As a Muslim, Pakistani-American student growing up on the East Coast, I experienced school with multiple identities that were often ignored, misunderstood, or altogether invisible. I had not yet developed the language to articulate the impact of that. Religious literacy later provided me with a framework for that experience. It validated that my identities were […]
Time Lost: What The Time Machine Reveals About Disciplinary Literacy and Public Education
Post: Tim Hall, Ph.D., Executive Director, Religion Matters There is no intelligence where there is no change and no need of change. —H.G. Wells, The Time Machine When I first read The Time Machine years ago, I was struck less by its vision of the future than by how that future arrives. H.G. Wells does [...]
✍️ A Resolution for Dialogue: Centering Religious Literacy in Civic Education
Post: Tim Hall, Ph.D., Executive Director, Religion Matters When religion enters the classroom, fear often follows. But it doesn’t have to. For many educators, religion feels like a boundary line they’d rather not cross: too controversial, too personal, too risky. But the truth is that religion is already present in our classrooms in history, geography, [...]
🌍 Global Competence Starts with Understanding Difference
Post: Tim Hall, Ph.D., Executive Director, Religion Matters When I talk with teachers about global competence, the conversation often turns to what we want our students to take with them when they leave our classrooms. We hope they can navigate an increasingly complex world. A world filled with difference, ambiguity, and interconnection. Yet we seldom [...]
🏛️ From Classroom Conversations to Civic Action: Bringing Inquiry to the NCSS House of Delegates
Post: Tim Hall, Ph.D., Executive Director, Religion Matters In social studies, we teach students that democracy depends on voice agency. We teach that civic life thrives when people not only ask good questions but take action on their answers. This fall, I decided to model that lesson at the national level. I’ve submitted a resolution [...]
