Stories of God in the classroom
Wanneer je eens het gevoel hebt dat je faalt, iets verkeerds gezegd hebt tegen een leerling of een collega, of misschien zelfs het idee hebt dat je het verkeerde beroep hebt gekozen, bedenk dan dat je niet alleen bent daarin. In zijn boek « The courage to teach » legt Parker Palmer uit hoe bij het lesgeven je hele persoon in het geding is. En dat het gevoel van falen daar zo nu en dan onvermijdelijk bijhoort. Op de EureCa website zijn een paar ontroerende verhalen van docenten die zich kwetsbaar weten maar ook de moed hebben van hun ervaringen te leren. Neem en lees! Stories of God in the classroom
DEAR MARJA, HERE IS A CLASSROOM STORY FROM MY BOOK IF IT IS OF ANY INTEREST, GRAHAM.
For many years I taught Religious Studies to fourteen to sixteen year olds with half of the time being devoted to Christian ethics. It was a wonderful opportunity to explore significant issues such as abortion, euthanasia, war, peace, sexuality and so on. On one occasion, whilst explaining about Christian attitudes to abortion, I was using the example of Psalm 139:13-16, ‘you knit me together in my mother’s womb’. In the class was a young girl of sixteen who was not normally noted for her enthusiasm in matters of academic pursuit but she did show interest in some of the ethical issues. This was such a time.
After I’d finished my particular point I set them off on some related work but this girl put up her hand. ‘I don’t understand what this has to do with abortion,’ she informed me. Clearly my teaching wasn’t as good as I thought it was. I invited her to come to the front desk so I could explain further. As I began to do so I was quickly aware of some extra emphasis in the conversation. It wasn’t caused by anything she said or did, it was an inner conviction or weight to the moment not previously there which was coming from the Holy Spirit. I knew in some deeper way this was a significant conversation for her and I was to pay attention to what God was doing.
She showed no signs of recognising any moment of divine intervention in her life, and at the end of my, hopefully improved, explanation, she went back to her seat and carried on in her usual manner.
I do not know the outcome of this incident, but i have a conviction from the Lord that it was significant for her.