I'm not new to podcasting. It was part of my focus for my media unit two years ago. I talked about it as part of my MAD PD YouTube session and at the recent NAMLE conference in Washington DC. I've appeared on quite a few of them. However, I recently recorded a podcast that was challenging for me to tape and led me to a lot of thinking. It was Munazzah Shirwani's show on VoicEd Radio called "Faith in the System".
When I say it was challenging, I do not want to suggest that it was less than a pleasure to chat with Munazzah. She's wonderful! She and I had a phone conversation prior to the show to discuss the topic. We get along well. She was super-organized and took care of all the technical requirements necessary. The challenges were all with me and all internal. Below are two links to the show and a description of the show's purpose.
Faith In The System, hosted by Munazzah Shirwani, is about having authentic conversations that promote Faith Literacy for educators and stakeholders. The podcast covers religion, religious communities and interactions in both public and private school systems as well as in the wider public square. It’s a place for us, as educators to gain insight and empathy into handling the issues that come our way. The opinions of guests on the show are not necessarily those of the host or voicEd radio but are welcomed in the spirit of civil discourse.
The topic of our discussion was about my decision to give up Twitter for Lent. I knew that we'd chat about my job in education and about aspects of social media and religion. Munazzah has already written a blog of resources about our podcast here. I wanted to return to the conversation we had (and I even re-listened to the whole thing) because I was definitely not as articulate as I hoped to be, and there were so many things that I neglected to mention and/or needed more time to consider.
Questions That Needed More
Question: What is a teacher-librarian? Are you focused on the books?
I mentioned things like literacy and more (e.g. inquiry, finding information)
I forgot to say the role TLs play with integrating technology, research, digital citizenship, supporting teachers with curriculum. In other words, I left out a lot!
(Thank you Laura Wheeler for giving permission to me to include her visual in this blog post.
Credit and attribution for this image are to Laura Wheeler.)
Credit and attribution for this image are to Laura Wheeler.)
Question: What is a typical day for you as a teacher-librarian?
I described what happens at recess, which involves sewing, using the makerspace, practicing dances, and helping students find books. A lot happens at recess! (You can tell by the graph below, based on the data I collect during the year about library recess visits, included in my annual report.)
I forgot to say anything about my teaching responsibilities! My schedule is not ideal - I have very few what I used to call "partner times" - open collaborative flexible periods where I can work with teachers and their classes to help them address grade-specific curriculum together. I provide a lot of preparation coverage and I have a very "fixed schedule". For instance, for 2019-20, I will have a library prep period with every class from kindergarten to grade 5-6 (but a collaborative library period instead for the 4-5, 6-7, or 7-8 classes), media periods for 8 primary classes and two prep classes devoted to STEAM. I also am the primary division SERT (Special Education Resource Teacher), providing academic support to the Grade 1, 1-2, 2, 3, and 3-4 classes. I suspect that I didn't mention the classes I teach in the podcast because, although I think I do a decent job of inspiring students and teaching them in engaging ways with the schedule I have, it's not the ideal. It could be so much more.
Question: Munazzah asked something about makerspaces and their connection to school libraries.
I said that the two were a good fit because of things like literacy, inquiry, curiosity, soft skills, the ability to test findings, discovery, and resources.
I neglected to mention maker culture, (also known as the maker movement) and that it's more about the philosophy and attitudes than the physical space housing equipment or supplies.
(This quote and this image were created by and should be credited to Melanie Mulcaster and Julie Cruise. It is used here with permission from Melanie Mulcaster.)
Question: What about creativity in digital spaces?
I focused on options / choices / many ways to share learning. I included references to my recent AQ course and how people selected different ways to share their inquiry projects.
I forgot to even say the word Minecraft. Maybe it's because my school computers can no longer run Minecraft? Maybe it's because it feels so "been-there-done-that-everyone-knows" to me? All I know is that on the radio recently (98.1 CHFI) I heard the host (John Tesh) discuss research that showed that your brain experiences a creativity boost after playing/exploring Minecraft for 30 minutes. (It was amusing that John Tesh asked his millenial coworker to explain what Minecraft was about, and the person used a similar analogy that my wise friend Denise Colby often uses comparing it to Lego.)
(This is a screenshot from our 2018 New Year's Eve Minecraft Party hosted by the incomparable Gumby Blockhead, aka Andrew Forgrave. It's a Maliszewski household tradition to attend.)
Question: How do you explain about why you gave up Twitter?
I said I found I was dependent on Twitter for entertainment and communication, purposes. I noticed that Twitter could be distracting from "bigger purposes" for me.
How ironic: I neglected to say the word "God" until the 14 minute mark of the program. This connects to the next two questions I struggled with immensely.
Question: How is your relationship with God as a Catholic? What is your faith practice?
Even though I was aware that this question was coming, I said it was very awkward to talk about because discussing religion sounds corny and I didn't want to sound like I was trying to convert anyone. I actually turned the question on Munazzah and asked her how SHE would answer.
Gracious and unflappable, Munazzah said she set aside her fear of being preachy, focused on the "I" (like "I believe") and described her connection to God.
I really had no clue how to articulate my faith practice and my relationship with God. I'll try my best in the next couple of paragraphs below. (You'll know when I'm trying to find the words for it when you see the asterisk.)
While recording, I could not, for the life of me, remember the different stages of prayer life. I looked it up (with hubby's help) and found a few sources to trigger my memory. There is recitative [with words], meditative [with images] and contemplative [beyond both]. Another explanation of the differences can be found here. (I'm good at recitative, okay at meditative and poor at contemplative prayer.)
This is a photo of me and my husband with a statue of Mary, Mother of God on our wedding day.
Question: I was invited to consider my Catholic background and upbringing.
I said I went to public school instead of Catholic (due to geography)and that my faith upbringing related a lot to Sunday School. As I grew older, I realized it resulted in some gaps in my own knowledge. This portion of the broadcast had a lot of "ummmmms" as I floundered to find the right words.
I realized that despite coming from a Catholic family, we didn't much talk about or practice religion at home. It was something we "did", at church. When I was a girl and into my teen years, my family was super-involved. At least one of us (my mom, dad, sister, brother or I) were part of the choir, Parish Council, lector team, Youth Group, ushers, catechism classes, RCIA (rite of Christian initiation for adults), sacramental preparation, and Legion of Mary. Now? In my childhood family, only my mother and I attend church regularly and I suspect her attendance is more out of habit than anything else. I think faith shriveled up for the rest of my family because (to use some words from Jesus), the "seeds didn't fall on good ground" (found in Matthew 13: 1-23, Mark 4: 1-20, or Luke 8:4-15). Some still consider themselves Catholic, but I wonder what that actually means (and conversations along this line tend not to end productively or happily if I initiate the discussion with them)!
Another photo of my husband and I praying during our wedding Mass (July 5, 1997)
I forgot to mention my own children. I had some initial angst about sending them to Catholic school when I went to and was employed by the public school system. However, it was a good decision. Being in a separate organization meant that I could be a mother (who happened to also be a teacher) during parent-teacher interviews, instead of having to watch my step (and my tongue) because my child's teacher was also my colleague or coworker. It also reminded me that faith development is too often left to the church or school to develop, when it should be developed at home (as well as church and hopefully at school - I'm not going to dive into the "funding religious schools" debate here but I know I'm fortunate to have the chance and I'll take advantage of it as long as it is available.)
Munazzah was so patient with me as I fumbled and talked around her question. She didn't scoff at my focus on the rosary instead of answering her question. She explained that it's easier to identify ritual before spiritual and helped me formulate my thoughts on prayer with a "manual vs auto pilot" metaphor.
So what is the way we've tried to develop my children's faith at home? What is my relationship with God like? What are my faith practices?
***As a Roman Catholic Christian, I follow the tenets outlined in the Apostles Creed. I am committed to attending Mass weekly and to the seven Sacraments. I pray (although not as often or as deeply as I feel I should) to God (in the persons of God the Father, the Son [Jesus] and the Holy Spirit) and I also have particular fondness / devotion to the Blessed Mother [Mary] and to my favourite saint, St. Anthony of Padua (the patron saint of lost things, who has always helped me when I appeal for help). I hope that people can see my faith through my actions and that I try to love my neighbour (Matthew 22: 34-40) and consider life to be sacred. I try to learn more about my faith through daily scripture readings and discussions with my family. God and I are like a parent and child; I mess up frequently but I believe God is forgiving and loves me unconditionally. ***
Here's a photo with two of the seven sacraments happening - Eucharist and Matrimony
Hesitations and Realizations
That last paragraph was extremely hard to write. It took a lot of edits. My husband asked me, "Why are you writing this for your blog? What is the connection?" I told him that I had to consider how this podcast and how my religious practices and faith impacts my teaching.
I hesitate to be too public about my religion because people have certain assumptions about practicing Catholics. I don't have my religious affiliation listed as part of my Twitter biography. It's not that I'm ashamed of my religion (although sometimes I get really frustrated about how the Pope or church authorities deal with some issues).
I want to reassure students and staff that my religion doesn't impede my decisions as a teacher-librarian. For instance, I purchase many LGBQTI2 books for my school library. (Once I was asked what percentage of my school library collection contained "gay themes" and my answer was "not enough"!) These resources include stories of same-sex marriages, even though Catholic beliefs about marriage state that it is between a man and a woman. There is some cognitive dissonance for me that I wrestle with privately (fueled also by the posts of @JamesMartinSJ, a Jesuit priest who writes often about supporting LGBQT Catholics) but I would never consider excluding books from the library because they might contradict my faith's doctrine. It's not about me; it's about providing a diverse collection that reflects Dr. Rudine Sims-Bishop's idea of "mirrors, windows and doors". I love my friends and their spouses/partners (regardless of their sexual orientation). I want students of all faiths to feel comfortable to talk to me about anything. I don't want them to feel that I think that certain topics are off-limits because they are atheists, agnostics, or any other kind of faith background and would not find a willing listener in me because I am a Catholic Christian. I support my trans friends and I use the pronouns that belong to them (i.e. the ones they tell me are theirs). I regret the role the Catholic Church has played in the genocidal actions impacting the Indigenous peoples of Canada. Yet, I still am Catholic.
I remember seeing a tweet by Jael Richardson that addressed the complexities of being a Christian while still respecting other faith traditions and groups that sometimes other Christians don't respect. I couldn't find her tweet, but I did find a blog post of hers - http://www.jaelrichardson.com/writing/dear-christians-jesus-is-not-a-republican - that made me feel that it might be possible to support others and maintain my religion.
I read my "starred explanation" to my husband to see if I "missed anything" and he pointed out something to me: this is on my mind and maybe is the reason why I answered the door (August 10) when some Jehovah's Witnesses came by to evangelize. It was another opportunity to talk about my faith, acknowledge the faith of others, and sort it out in my own mind. It also made me feel more comfortable to talk with my friend Salma Nakhuda today about parts of her Muslim faith (Eid Mubarak Salma! Eid-al-Adha starts Sunday August 11 and ends Thursday August 15 if my quick research is correct.)
Faith isn't the "f-word" we should be afraid to use.
No comments:
Post a Comment