Churches as a site of learning
If
you have not read the previous two blog posts in this series, I encourage you
to do so. Going back to my Marvel movie
analogy, however, this post will be like Dr. Strange, but a lot less
entertaining. So far, Dr. Strange has
not been super connected to the overall story Marvel is telling, however based
on my limited knowledge of comic books, I assume that he will become a lot more
important. Such will be the case for
this post. If this is where you are
starting in the series, you will have missed a lot of background, but that
background is not necessary for you to understand this entry. This post will nevertheless, be crucial for
you to have read to understand what comes next.
Additionally, this post will likely be the shortest, as I will use it to
define a key concept that will provide a foundation for the remainder of the
series. That concept is public pedagogy.
When discussing
education, many people think about schools.
I would like to make a clear distinction between the two. Schools are a place where one can receive an
education, but schools and education are not synonymous. This statement then begs the question of “what
is education?” Education is
learning. Learning happens through
experiences (Dewey, 1938). Because learning
is constantly occurring, it is not helpful to limit our discussion of education
to only schools, or sites of formal education, especially when discussing
social issues such as race. I am not
discounting the important role that schools play, but I am arguing that looking
at other sites of learning is just as important. Ellsworth (2005) expands places of learning
beyond schooling to include more subjective experiences (such as affect [the
psychology term] and sensations) encountered through “media, architecture,
entertainment, art, social engineering, or politics” (p.6). This type of learning falls into the realm of
public pedagogy.
More concretely defined,
public pedagogy is “forms, processes, and sites of education
and learning occurring beyond or outside of formal schooling (p. 2)” that
involves a pedagogue who intends to instruct the citizenry through relational
and ethical dimensions (Burdick, Sandlin, & O’Malley, 2013). Churches are a site of public pedagogy. Churches usually have some sort of leader or
leadership team who serve as the pedagogue, and they are given a unique role in
education because people voluntarily seek them out to attend. Unlike schools which require compulsory
attendance that ends at a certain age, churches are voluntary and people can
choose to attend them for a lifetime. As
a result, they can experience a lifetime of learning in this one site. People willfully turn to religious
institutions in the US to seek meaning in life, find direction, receive social
support, and look for relief when crises arise (Emerson, 2006, p. 7). Religious congregations also serve an
essential role in immigrant adaptation and support (just as schools do), the
production of culture, social network formation, and the construction of norms
and worldviews (p. 8). Although social
issues such as race and racism are addressed in the curriculum of some schools,
and interracial contact occurs in some schools, some would argue that because
schools are secondary institutions when it comes to relationships, they are
less effective in diminishing racism.
Primary organizations where close, long-lasting relationships are formed
are more effective in teaching about race if those relationships are
cross-cultural (Yancey & Emerson, 2003).
Churches are a primary organization and are therefore worth looking at
from an educational point of view, specifically when studying the issue of
race. In my next post, I will introduce the concept of hidden curriculum, and
discuss how churches teach about race. It turns out this post was not much shorter
than others. My apologies, but I hope you will continue reading!
Burdick J.,
Sandlin J., & O’Malley, P. (2013) Problematizing
Public Pedagogy. Hoboken, NJ: Taylor and Francis.
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience in education. New York, NY:
Collier Books.
Ellsworth, E. (2005). Places of Learning. New York, NY: Routledge.
Emerson, M.O.
(2006) People of the dream. Multiracial
congreations in the United States. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press.
Yancey, G., &
Emerson, M. (2003). Integrated Sundays: An exploratory study into the formation
of multiracial churches. Sociological Focus, 36(2), 111–126.
Retrieved from
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00380237.2003.10570719.
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