|
|||
 |
 |
Program in Religious Studies and Education |
|
|
|
Mentor Teacher ProfileStephanie McAllisterNine years into teaching in a public high school, Stephanie McAllister continues to speak highly of the PRSE. Of course, working in the Boston area—Stephanie teaches in the social studies department at Brookline High School—she's had the opportunity to mentor PRSE student teachers and attend evening seminars for mentor teachers when not grading papers or playing with her 11-month-old. Stephanie's class subjects—world history, philosophy, contemporary America—often draw on the learning about religions that she did at HDS and as a religion major at Barnard College. Noting that in the ancient world religion often served as a dominant organizing principle of culture, and thus fits naturally into her world history curriculum, Stephanie says that her background has helped her with the challenges inherent in teaching religion. "The PRSE makes you less afraid to approach religion, whereas I think for some people—because they don't really know exactly where the conversation might go and they don't know where the line might be and they don't want to offend anyone—they exclude things," she says. Other challenges include avoiding caricaturization, especially of religions that are difficult for students to relate to, such as that of the Aztecs. "It's really hard to give a culture that is so foreign, so different from beliefs most of the people in the classroom are comfortable with, a sense of its own integrity," she says. Capturing complexity—even of relatively well-known faiths—is also easier said than done. Despite the need to abridge material, Stephanie is proud of her students' learning and of the larger observations that evolve from classroom discussions of religions, such as reflecting on how religions have frequently been manipulated by world leaders throughout history. "That's a really important piece of information—a way of thinking—that our students need, particularly in the climate that we're in right now," she says. Posted July 2005
|
|
 |
|
|
Copyright 2009 President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. |