One author (link attached) put it as “scrubbing in” as one would in a surgery. His idea is that the work in the classroom has real consequences and so must be treated with care from the outset. Now, the conclusions the author draws are a little different - teaching students to use the correct technology in the correct way. I teach HS English at a 1:1 iPad school, but I run a 90/10 classroom with 90% being device free with paper and pen/pencil and 10% iPad. But the idea of scrubbing in to the classroom has captivated me. And now your article has got me thinking. I teach at a Christian school. It is a sacred thing to learn how to image God well. Thank you for writing and for teaching!
I’m gearing up to teach 7th grade world religions at a “Catholic-lite” school next year and have been mulling over this very question… will be eager to hear what kind of rituals you come up with, especially for students who don’t have much familiarity with religion or faith-based practices.
The title of this post caught my eye because I teach a class on sacred space and sacred landscape and the next iteration is this fall.
You’re close to specifying a particular definition of ‘the sacred’ that Durkheim espoused: something set apart (and taboo) - but the key part for this case is that the things/places marked as ‘sacred’ are decided upon collectively. There’s lots of info on this online that might help you imagine your analogy further.
I think you make the case at the beginning for the actual space mattering, which is true, but you end with ritual, which is different. The hinge is the bodies and how they use space. There’s interesting work that’s been done on Muslims using multi-purpose spaces in non Muslim religious buildings and how they create a sense of ‘sacredness’ in them.
The new buzzword in this area is embodiment. I’m still working it out but this is such an interesting comparison/analogy.
So much here to chew on that is helping me see more nuance! Thank you! There is something to tease out here about the ritual itself, the artifacts and objects that are unique and distinctive and the space in which the rituals are practiced with the objects. Bringing me back to my grad school days. I haven’t thought about a lot of this for a while.
Absolutely love the idea of starting with a ritual. I’ve been thinking about this since I read Unreasonable Hospitality (trying to imagine what the classroom as a space of hospitality might look like) and the Art of Gathering (about intentionally designing and hosting gatherings better). I know some faculty start with playing classical music - not sure if that would work in all classes. The past couple of years my students tend to arrive 15 mins early and sit in the darkness, illuminated only by their cellphones or tablets, not taking to each other 😬 Perhaps ask some of your former students what they might recommend for such a ritual? I’ll do the same with mine.
I love this so much! I think the last section on the purpose of being there is perhaps the most crucial. People go to church for lots of reasons, but rarely as a transaction or a commodity. Education, however, is almost entirely framed as a transactional commodity. But enough of these classes and we will give you credentials, which will then provide you access to something. Learning institutions are run like businesses. Even state-supported public schools (at all levels) usually focus on sports instead of actual learning! So where does ANYONE treat learning as something sacred?
I was lucky enough to go to seminary twice — once for my first era of ministry and again to become received as a minister in the Episcopal Church. The difference between those years and the ones spent at Community College and University couldn’t be more different — with two exceptions. My undergrad was a double major in English and Fine Arts, and I had one art teacher at a community college who made her classroom a sacred space. We started every class with a piece of music she chose to set the mood, which we all enjoyed together and then talked about after it was done. While the music played we all went to our various workstations to set up all of our supplies, which in context of your piece, was its own form of a processional. We worked on our pieces and she visited each student to give feedback or help, or sometimes to just observe. It felt holy.
My portraiture professor had a similar way to set aside the space, except instead of music she introduced us to the model of the day — all of whom she’d worked with long enough to know personally. She would tell us a story about them and then let them introduce themselves or talk about something recent while we all set up our drawing or painting stations. That also became a ritual.
I really love your ideas. While the culture of education has succumbed to commodification, a single teacher can create such a space of sanctity and reverence. It’s probably no coincidence that thirty years after college, I couldn’t even tell you the gender of my Trigonometry professor, but I remember everything about these two that made their class into a temple.
I’ve been pondering what makes that place necessary and meaningful to its students. Essentially, that is what we as guides and teachers of the subjects we love demonstrate through our practice. When our classes engage with this, and in my experience they do, handing human engagement to a machine becomes pointless to them.
Thank you for thus wonderful reflection on what it means to be in a place of learning. I’ve lately been having similar thoughts about the classroom and what happens there. In the midst of creating a presentation on AI in the classroom,
I haven’t! But I’m now interested!
One author (link attached) put it as “scrubbing in” as one would in a surgery. His idea is that the work in the classroom has real consequences and so must be treated with care from the outset. Now, the conclusions the author draws are a little different - teaching students to use the correct technology in the correct way. I teach HS English at a 1:1 iPad school, but I run a 90/10 classroom with 90% being device free with paper and pen/pencil and 10% iPad. But the idea of scrubbing in to the classroom has captivated me. And now your article has got me thinking. I teach at a Christian school. It is a sacred thing to learn how to image God well. Thank you for writing and for teaching!
https://hedgehogreview.com/web-features/thr/posts/scrubbing-in
I’m gearing up to teach 7th grade world religions at a “Catholic-lite” school next year and have been mulling over this very question… will be eager to hear what kind of rituals you come up with, especially for students who don’t have much familiarity with religion or faith-based practices.
The title of this post caught my eye because I teach a class on sacred space and sacred landscape and the next iteration is this fall.
You’re close to specifying a particular definition of ‘the sacred’ that Durkheim espoused: something set apart (and taboo) - but the key part for this case is that the things/places marked as ‘sacred’ are decided upon collectively. There’s lots of info on this online that might help you imagine your analogy further.
I think you make the case at the beginning for the actual space mattering, which is true, but you end with ritual, which is different. The hinge is the bodies and how they use space. There’s interesting work that’s been done on Muslims using multi-purpose spaces in non Muslim religious buildings and how they create a sense of ‘sacredness’ in them.
The new buzzword in this area is embodiment. I’m still working it out but this is such an interesting comparison/analogy.
So much here to chew on that is helping me see more nuance! Thank you! There is something to tease out here about the ritual itself, the artifacts and objects that are unique and distinctive and the space in which the rituals are practiced with the objects. Bringing me back to my grad school days. I haven’t thought about a lot of this for a while.
Have you read The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath? They expand on these exact sentiments. For example,
"We should be engineering what we do, not for the whole experience, but to give the peak experiences that people will remember."
"What if we could design an academic experience that is as meaningful as prom?"
Absolutely love the idea of starting with a ritual. I’ve been thinking about this since I read Unreasonable Hospitality (trying to imagine what the classroom as a space of hospitality might look like) and the Art of Gathering (about intentionally designing and hosting gatherings better). I know some faculty start with playing classical music - not sure if that would work in all classes. The past couple of years my students tend to arrive 15 mins early and sit in the darkness, illuminated only by their cellphones or tablets, not taking to each other 😬 Perhaps ask some of your former students what they might recommend for such a ritual? I’ll do the same with mine.
I noticed the same thing. And why I want to make the change! Also, I we are both in DC at the FLI event! We need to chat!
Sorry I missed you at the event! Yes would be great to chat. My email is brandonv at cua.edu
Greetings from the Cathedral of Learning, where I work. I recognize the picture! :)
I love this so much! I think the last section on the purpose of being there is perhaps the most crucial. People go to church for lots of reasons, but rarely as a transaction or a commodity. Education, however, is almost entirely framed as a transactional commodity. But enough of these classes and we will give you credentials, which will then provide you access to something. Learning institutions are run like businesses. Even state-supported public schools (at all levels) usually focus on sports instead of actual learning! So where does ANYONE treat learning as something sacred?
I was lucky enough to go to seminary twice — once for my first era of ministry and again to become received as a minister in the Episcopal Church. The difference between those years and the ones spent at Community College and University couldn’t be more different — with two exceptions. My undergrad was a double major in English and Fine Arts, and I had one art teacher at a community college who made her classroom a sacred space. We started every class with a piece of music she chose to set the mood, which we all enjoyed together and then talked about after it was done. While the music played we all went to our various workstations to set up all of our supplies, which in context of your piece, was its own form of a processional. We worked on our pieces and she visited each student to give feedback or help, or sometimes to just observe. It felt holy.
My portraiture professor had a similar way to set aside the space, except instead of music she introduced us to the model of the day — all of whom she’d worked with long enough to know personally. She would tell us a story about them and then let them introduce themselves or talk about something recent while we all set up our drawing or painting stations. That also became a ritual.
I really love your ideas. While the culture of education has succumbed to commodification, a single teacher can create such a space of sanctity and reverence. It’s probably no coincidence that thirty years after college, I couldn’t even tell you the gender of my Trigonometry professor, but I remember everything about these two that made their class into a temple.
I’ve been pondering what makes that place necessary and meaningful to its students. Essentially, that is what we as guides and teachers of the subjects we love demonstrate through our practice. When our classes engage with this, and in my experience they do, handing human engagement to a machine becomes pointless to them.
Thank you for thus wonderful reflection on what it means to be in a place of learning. I’ve lately been having similar thoughts about the classroom and what happens there. In the midst of creating a presentation on AI in the classroom,