 |  Sponsored by the FGC Religious Education Committee In this issue:
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Retreat for the Religious Educator, by Marlou Carlson Recipe for Weekend-long Retreat for High-School Aged Quaker Youth, by Kri Anderson A "Friendly" Look at Mulitple Intelligences, by Sandra Peth "Dear Lucretia," On Teaching Children about Jesus
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| Retreat
for the Religious Educator
The concept and practice of personal retreat has been part of religious experience since the genesis of spiritual awareness. Retreat is practiced by followers of many spiritual paths. For Christians, the example is taken from the actions of Christ himself who went off into the wilderness for a period of prayer, reflection, and fasting. Christ experienced temptation and humbling, and through this experience his call to teach others about the love of God was renewed. Continuing in this tradition, the desert fathers and mothers of early Christianity in Egypt removed themselves from the habits and commitments of their mundane lives. Off they went to their huts, tents, and caves to focus their whole beings on God’s will for them.Their families and friends were shocked and complained bitterly that these early Christian contemplatives had abandoned their responsibilities. Perhaps in one sense they had.Yet what developed in these souls was a responsibility to God alone, a view of life seen through the omnipresent Divine and a love of humankind that surpassed the love of friends or of children and parents.Today, although Christian monastics already live a life based in the practice of the presence of God, they also set aside time for retreat. Quakers, too, have found spiritual enrichment in retreat. Several monthly meetings schedule periodic retreats with spiritually refreshing themes for the whole meeting. Silent retreats have been used for spiritual grounding. Quaker parents have committed themselves to arranging a retreat for each parent alone each year. Individual Friends have found retreats healing and centering. A retreat needs a quiet secluded place away from the pressures of everyday life where time may be given to contemplation of the spiritual.A simple room with simple meals will serve. Some have found it wise to read only a measured amount so that the mind, free of intellectual input, can become aware of the spiritual.The daily reflective reading of scripture may be beneficial.A journal may be kept. Sketches may be made.Walks in a pleasing natural setting may be enjoyed.The busyness of life gently falls away.The perception of being centered in the Spirit becomes powerful. If the retreat has been taken with a specific task in mind such as finishing a piece of writing or designing a project, a retreatant may experience a surge of creative energy and a sense of being led. Some retreatants have experienced a deep rest which has revealed new directions for living. The blessings of retreat may be surprising for the religious educator. It may not be often that we go off on a retreat with First Day School on our minds.Yet if religious education is the sharing of a spiritual journey, then the spiritual events that led us to the retreat, the Spirit that touched us during the retreat, and the spiritual growth that is revealed after the retreat are parts of the spiritual journey that may eventually be shared. If we are grounded in our own faith, secure in our beliefs, experienced in our spiritual journey, then those of whatever age who come to us for companionship along the way will find a place to grow in the light that we radiate, in the light that we have been given. When a religious educator is preparing to be with children on First Day morning, the preparations may focus on what the teacher will read or tell, what song will be sung, and what project or game will keep the children busy. Little thought may be given to the state of the teacher’s centeredness or to the concept of teacher as fellow traveler rather than as guide with prepared answers. Of course, it is sound methodology to make a plan and to gather materials.Yet it has been the experience of some that the more the teacher focuses on being centered and listening for God’s guidance, the more the Spirit will be present in the First Day School session.As we tell the great stories of our faith, either from the Bible or our Quaker heritage, the more the teacher enters into experiencing the story along with the children as another soul on the way to the Divine, the more the Presence is invited and the gathered session becomes a reality.The religious educators who have practiced retreat may discover whole new responses to the story for themselves.This may lead to changed perspectives on telling the story and preparing opportunities for the children to respond. It is our experience of life as a spiritual journey in the presence of the Divine that allows us to help the children at the beginning of their own journey. Retreat deepens this experience for us and so deepens the well we draw on as religious educators. It also helps us to savor the journey along with the children.We become more clearly their companions on the journey, and in so doing,we become stronger spiritual role models. In retreat we have been humbled and enriched. Now in the world of First Day School we may find ourselves and the children together refreshed by the Divine Presence. Marlou is a member of Duneland Monthly and Illinois Yearly Meetings. She serves as an invited member of the FGC Religious Education Committee, and is a former clerk of that committee. Recipe for Weekend-long Retreat for High- School Aged Quaker Youth Makes one retreat, serving 5–30 youth . . .or more at a suggested ratio of 6–8 youth to 1 Friendly Adult Presence (FAP). (see note 1) Ingredients:
OPTIONAL: solicit feedback via name-optional evaluation forms to learn how to improve experience in the future. Preparation:PUBLICITY: Because youth this age are differently aware of time and deadlines than adults, it is advisable to wait to publicize local youth events until about a month or two ahead of time. I usually alert the parents with more advanced notice, as they tend to appreciate that sort of thing, but wait until two months before the event to post/send out fliers and registration forms.This timeline is predicated on a regular schedule that the youth come to rely on, such as quarterly or bi-monthly events.This flier should include the time, date, and location of the event, as well as the theme and names of presenters, if known. Registration materials should include a medical release requesting information concerning the youth’s insurance, list of current medications, allergies, dietary preferences, and emergency contact information, as well as any other information you deem relevant.The other thing to keep in mind is that teenagers these days are remarkably busy and overscheduled, so if they’re already involved in something that feeds their spirit, don’t take it personally. Once you’ve received the registrations, it’s a great idea to send out a list of all who have signed up, with phone numbers and addresses, so that registrants can communicate in advance, arrange carpools, and get psyched to see everyone. FRIENDLY ADULT PRESENCES: Convene a meeting of the adults who have volunteered to serve as FAPs for the weekend.This can take place ahead of time, or can happen the first night of the retreat as the youth are arriving. Naturally, this can be more informal with a smaller number of FAPs, but should take place nonetheless.This meeting should review expectations or guidelines for the youth, and your expectations for the role of FAP. You should encourage adults interested in volunteering to reflect carefully on their motivations for working with youth, and to seek clearness about their intention to serve as an empowering, F/friendly adult presence.This means participating fully in the weekend’s events, knowing when to step back to allow leadership to emerge from the group, and sharing themselves with the group. It is also advisable to check in daily with the FAPs during the retreat, to provide an opportunity to personally reflect on daily events, group dynamics, and schedule issues. It should be noted here that several yearly meetings have begun requesting background checks on adults who serve as FAPs, providing a level of assurance before inviting them to spend the weekend with the youth. I would submit that youth are often very astute judges of character, and can alert you to potentially inappropriate adults. Ultimately, you will need to decide what level of assurance you feel is required for your peace of mind. ACCOMMODATION: Connect with the host meeting or facility well ahead of time to learn of any particular idiosyncrasies or preferences about the location.Ask about expectations for the condition of the facility upon your departure, as well as the location of cleaning supplies and vacuums, and communicate these to the youth. If the retreat will be held at a meetinghouse or location unfamiliar to you, it is helpful to have a local liaison who can negotiate on your behalf. Often, meetinghouses rent space out to other groups, and coordination of who is in what space when should be worked out with plenty of time to spare. Sometimes it is possible for a retreat to coexist with other activities in the same meetinghouse, depending on the space and noise issues. It is also a common courtesy during a weekend-long retreat for youth and adults to worship with the host meeting that First Day morning. Directions:Blend ingredients together over a period of time roughly approximating 7–7:30pm on a Friday evening through Sunday, after worship. Provide address sheets with phone numbers and/or e-mails for youth to connect with each other outside of retreat experience. Ask for help when you need it, learn how to delegate, and breathe a lot. Pray. And have fun. A brief discussion of critical schedule ingredients:CENTRAL, UNIFYING THEME: This provides a shared experience for the whole group, which serves as conversation fodder and a jumping off place for community building.Teenagers can sense when there is a lack of continuity or cohesiveness, and it affects their experience of the retreat. EXPECTATIONS/GUIDELINES, CO-CREATED BY FAPS AND YOUTH: These retreats are an opportunity for youth to build community, take risks, and learn about themselves and each other.This is best done within a context of safety, created and maintained by shared expectations of behavior. Enforcement of these guidelines is everyone’s responsibility, and creating adversarial relationships (staff vs. youth) is counter-productive to this goal. It is important to encourage the youth to identify what they need to feel safe, and to facilitate a conversation which elicits everyone’s expectations.4 This should happen prior to the retreat, or as one of the first activities of the weekend.There cannot be a hidden agenda nor can the FAPs dictate the rules. Co-creating the guidelines is an effective way of modeling the respect you expect to receive (and give), and empowering the youth to take ownership of their program. Once you agree to them, everyone (including the FAPs) must stick to them. STRUCTURED GET-TO-KNOW-YOU NAME GAMES AND ICE BREAKERS: These are an important element in creating community.There is something very powerful about saying your name in front of a group of people. These activities provide everyone (that means FAPs, too!) with an opportunity to look silly and loosen up, in preparation for taking greater emotional risks during the weekend. I recommend them even in a group where people know each other, simply because it’s a good way to mark a transition into a more vulnerable, more open space for the weekend. I used to minimize the number of games I’d facilitate during a retreat, both because I didn’t think of myself as a “games person” and because I wanted to focus on more “meaty” elements of the weekend. I’ve realized that we underestimate the importance of playing games as a way to build community. Games are the WD-40 of the retreat world. WORKSHOP/DISCUSSION TIME AS ONE LARGE GROUP: Again, this provides an opportunity for the youth to have a shared experience, which can serve as a jumping-off place for more personal conversation and connection. Also allows for individual members to be heard by everyone in the group. FREE TIME WITH STRUCTURED OPTIONS AVAILABLE (CHARADES, CARDS, MUSIC, ETC): I think we tend to grossly underrate the importance of free time.This is the time when personal connections are made,“cuddle puddles” are formed, and participants start to feel rooted in the community. It is critical, however, for some structured activities to be scheduled during free time.This is because not all youth feel comfortable just “hanging out,” and need a vehicle through which to make those connections.You can facilitate this by having cards and board games available, or by inviting youth to organize activities for the group. STRUCTURED SMALL GROUP TIME (WORSHIP SHARING, DISCUSSIONS, ETC): This provides another critical opportunity for connection. Many youth are overwhelmed by a whole group discussion, and only feel safe to share in smaller settings.This can serve as a microcosm of the community, to practice communication and trust, and connect at a deeper level than possible in a large group. It is also fertile ground for all varieties of leadership to emerge. WORK GROUP TIME (PREPARING MEALS, CLEANING BATHROOMS, ETC): This is just another opportunity to build community. Sharing work assignments offers different forms of leadership to blossom, as well as providing an opportunity for bonding and developing group morale. It is also critical for the youth to take care of the space they use, rather than having adults clean up after them. FREQUENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORSHIP AND WORSHIP-SHARING (INDIVIDUALLY, AMONG FAPS, IN SMALL AND LARGE GROUPS): Building this in serves several purposes. First, it provides an opportunity to stop, reflect, and listen.The pace of these retreats can feel quite hectic at times, simply because the energy level is often through the roof. Older youth are typically pretty good at knowing when they need to slow down, but we can all be reminded from time to time. Secondly, it grounds the retreat in our faith tradition.These retreats are not just a time to hang out.They are a venue for youth to learn about themselves and their faith community, and to make this community, and the traditions it maintains, a meaningful part of their lives.They serve a critical purpose of providing an opportunity to connect, rejuvenate, and nourish oneself; to ground oneself in the Spirit, and find the strength to go back out and witness to the world. Perhaps most importantly, they are a chance for young Friends to explore and deepen their relationship to the Religious Society of Friends, and claim their rightful place in it. Bon Appetit and Enjoy!Like any great dish, there are many different recipes for putting together a Quaker teen retreat. Please see these invaluable resources for more information and thoughts, both available through QuakerBooks of FGC:
Notes:1. Larger retreats require clearer structure, including a fixed schedule, as well as increased program options.You will probably want to offer more than one workshop, and small group time plays a more significant role, since the gathered group is larger and making connections can be more challenging. 2. Maintaining this age limit is critical to maintaining safety and security in the group. Younger children, on average, are not developmentally ready for the level of responsibility and emotional sharing that these retreats involve.These children will often be emotionally intimidated by the older youth and have trouble sitting still for long periods of time due to their physical energy. Likewise, most older youth, especially those who have lived away from home or begun college classes, are in an entirely different developmental stage, which is incompatible with the level of structure these retreats require.These youth will resist being told what to do, creating power struggles with adult facilitators, and they hunger for a deeper level of engagement with the workshop material, which tends to alienate younger children. 3. This can be an additional staff person whose task is to prepare all meals or supervise meal preparation, or this role can be shared among staff and youth present. 4. Basics to outline in advance materials include: no alcohol, illegal drugs, sexual intimacy, weapons, or pets.Yearly meetings have different policies about smoking, which is often a controversial topic. Create a worshipful conversation around these issues with the youth and community members, developing guidelines that best reflect your discernment at that time. Kri Anderson is a member of Ann Arbor Monthly and Lake Erie Yearly Meetings. She is a member of the FGC Religious Education Committee and has served for several years as clerk of the RE Committee’s Young Quakes subcommittee. She served as co-coordinator of the 2003 Gathering High School Program. I am a member of a monthly meeting blessed with ten children ranging from 3 to 8 years old, with an average age of 5.We have enjoyed many of the curricula available through QuakerBooks of FGC.We would like to add a curriculum on Jesus’ life and teachings to our library. Of course, materials on this subject are easily found, both in and outside of Quaker circles, but some require more preparation than we are able to handle.We are looking for curricula on Jesus’ life and teachings that are liberal and take a Quaker approach. Most of the Quaker Jesus curricula we have seen seem to be geared toward children older than five, and the content doesn’t match our understandings of Jesus. Could you please offer us some direction? Your Friend, Eager----------- Dear Eager,I commend you for giving discernment to what and how you teach. It is challenging to find materials that present a Quaker perspective on Jesus with which every Friend is comfortable. In part, this is because there is not one Quaker perspective, but many. Sometimes a difficulty is that the adults themselves may be unclear about who Jesus is to them. It is OK to be open and unresolved, for discovering and rediscovering Jesus is a life-long process. I believe it is healthy for the children to see that the adults working with them are not rigidly closed with regards to Jesus, but are growing into their evolving understandings. If you find a curriculum you generally like, but the problem is that it is too involved or complex for you, look for the key elements and simplify. One need not (and probably should not) follow a curriculum slavishly; it is essential, however, to have a clear idea of what direction you wish to go in, what kind of learning/growing experience you hope the children will have, and to think through how you hope to facilitate this. The Quaker curricula on Jesus we currently offer at QuakerBooks of FGC are generally geared toward children age five and up. If you feel you really need a curriculum, and none we offer meet your needs, you may find something helpful—depending on what you are looking for—from the United Church of Christ (www.ucc.org) or the United Church of Canada (www.united-church.ca), both relatively liberal Protestant denominatins, or the Unitarian Universalist Association (www.uua.org). A particularly Quaker-friendly way of introducing children to Jesus would be to share a story about Jesus without interpretive commentary, inviting the children to respond in whatever way they feel led.Wonder is a healthy and appropriate response to an encounter with the holy, and wonder comes naturally for children.When the right environment is prepared, and when stories are told in a meditative way inviting wonder, the children will respond.You would probably want to have a large variety of art materials available so that each child could choose the medium that calls to him or her during the response time.You could also have several teenagers or adults from the meeting, each with a different understanding of Jesus, share in lessons. What makes a lesson Quaker, in large part, is that it is experiential and experimental, rather than theoretical, speculative, or dogmatic. It is important that the lesson draw on the child’s felt experience of the holy. Putting feelings into words may be challenging for some, but art,music, and movement can be marvelous tools for expression. Other elements important in Quaker religious education are worship and worship sharing. Please don’t underestimate the worship and wonder capacity of children.You do not so much need to interpret Jesus to the children as to simply present Jesus and then give the Spirit free reign. God is already working in the children and you would be loving and faithful to not get in the way. Once you know what kinds of experiences you want the children to have, you might consider creating your own curriculum. There are a lot of good, non-dogmatic storybooks about Jesus for children.You could combine story sharing with reflection and creative response for a simple, effective lesson. If the pattern to each lesson is similar (such as worship, check-in, quick review of previous lesson, song, new story, individual and/or group story response,wrap-up, reflective closing) that would provide needed structure and continuity.The story response time is vital.Often the artwork, group activity, or verbal sharing helps both children and the adults working with them make genuine connections between the stories and their everyday lives. If you relate the story using figures—and there is no reason why they should be elaborate or expensive—the children can retell the story to themselves and each other using the same figures.You can keep the story figures in a child-friendly learning center in the classroom. There are some excellent illustrated story books, including Bible story books, on pages 49 to 54 of the 2004 QuakerBooks of FGC catalog. Some of the titles you may especially want to investigate for teaching about Jesus and the way of Jesus are Love One Another, Miracles, Parables, and Love Is. . . There are also several children’s “first Bibles” offered in the catalog. Often, non- Biblical storybooks can be used along with Bible stories to open up the Jesus narratives. Such books include Old Turtle and the Broken Truth and Stone Soup. A very helpful resource for lesson planning is Jerome Berryman’s Teaching Godly Play: The Sunday Morning Handbook. While not written by or for Friends, the technique Berryman describes has profound implications (and practical applications!) for Friends’ religious education. I hope this has been helpful. Bye for now. Thy Friend, LucretiaA “Friendly” Look at Multiple Intelligences I am a Quaker whose chosen profession has been the field of education. Having taught for over twenty years, I have seen many changes.When I first began teaching, the educational terms teamteaching (more than one teacher in a classroom), and teacher aides (persons who assist teachers) were new.That was twenty years ago and the concept of multiple intelligences was just being talked about. Now, team-teaching is co-teaching and teacher aides are paraprofessionals. Not only is the multiple intelligence theory still here, but an additional intelligence has been added to the original seven. At this point, to avoid confusion, I need to explain what I mean by the terms “Friendly” and “multiple intelligences (MI).” My “Friendly” outlook in writing this article is to look at the concept of multiple intelligences through the eyes of a Quaker and to consider possible applications in a First Day School setting.There comes a point in the life of a Friend when the realization comes that the inner and outer lives are connected. It is this inner light felt by individuals in the sense of “daily living” that we can present Friends social testimonies of peace, simplicity, equality and ecological witness to children in our classes. Now, let’s look at the theory of “multiple intelligences” which turned 20 this year.Howard Gardner published Frames of Mind in 1983. It was the first book to lay out his theory of multiple intelligences. Although Gardner’s book was not aimed at parents or teachers, it is this very population who has taken his theory to heart! Here is a quick review of the theory for those not familiar with multiple intelligences. People are endowed with eight separate, equally valid, forms of intelligence.
What does all this mean? Each child will have different personalities and abilities. Some children are jokesters and comedians while others are quiet, reserved, and serious.Although the intelligences are anatomically separated from each other, Gardner claims that the seven intelligences very rarely operate independently. Rather, the intelligences are used concurrently and typically complement each other as individuals develop skills or solve problems. For example, a dancer can excel in his art only if he has (1) strong musical intelligence to understand the rhythm and variations of the music, (2) interpersonal intelligence to understand how he can inspire or emotionally move his audience through his movements, as well as (3) bodily-kinesthetic intelligence to provide him with the agility and coordination to complete the movements successfully. There is a natural temptation for the educator to teach using his or her own preferred intelligence(s) and style of learning, for this is most comfortable.This approach, however, is not the most effective in the classroom.The wise educator will not limit lessons to only one intelligence, but will vary both the approach and the pace, offering a variety of ways to engage the learner. Besides increasing the interest level, utilizing a variety of intelligences activates more parts of the brain and facilitates learning. In the end, all the intelligences utilized work together to make for more fruitful lessons. First, keep in mind that you are already off to a great start! The mere fact that you care and are willing to share your time with the students is already a good thing.Also, take time to get to know your students and their strengths.This will not happen in one or two classes. However, if you listen carefully to what they share with you in the class, you will begin to have a sense of your students and their particular intelligence strength.Also, don’t take lack of attendance personally. I found that after the opening few weeks of classes, I might have only one or two students in First Day School. Families begin to travel, illnesses occur and attendance in general can decrease. Here is a simple lesson on “sharing” which could be taught to a first or second grade class.You could begin by asking students their ideas on and experiences of sharing (interpersonal MI).After sharing an appropriate Bible or Quaker story about sharing (linguistic MI) you could ask students to respond to the story through art (visualspatial MI).The class could share a healthy snack (kinesthetic MI) and the children could be invited to reflect on how they might share something with someone when they get home (intrapersonal MI). As a second example for further clarification, consider an intermediate First Day School lesson on racial justice. It would not only be beneficial to have learners hear and write about racial justice (linguistic MI), but to reflect (intrapersonal MI), create (visual-spatial MI), and possibly interact (interpersonal MI) on the same topic. In review, the “theory of multiple intelligences” allows First Day School teachers to look for and teach to a broader range of talents and skills as they approach lessons. Remember, students will have strengths in more than one intelligence.Therefore, it is important to consider all intelligences and use variety when planning curriculum for classes, intergenerational activities, or overnight retreats. Sandra Peth is a member of Mullica Hill Monthly and Philadelphia Yearly Meetings and serves on the Salem Quarter Steering Committee. She manages the Learning Resource Center at EIRC (Educational Information & Resource Center) in southern New Jersey, and is also engaged in graduate studies. |
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| Religious
Education Newsletter Susanne Siverling and Michael
Gibson, co-editors |
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To
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