Guest Post: Jon Resendez, Social Studies Teacher, Portola High School, Irvine, CA When I started my journey as a secondary social studies teacher, I never expected that one day I would teach religious studies. So, imagine my surprise when I took over my mentor’s Comparative Religions elective course when he retired during my first year […]
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SSChat on Multiple Religious Belonging
Post: Tim Hall, Ph.D., Executive Director, Religion Matters I had a fantastic night co-hosting #SSChat on September 11th on multiple religious belonging in the K-12 classroom. I co-hosted this #SSChat session titled: “Understanding Interfaith Identity in the K-12 Classroom” with Susan Katz Miller, author of Being Both: Embracing Two Religions in One Interfaith Family. The online […]
Exploring World Religions Through Art: Hands-on Activities for Students of All Ages
Guest Post: Jennifer Fischer, Co-Founder, Think Ten Media Group Religious literacy and cross-cultural understanding are intimately linked, which means educators have numerous, readily-available options when exploring world religions with their students. Stories, books, and films are routinely highlighted. For example, National Geographic’s The Story of God, with Morgan Freeman, is a documentary film series that […]
Lived Religion, Six-Point Framework, and Ms. Marvel
For students to fully participate in civic life, they must understand and appreciate the diversity and complexity of religious traditions. To gain this understanding, educators should teach about lived religions. This approach, advocated by Henry Goldschmidt of the Interfaith Center of New York, takes religion out of “the rarified realm of doctrine and text and […]
Beyond Religious Identity: Muslim Youth, the Duality of Consciousness, and Creating a Path in America
Guest Post: Abeer Ramadan-Shinnawi, Founder of Altair Education Consulting Finding one’s identity, in any community, and especially during adolescence, is not a linear path. But this journey is often more fraught when one is a member of a community of color or a community that is negatively perceived. In the case of Muslim youth, such […]