Did you know that Directors of Religious Education go to school, too? In order to become a credentialed religious educator a few years ago, I took many classes that taught me everything from Unitarian Universalist history to multicultural religious education. Now, the Unitarian Universalist Association in Boston has honored me by asking me to co-teach one of these classes with a fellow Director of Religious Education who literally wrote the book. My co-teacher for this Renaissance Module, as the class is known, is named Michelle Richards, and you may already know her book Tending the Flame.
I’ll co-teach a Renaissance Module in 2019 with Michelle to lead other Directors of Religious Education in discussion and learning about the philosophy of religious education.
In brief, this Renaissance Module focuses on the Unitarian Universalist vision of liberal religious education. One subject we’ll visit together is Brazilian-born Paulo Freire’s work Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Perhaps you’re familiar with his hope that education can involve “problem-posing,” so that a critical consciousness can emerge and oppressive situations can be transformed. This is the work of our faith, to clearly observe a situation, to name it, and to work together towards making peace and justice a reality for all. Freire’s idea that no teacher possesses all the “answers” fits nicely into our Unitarian Universalist model that together we can accomplish much. What does this kind of education look like? It can be a lot of fun! I invite you to come see some puppets perform on Thursday December 6th here at Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists. This world famous puppet troop has ties to some of Friere’s ideas, and will be a joy for folks of all ages.
