you learn the most interesting things in school
You know, you really learn the most interesting things when you're in school...and you don't necessarily have to be the student, either!
As you may or may not know, I'm teaching grades 5-8 in the Catholic education system. And for something new this year, I'm teaching English along with mathematics. That means I have a stronger teaching load than I have in the past. But it also means I get to interact with the kids much more than ever...in varied settings.
Having said that, I also get to sit in on religion class. Since I'm not a member of the Roman Catholic church (and have yet to be certified by the bishop to do so), I cannot teach that class. But I like to pay special attention when working in the room while that class goes on. I'm interested to hear the kids' conceptions and misconceptions about the comparison between protestantism and Roman Catholicism. But I'm also interested to hear their misconceptions on life itself, as taught to them by parents, guardians, aunts, uncles...well, you get the idea.
Today's class, although abbreviated, was certainly no disappointment. Students discussed the way religions and denominations fit in today's life, not to mention how they fit into the historical context of New England. And one of my cherubs brought up the division in his family between the protestant and catholic side. Essentially, the catholic side of the family doesn't and will not "mix" with the protestant side due to some sort of a long standing and now relatively ambiguous argument that apparently took place decades ago. When the teacher, my principal, asked the child how that made him feel, he said, "If I could understand what the problem is, I could probably tell you how I feel about it. But since I don't really know either the problem its crux, I choose to feel sorry for them." He went on to say, "I have relatives I've never met that I'm taught to actually hate because of this. I'd like to understand why."
Wow. Just...wow. That came out of the mouth of an 8th grader! It would seem to me that this is the same in just about any club. Certain cliques form, for whatever reason, refusing to mingle between each other. Gee, I wonder what that resembles! As adults we hate each other over the smallest things. If only we could practice the art of inclusion, ensuring we celebrate everyone in a group for their individual talents. But that seems to be far too difficult for any of us, so we fight, and hate and are quick to anger.
I wonder, if we really knew each other, or at least attempted to get to know each other, would all the conflict...small scale and large...happen? But as much as I urge others to stop, it continues, and that's exasperating.
World peace...a noble, yet unattainable idea. Small scale peace, between factions and groups....an extraordinary and very attainable notion.
