or a test. Sort of like the teach the kid to fish so he can eat everyday, it's a pedagogical teach the kid to think so he can think everyday.
On the surface the concept is great, but as anything it most successful in moderation. Siddhartha's middle way consistently accurate, I find. I digress, it seem like we are constantly attempting to give students more tools in their toolbox but at the end of the day, they have no idea what they are suppose to be building. What is the purpose of teaching them to communicate effectively, if they don't know why they should communicate at all.
We have begun to say that there is information that students can just "google" like a geographical place, an definition, or a quick reference but it don't seem to explain to them how to put it in context with the rest of the information in their heads. Before google we had libraries filled with books filled with information but we didn't dismiss the importance of needing to know where Syria is. Why is it important to know the neighboring countries?
It would be handy to have an understanding of geography now as the Arab Spring has occurred. Knowing the religious backgrounds and historical content of these countries may help us in understanding the reasons for social change or revolt in some cases. How do we teach our students that Google is just a nugget and that they tools that are taught are suppose to be fashioning a great big web of knowledge to make them better global citizens?
On the surface the concept is great, but as anything it most successful in moderation. Siddhartha's middle way consistently accurate, I find. I digress, it seem like we are constantly attempting to give students more tools in their toolbox but at the end of the day, they have no idea what they are suppose to be building. What is the purpose of teaching them to communicate effectively, if they don't know why they should communicate at all.
We have begun to say that there is information that students can just "google" like a geographical place, an definition, or a quick reference but it don't seem to explain to them how to put it in context with the rest of the information in their heads. Before google we had libraries filled with books filled with information but we didn't dismiss the importance of needing to know where Syria is. Why is it important to know the neighboring countries?
It would be handy to have an understanding of geography now as the Arab Spring has occurred. Knowing the religious backgrounds and historical content of these countries may help us in understanding the reasons for social change or revolt in some cases. How do we teach our students that Google is just a nugget and that they tools that are taught are suppose to be fashioning a great big web of knowledge to make them better global citizens?
Monday, September 12, 2011
Loss of Depth
What am I responsible for as a teacher of religion? Is my objective to teach the details such as rituals, rites, history or am I to engage in discourse about faith? Emotion? Ethics? Difference? And of course the search for Truth?
Every teacher struggles with not having enough time. A few hours a week is not enough to teach everything there is to know about reading, writing and arithmetic thus surely it is not enough time to teach about god. Therefore, we limit ourselves. We set boundaries on what makes the cut and what doesn't. We censor in order to provide more of the big picture, hoping that with that in the hands of students they could examine the material as a virtual Where is Waldo? and they will glean the details. Is it this very idea why we have students that know that Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliette, but can not explain the complexity of family and love that it holds within it's renown sonnets? Is there value in recognition without synthesis; without analysis; without ownership?
An unsure teacher sits and considers the value of the surface in the face of sacrificing the depth.
Every teacher struggles with not having enough time. A few hours a week is not enough to teach everything there is to know about reading, writing and arithmetic thus surely it is not enough time to teach about god. Therefore, we limit ourselves. We set boundaries on what makes the cut and what doesn't. We censor in order to provide more of the big picture, hoping that with that in the hands of students they could examine the material as a virtual Where is Waldo? and they will glean the details. Is it this very idea why we have students that know that Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliette, but can not explain the complexity of family and love that it holds within it's renown sonnets? Is there value in recognition without synthesis; without analysis; without ownership?
An unsure teacher sits and considers the value of the surface in the face of sacrificing the depth.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Independent School Culture?
The first days of school are always exciting to me. I like getting school supplies. I like organizing my folders and printing rosters. I like coming up with the new way I am going to introduce material for the kids but after a decade in the classroom there is certain comfort that I feel with reinventing lessons and communicating with teenagers. A colleague on the first day of school walk past me in a hurry. I said hello and asked him how the first day of school was going and he said that he was already behind. I questioned, really ? and he responded, don't you always feel like your behind? I shook my head, no not really, and his response before scurrying off was, lucky.
As I really consider this interaction I think that perhaps there is something about the culture of independent schools that leads us as teachers to think that we should always be running. Admittedly it is a fast paced environment and there are so many hats that each person wears that it can really feel like a high speed train ride all of the time, but I wonder, when do you slow down and smell the children? Well, not really smell them, of course but instead pause long enough to appreciate the student. Understanding the experience of the student, relating to them as a teacher leads to more effective teaching. Experience should provide a sense of security for a teacher, not complacency but security.
It makes me stronger to have a solid content base; to have a significant arsenal of ideas and lessons that have worked and failed. It is my safety net as I jump on the trapeze of reinventing each year. I reject the idea that I must feel exhausted and rushed everyday and instead I chose to know my students. To set high expectations for them in the classroom and to understand that as teenagers that their extra-curriculars, families, and social life will be juggled along with their academics. I refuse to feel behind because I want to be in the moment and teach that one lesson the very best I can knowing that there is always something else that I will want to include in a course that won't make it because of time.
The amazing thing about independent school is the opportunities are endless, the communities are strong, and the academics are top notch. If as a teacher I get too caught up in racing through the day (may it be the lesson, the club, the sport) the school loses something.
So, really, after much consideration, I am not behind already.
As I really consider this interaction I think that perhaps there is something about the culture of independent schools that leads us as teachers to think that we should always be running. Admittedly it is a fast paced environment and there are so many hats that each person wears that it can really feel like a high speed train ride all of the time, but I wonder, when do you slow down and smell the children? Well, not really smell them, of course but instead pause long enough to appreciate the student. Understanding the experience of the student, relating to them as a teacher leads to more effective teaching. Experience should provide a sense of security for a teacher, not complacency but security.
It makes me stronger to have a solid content base; to have a significant arsenal of ideas and lessons that have worked and failed. It is my safety net as I jump on the trapeze of reinventing each year. I reject the idea that I must feel exhausted and rushed everyday and instead I chose to know my students. To set high expectations for them in the classroom and to understand that as teenagers that their extra-curriculars, families, and social life will be juggled along with their academics. I refuse to feel behind because I want to be in the moment and teach that one lesson the very best I can knowing that there is always something else that I will want to include in a course that won't make it because of time.
The amazing thing about independent school is the opportunities are endless, the communities are strong, and the academics are top notch. If as a teacher I get too caught up in racing through the day (may it be the lesson, the club, the sport) the school loses something.
So, really, after much consideration, I am not behind already.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
ReligionTeacher Woman
I have been teaching for 10 years in independent schools. I teach religion. Religion is one of those topics that get some people's feathers all in a flutter but I believe it is the most important class any student will ever take. Why? Because it not only provides a foundation for understanding others in the world but more importantly for understanding one's self.
The assumption is that parents are teaching their children their beliefs thus the student should know them and own them. This is not the truth. Many students not only are unsure of what they believe but because of the beast of adolescence do not want to align themselves with those beliefs professed by their parents. Who better to help than a teacher? A teacher that doesn't have an agenda. A teacher that has an idealistic worldview where everyone respects the beliefs of others and accepts the differences as nothing more than that a difference.
My journey as a teacher is not always an easy sail but I believe in the possibilities of a true globally aware and compassionate student. I believe possibility of religious equality and opportunity for real world peace. I believe in teaching students to communicate effectively, to question the unknown and accept the other. Idealistic? Yes. Naive? Perhaps. My Objective? Absolutely.
The assumption is that parents are teaching their children their beliefs thus the student should know them and own them. This is not the truth. Many students not only are unsure of what they believe but because of the beast of adolescence do not want to align themselves with those beliefs professed by their parents. Who better to help than a teacher? A teacher that doesn't have an agenda. A teacher that has an idealistic worldview where everyone respects the beliefs of others and accepts the differences as nothing more than that a difference.
My journey as a teacher is not always an easy sail but I believe in the possibilities of a true globally aware and compassionate student. I believe possibility of religious equality and opportunity for real world peace. I believe in teaching students to communicate effectively, to question the unknown and accept the other. Idealistic? Yes. Naive? Perhaps. My Objective? Absolutely.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)