Julian Springer Lectio Divino 10/22/18

Lectio:
“Researchers have chosen to study and compare Whites and People of Color on
characteristics that culturally favor the dominant-group members.” (p. 185)

Meditatio:

Initial response: My first response to this passage was infuriation at the inherent unfairness that
is built in to the system as it is today. I feel discouraged by how ingrained this discrimination is,
even more so because the people who are doing the research are supposedly the educated,
progressive, critical-thinkers. I guess that’s just an indicator of truly how ingrained this deficit
perspective truly is.

As I reread the passage, the word “CHOSEN” jumped out at me. I began to think about how
even if we are ingrained in a way of thinking, we all have a choice about how we view the
world, the perspectives we take, and the way we interact with others on a daily basis. I grew
more frustrated with the authors of the pathologic research, but also discouraged with myself
because I feel as though I can and should be doing more to actively CHOOSE to make a
positive impact and change for the sake of equality.

Oratio:

Ultimately, this passage and process was inspiring, as well as a bit overwhelming. The phrase
“Sisyphean task” kept coming up in my mind. There are no real connotations of punishment for
what I have in my head, however. Other than the rectifications Whites need to make for all the
pain we have caused, I feel more so that teaching is a CHOICE. Within this choice is another,
nested choice: the active, conscious decision to be a good teacher. This is a complicated goal,
involving not just cultural awareness, but community outreach, material and student
appropriate pedagogy, knowledge of current affairs, and many other facets. However, the
scariest part in my mind is the fact that it is easy to do a good enough job, but that being the
perfect teacher is all but impossible. It feels like pushing a rock up a mountain that never ends.
You can never be good enough, and for someone who is goal oriented and outcome driven like
myself, it can feel overwhelming. At the same time it can be overwhelmingly inspiring, reaching
for something that will always be out of reach. It’s all in the mindset. I am excited to learn to be
the best teacher that I can.

Contemplatio:

The one aspect of this whole process that left a bitter taste in my mouth is the idea of the “time
lost.” I feel as though there has been so much pain and loss perpetrated on minority groups
and those of low SES that climbing back from this hole in which we have placed people and
groups feels like an insurmountable task. Which brings me back to my Sisyphean task.
Something I am struggling to reconcile, and I anticipate reaching some conclusions on our trip
to the Navajo Reservation, where I can pose these questions I have.

Reflection:
I really enjoyed the process. It’s funny how diving in to a sentence or paragraph not only
elicited more from the text, but helped me to dive in to the deeper issues that I am
encountering in myself as we get further along in this program. It was a fascinating process,
and I am really glad that we did it as a group because we were ALL able to build on each
others ideas, concerns, and issues. I would certainly consider using this in ANY class as a
deeper understanding of the text is important, and can certainly create a strong bond between
the student and the material through the means of personal connections and emotional
release.

I appreciate the tiering of this method, how it dives deeper and deeper, giving you time to dwell
and analyze each stage of understanding. This made me think about how we should be tiering
knowledge for our students, not only to help them understand it more fully, but to create lasting
connections between them and the material so that it sticks with them beyond the end of unit
or semester tests…