Imagination opens up possibilities. For that reason, it can surely lead us astray, constraining us to live within a false picture of things. But our ability to imagine things is often also essential to our ability to see things the way they really are and the way they could and should be.
In Part I of their book, Teaching and Christian Imagination, David Smith and Susan Felch invite their readers to re-imagine Christian education in light of a journey/pilgrimage metaphor.
Important Aspects to consider in the Process of Reimaging Education
I. The journey/pilgrimage metaphor is useful in education because it evokes in readers the notion of movement from one place to another one. This forces us to think about pace, maps, plans, progress. (p. 13-14)Think about your own learning experience after graduated from high schoolWhat have you (un)learned so far? How would you describe your own learning process? How many highs and lows have you had? Was it linear? How many detours did you find in your learning process?
Tendencies in Traditional Education
- Promotion of a linear understanding of education (idealized concept)
- Encouragement of students’ passivity and stillness
- Students become mere passive followers
- Overall downplaying of the learning process in favor of a temporary goal
(earning a good grade, passing an exam, etc.)
Common Used Phrases:
- You are falling behind
- Just follow your curriculum or course of study
- You are on track
- You are stuck in this… Try to move on
How Can the Journey/Pilgrimage Metaphor Inform Christian Education?
- Path, or the sense of destination, is a gift given by God.
- It offers flexibility regarding the purpose of such journey.
- Teachers can adopt different roles: as a guide, journey companion, signpost, route provider.
- The notion of journey/pilgrimage is known and developed in Scripture (Cf. Psalm 84)
II. The Journey/Pilgrimage metaphor promotes a balance between the starting point and arrival of our educational process. All aspects of such process are only part of the journey. (p. 25)
The starting point or the arrival of a journey does not represent everything: there is blessing in the journey itself.Path is not something ready to be used, but we make it by walking. Path requires time to be established.Learning can be a journey not towards personal fulfillment but “standing towards the presence of God” (p. 26).It allows us to question ”our motives, methods, and shared purpose” (p. 29).
III. The Journey/Pilgrimage metaphor sets up an adequate framework where students can make significant life decisions – decisions that can lead to life or death.
How can we commit to serving God with the decisions we have made in our educational process?
“Once the student becomes a pilgrim , then the teaching and learning task comes to include seeking those virtues that both embody the kingdom of God and enable godly learning: learning humility and patience in weighting the words of others, seeking justice and loving mercy as new learning is applied, loving one’s neighbor inside and outside the classroom.” (p. 46)
IV. The Journey/Pilgrimage metaphor is broad enough: It can work in both a deductive and inductive system.
However, the process of re-imagining education as a journey can be well received in an inductive educational system, where the role of a teacher is to be a guide rather than merely an information provider.
As in an inductive educational system, the Journey Metaphor emphasizes the role of the student in the process of learning.
How Does It Look Like Christian Education When We Apply the Journey Metaphor? (p. 41)
- All we can earn (diploma, good grades, graduation, etc.) are secondary and do not represent the end goal of our education.
- Students are not mere “achievers, but fellow pilgrims in need of hope and fellowship”
- Students are aware of their movements’ educational progress.
- Students are called to be humble, patient, and meek.
Applications of the Journey/Pilgrimage Metaphor for the Seminary Community
This Metaphor Invites Us to Focus on Making New Kinds of Assessment
- What if students could evaluate teachers not only in terms of their performance in class (current system) but also in terms of their behavior shown in the classroom?
- Does the teacher reflect a humble and welcoming attitude when gave his/her lecture?
- Does the teacher encourage students to continue their learning and educational journey?
- Does the teacher promote the acquisition of skills rather than transmitting solely facts and information?
The Journey Metaphor Values the Experience of the Community
- The educational/learning journey approach rests upon an important concept: experience.
- A student’s journey is unique in some sense, but it has a lot of similarity with other people’s journeys. Most people experience joy, frustration, detours, and anxiety. What others have to say is important.
The Metaphor Leaves Room for the Creation of Mentorship Programs Focused on Work/Learning Pilgrimage
- For example, all PhD students enrolled in the same specialization might form a mentorship group with a professor in such an area.
- Faculty who teach particular courses can gather together to create common teaching goals and methods in their classes.
The Journey Metaphor Allows Us to Focus on the Process of Acquiring Skills Rather than Facts.
- Teachers must be knowledgeable about the subject they are teaching. However, the mere possession of such knowledge does not mean they will perform well in the classroom.
- What would happen if teachers increased their awareness that the student is not the only one who is in a learning journey?
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