Dear Toni and Rachita,
Thank you for participating in your
recent videoconference. I apologize it has taken so long to send out my
reflections. We are having an incredibly busy month. Please let
your students know that they did a wonderful job talking about their daily
lives, school activities, and the impact of religious traditions in the
community. Following are my reflections on the VC, but the Face to Faith
team is equally interested in knowing your thoughts. Please take a few
minutes to fill out the survey at the end of this email.
Highlights of the Videoconference:
- Students in both schools demonstrated good listening skills. They asked some very good response questions and showed genuine interest in finding out about their peers. I usually have to ask students to be very specific and give lots of description, but your students were prepared to paint a picture of their communities for their partner schools. After one student explained that people are given sweets before they go on a journey, a student in the UK followed up by wanting to know why. After talking about sacred animals, students in India wanted to know if there are sacred animals in the UK. A student answered saying, ‘We don’t have any sacred animals in our tradition, but we do have sacred places’. She then went on to describe different places she considers sacred.
- Students had a very good discussion about how their faith impacts their everyday lives. Students in India talked about the blessings that the elder persons receive; the sandalwood that is burned that purifies the air; how the elders touch the ground in the morning to honour the earth; how cows are given special patties to honour their presence. A student in the UK said that most people in her community are non-believers, but the whole village comes together at Christmas time to celebrate being together. ‘The festival brings us into a special spirit’. A student in India followed up by saying, please tell us the story of Christmas.
- Students ended the VC, by sharing how their personal beliefs impact their actions in the community: ‘My faith as a Christian influences me to be a nice person.’ ‘I’m an agnostic, but my parents have taught me to be very respectful’. ‘My faith inspires me to do charity work.’ ‘I have faith in my religious book, it helps me to know how to live’. ‘I believe that when we help poor people, God will give us blessings.’ It was excellent to see students connecting their beliefs with their actions in the community.
Learning
Opportunities:
- We did not have time for students to engage in dialogue about how their faith/beliefs/values impact their everyday lives. This would be a wonderful topic for them to continue to explore on the on-line community.
- It would also be interesting to have a follow up discussion on the ‘sacred.’ Sacred rivers, animals, and places were mentioned. What makes something ‘sacred?’ How are these ‘sacred’ places/things recognized in your community? Are they important in your lives? Why or why not?
Suggestions for future VCs:
- Your students demonstrated some excellent listening and responding skills. It is obvious that you have given them time to practice these skills. I encourage students to continue practicing these basic dialogue skills found in the introductory module. The more they are practiced, the more skilled your students will become.
- It would be great to see your schools engage in another VC together. Perhaps you can discuss partnering for a videoconference on the Wealth, Poverty, Charity module or The Common Word, which focuses on compassion.
As
mentioned above, it is very important for us to collect feedback from teachers
so that we can ensure that we are meeting your expectations. Our short
survey only takes a few minutes to complete and can be found by clicking here
<http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GDVPX2S
Thank you again for a wonderful
videoconference. It was great working with you and your students. I
look forward to working with you again soon!
Warm
Wishes,
Kristen
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