Teaching with Reverence Reviving an Ancient Virtue for Today's Schools

by Rud, A. G.; Garrison, Jim

• ISBN13: 9780230114920
• ISBN10: 023011492X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-01-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Reverence is a forgotten virtue in teaching and learning. Indeed, it is a largely forgotten virtue in American society. When remembered, we usually narrowly confine it to the religious domain and assume that the separation of church and state necessitate that we ignore it at least in public schools. When taken in a broader spiritual sense, it is often associated with a mute and prim solemnity. Even then, many think that spirituality has no place in schools. Most can only conceive teaching as about imparting skills and knowledge that will serve students well in career and life. However, the contributors to the present volume on Reverence and Teachingknow that there is much more to teaching students than merely imparting knowledge. They realize that good teaching involves forming character, molding destinies, creating an enduring passion for learning, appreciating beauty, caring for others, and much more. In some sense of the word, teaching is a spiritual, although not necessarily a religious, activity. When done well, it cultivates human intimacy and allows teachers to find creative self-expression in classroom community. The essays gathered here examine reverence as a way to understand some of the spiritual dimensions of classroom teaching.

Author Biography

A. G. Rud is dean and professor in the College of Education at Washington State University. He holds an AB in religion from Dartmouth College and a PhD in philosophy from Northwestern University. Rud researches the moral dimensions of teaching, learning, and leading in both K-12 and higher education. His most recent book is Albert Schweitzer's Legacy for Education: Reverence for Life, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2011.

Jim Garrison is a professor of philosophy of education at Virginia Tech where he also holds appointments in the department of philosophy, the science, technology, and society program, and the alliance for social, political, ethical, and cultural thought. His work concentrates on philosophical pragmatism. He is a past-president of the Philosophy of Education Society as well as the John Dewey Society, and president-elect of the Society of Professors of Education. His is also a co-editor of Palgrave Macmillan's forthcoming John Dewey's Philosophy of Education.

Table of Contents

The practice of reverent teaching--Robert Boostrom * Reverence and Attentive Love in Teaching--Daniel P. Liston * Reverence and Teaching--William Ayers * Reverence and a Poetics of Teaching--Carol Rodgers * Spots of Time in Teaching: Epiphanic Dimensions of our Practice as Teachers--Sam Intrator * Teaching Presence--Rachael Kessler (deceased) * Communicative Reverence and a Feminine Sublime--Megan J. Laverty * Reverence for Things Not Seen: Implied Creators in Works of Art, and Implied Teachers in Experiential Pedagogy--Bruce Novak * A Sense of Reverence as Central to Composing a Teaching Life: An Autobiographical Account--William H. Schubert * To seek by way of silence--Michael Dale * Risking Reverence--Elaine J. O’Quinn