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Done - Integration of Faith Learning
Done - Integration of Faith Learning
November 3, 2015
what I want to live by to mold me into the teacher I hope to be someday. This text is a reminder
to strive to live a life worthy of Gods calling as an educator.
These verses remind me that I and others can pray for guidance and help to glorify God
in my calling. In this sense, I view people as a great support system through prayer and
encouragement. However, I also see people as a body (the students I will teach and my coworkers) that needs to be supported. D. Graham also says something that should be true of
teaching: purpose for education must be related to an adequate purpose for living. It only
makes sense that, in the end, we are preparing our students for a fruitful life which should be
key to any area of education. Similarly, D. Beerens dissects the term flourishing by sharing
two definitions. However, I resonate most with the Wolterstoff definition because he defines it
as shalom, living in harmony with God, neighbor, creation, and self. This outward focus has
great inward results and keeps God at the center of the flourishing that I would love to see in
schools. If I could merely use this lesson to show how God worked in the past during the times
of the ancient civilizations of South America, there is a good story about pain and suffering with
flourishing that followed. Furthermore, the cultural aspects of this unit allow me to speak on
behalf of Gods goodness. Chapter 1 of Teaching to Change the World by Oakes & Lipton
discusses the broad demographic of students in the U.S. who have countless needs and
struggles. Thus, 2 Thessalonians is a reminder that God is my faithful source of strength and
energy as I strive to glorify Him as His faithful servant in my community.
Seeking to fulfill this role as Gods faithful servant, I must ask myself: how do human
beings learn? This is where I think upon my unit. Chapter 5 of Teaching to Change the World by
Oakes & Lipton compares progressive and traditional teaching approaches. Traditionalists
emphasize memorization and usually teach via traditional lectures. On the other hand,
progressivists continually make the case for finding ways to get students actively engaged in
material and thinking critically. Specifically, I know students absorb material by different means,
human beings learn from experience. Therefore, I argue that the best form of learning is by
engaging in hands on activities- progressive approach.
To conclude, the purpose of learning is to gain knowledge and understanding. A chapter
on cognition in Anita Woolfolks book Educational Psychology says knowledge is an essential
idea within cognition. If knowledge is essential, learning should produce knowledge. Then, the
understanding we also gain from learning can be pertain to subject matter as explained in
Teaching to Change the World or it can be understanding about the world. My teaching, mainly
this unit, will give my students knowledge about subject matter in relation to the world we live
in. That is the purpose of learning which reflects Christian Community Development that I seek
to fulfill in my calling as we draw nearer to God and each other.