On Kevin 斯普纳’s (Associate Dean of Education) first trip to Chicago this summer, he learned some fundamentals of building bridges . . . 在狮子窝里吃饭.
斯普纳 first heard of the Teaching Interfaith Understanding seminar in June. The seminar was a collaborative effort of The Council of Independent Colleges and Interfaith America. The intention was to “broaden faculty members’ knowledge and perspective to help them strengthen the teaching of interfaith understanding, 开发新课程和其他亚博体育, and expand the network of faculty members who are committed to teaching this subject,网站上这样写道.
斯普纳, who arrived at WPU about five years ago after retiring from more than 30 years in K-12 education, was immediately interested in attending and eager to learn.
“I wanted to dive into research and do some thinking about what it means to work within an organization that promotes interfaith dialogue,斯普纳说.
申请过程竞争激烈, and participants were required to be nominated by their chief academic officer. Because of a grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., lodging, most meals, and reading materials were provided. To his delight, 斯普纳 was chosen to attend.
“It was an opportunity to collaborate with scholars from all over the country,斯普纳说.
Participants included academics and people who study religion and sociology, 卫生保健工作者, 还有社会工作者, 他说. 他们来自不同的背景.
“There were folks that identify as Muslim, Jewish, Sikh,斯普纳说. “It was interesting because (there was even) diversity among Christianity – evangelical, 新教, 天主教, 五旬节派. It was very interesting to hear all the perspectives about issues that come up. Most organizations have interfaith (clubs) on campus.”
DePaul University was the main seminar location, 但是有一天, 参与者在林肯公园动物园会面. The boardroom where they gathered was inside the lion habitat, with a floor to ceiling view.
“There were lots of references to being in the lions’ den and finding similarities with Daniel’s story,斯普纳说. “这真的很有趣. We were on lunch break and the lions would come and look at us. 他们会径直走到玻璃前.”
为期四天的研讨会由Eboo Patel主持, founder and president of Interfaith America, 和劳里·巴顿, 现任明德学院院长, and soon-to-be president of the American Academy of Arts & 科学.
“Each of the folks brought case studies of interfaith dialogue,斯普纳说. “The big one currently is the Gaza-Israel conflict and demonstrations on campuses.”
斯普纳说 Patton shared how she learned from an experience at Middlebury in 2017 where a controversial conservative speaker scheduled to speak was met with student protests that turned violent.
明德的学生, like many others at universities and colleges around the world, demonstrated earlier this year for a ceasefire in Gaza. 但不像某些结果, Middlebury’s demonstration stayed peaceful and there was communication between the students and the administration, 根据新闻报道, eventually led to the release of a joint statement.
这个例子, 斯普纳说, was that “we can learn how to deliberate in a civil manner and put things in place” that give students access to speak.
“They camped out on the quad, people brought food out for the students,斯普纳说. “（这只是）一个案例研究的例子. 我们从中吸取了很多教训.”
Relevant to the work 斯普纳 does with WPU students, he started thinking about preparing students to have interfaith conversations in the K-12 schools where they will work.
“How do we help our students look at their faith backgrounds,斯普纳说. “What can we do to support our students who are going out into student teaching – to be knowledgeable about their own traditions and the traditions of their students as well?”
A culturally responsive teacher puts the learner first, and there is a lot of relationship building involved, 他说.
“We want our kids to have a great environment,斯普纳说. “We want everyone as much as possible to be able to pursue religious liberty and happiness. We can build some bridges between our faith backgrounds. Politics are more divisive, and religion is a part of that.”
斯普纳 is also thinking about how to have more collaboration with faculty on the WPU campus.
“There is a lot of research out there that religion supports mental health,” 他说. “We have a current course, Human 信仰 and Service. The gist is to help students develop a more solid understanding of their faith. You might have to be firm about your beliefs but can listen to understand and to find some commonalities.”
斯普纳 is grateful he was able to take a week off from his usual duties of teaching bachelor and masters level courses and coordinating student teachers to focus on learning.
“It was beyond what I expected,斯普纳说. “这比我所希望的要好. 他们给了我们一摞书看. 我还在读. They aren’t asking people to give up their faith traditions. They’re just asking, where can we agree with folks who see the world a little differently.”