Relationship or Content?


I have been out of the loop. It has been several months since I last blogged. I suppose I have been disillusioned. Long story short, I do not feel my philosophy of teaching fits with much of what my current school is doing. At the heart of my philosophy of education (not just theological education, but all of education) is relationship. It is in my methodology and my assessment. It is the anthropology of my students. All humans are made to be in relationship, so it seems logical that the way we learn is heavily connected to relationships. This is especially important in the study of theology, particularly Trinitarian theology. A colleague of mine told me the other day that he asked his students, directly, if they thought education was more about relationships or content. One student answered bluntly that she was not in school to make friends; her goal was to get into Stanford. For her, and for many other students and colleagues, sadly, the focus of education is blind dogmatism and content-oriented pedagogy.
Sheep Mountain on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Ironically, we find the need for relationship in solitude. I need prayers right now to determine how I can teach with a relationship-oriented pedagogy. (photo P. Smith)

I had a conversation with a student today about this exact thing, and I revealed to her why I focused so much on relationship rather than content. Simply put, too much content-oriented pedagogy places the burden on the student to master the material, and if they do not master it, their sense of worth diminishes. At the same time, if they do master the material, their sense of worth is defined by ego, which is not good anthropology or humanity. One’s worth is defined in relationship with the One who created us. Now, I myself, am not an enemy to content or dogma or doctrine; I Love the stuff and have spent a long time mastering much of it. But my Love of and mastery of literature, science, math, and theology only came about because I first Loved my teachers and they Loved me. Even if I failed a test, I knew my worth was not defined by that grade; it was better defined by my relationship with that teacher. Of course, as I grew older, I began to know that “the Teacher”, Jesus Christ, is the ultimate standard by which I understood my worth. I want my students to grow in relationship with each other, with me, and, most importantly, with God. As I stand now, I am not sure if my students one year will hear this same concept the following year or even in the classroom down the hall later that morning.
I am not sure what I will do next. I Love my students and I want them to know this, but I need prayers to determine how I can serve them best while also being part of a mission I believe in.

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 6, 2019 at 9:43 PM

    If anything I have to say that what I remember most from my classes in high school were the laughs and good conversation I had with teachers and other students. It was the hard topics and the times that we talked about life that I learned the most. Academic material is important yet if you just going to school to learn material, you miss so much of the beauty that life can offer. Keep doing what you know is right Mr. Smith, material is good but relationships are the foundation to a life with Jesus, full of love and compassion.

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    Replies
    1. Patrick SmithMarch 7, 2019 at 6:10 PM

      Thanks, Kelly! I miss seeing you in the hallways and in 110...every day!

      Delete

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