Dialogue, not Power or Control, Reveals Truth

“Thanks for your response. Indeed, many theologians and scholars will claim that all of Creation is Revelation. All elements of our time and space are invitations to grow in relationship with God. It is our inability to see past our own will and our own intellect that prevents us from "seeing" this Revelation. It's unpredictable. We CAN know where His Revelation will be found (Scripture, Tradition, People, etc...), but if we could predict exactly what it will look like or what it will say, then that Truth of God would not be transcendent. We have to have Faith. I teach this to my students, directly and indirectly. It is easy enough to teach this in terms of philosophy and epistemology...to know transcendent things, we must be in relationship with something that is Transcendent. But as a teacher I model this concept. I'm pretty transparent to my students in how much I Love them and am willing to work with them, but I do not "hunt them down" if they are missing an assignment. I do not shame them in front of everyone if they do something wrong in class or are acting like a clown. (Or at least I try not to!). But I wait for them to choose to come to me for help. I give them all the tools they need to do well in class, but I do not put the tools in their hands or move their hands for them. I think God does the same for us. He wants us to do well and to Love well, but He does not want to force us because He knows that or it to be authentic, we must choose. Now, I do have students who do not know how to use the tools I give them, so I will give extra Grace and help to them, but there is always a point where we have to let go and let them act on Faith.” 

I can let this response to one of my online students speak for itself, but there is one thing that needs to be mentioned. When we talk with our students, we need to consciously be thinking in terms of dialogue. Lecture is fine for level-one learning and basic understanding, but it is when they come to us for help that we need to dialog with them. When our students come to us for help, we need to listen more than we talk. I am guilty of being that teacher that takes control of the conversation and tells the student exactly what they “need” to do in order to get a good grade in the class. I am guilty of lecturing again, but I need to spend more time listening so I can understand their context. I need to be in dialogue with them.

Savage Gulf State Natural Area in Palmer, Tennessee. Prayer is dialogue between us and God. In prayer, God listens and affirms our worth. When we pray with others, we affirm each other. (photo P. Smith)

But we constantly ignore the context of our students; this is profoundly contrary to Catholic education. I am facilitating an online class right now that is all about Faith and Science. I am one week into the course and I am already fascinated by some of the comments I have gotten. One teacher shared that they were at a conference on how to teach biology. The professor running the conference stressed that the appropriate way to teach the topic of Evolution was to not “address any religious component when it comes to teaching the science of evolution.” Essentially, ignore the context of some of the students or teachers, and stick to the verifiable data. This professor is essentially telling other teachers that the best way to teach evolution is to ignore any personal beliefs. What does this tell students who believe that God plays some sort of role in creation? How do those students feel about themselves when this is the lesson? The same thing happens when a religion teacher tells students to forget everything they know about science and to simply “have Faith”. Neither of these methods helps our students to learn how to be in dialogue. What our students are learning is that whoever is in front of the class (whoever has more control or power) gets to determine Truth.

Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado. even in his suffering, Jesus still dialogues with the women. (photo P. Smith)

Catholic education is not about power or control. It is not about mastery of a given topic or topics. Catholic education is about Truth of oneself, the other, and God, which can only be known within the context of relationship…dialogue. My students who come to me for help after a lesson have already listened to me lecture or give note; repeating the process will not help them too much. I should ask more questions and listen more when they come to me for help. In listening, I affirm their intelligence and worth, and in that affirmation, they begin to believe in who they are, perhaps more than before. Beyond the notes and the lecture, this is what Catholic education is about. But we can only help our students to know their worth if we are willing to be in dialogue with them. This works regardless of what subject we teach.