Grappling with the issues and
questions of society
One possible way of entering into a
critical dialogue with the Catholic
faith tradition …..
Models of contemporary learning
• What big questions, issues, tensions are learners dealing
with in each model?
• In your view, what makes these questions and issues
worthy of learners’ attention in a Catholic school today?
• What different approaches to this issue/question , if any,
are explored by learners?
• What is the stance/approach of the teachers to the issue?
How is this revealed to the learners?
• To what extent do the learners enter into a critical dialogue
with the Catholic faith tradition concerning this issue? If
you were the teacher, how might you enhance this element
of the learning?
Some considerations when designing
the learning …
• What’s the issue or question that learners will
address and why is this worth pursuing?
• What are the various approaches to this issue in
the classroom, school, community?
• What’s the preferred view and approach of the
teachers and why?
• How does a critical engagement with the Catholic
faith Tradition nuance the teachers’ view further?
• How do we engage learners critically in a
dialogue with this Tradition?
One possible way of entering into a
critical dialogue with the Catholic faith
tradition
Applying three lenses
• Window
• Mirror
• Icon
What element(s) of
the Catholic
tradition speaks to
what’s at stake in
this issue?
How does it reveal
God’s dream for a
different future for
all people?
• Text
• Symbol
• Individuals or
peoples
• Scripture
• Teaching
• Artwork, music,
poetry
What service might this
dream ask of each of
us?
Window
What is the historical context of
the text, symbol, scripture text,
art, music, poetry?
When was it constructed and why?
What was happening in the world
of the time that has a bearing on
how we understand this piece?
Mirror
When I hold up the text, image, symbol etc what
do I notice looking back at me?
Who are the characters? What’s the plot and
what’s happening in the plot ? What’s the
genre? What strategies has the creator used to
communicate their message and what might
their message be?
What’s the image of God and of people being
conveyed?
How does it speak to me (or not)? What am I
drawn to or challenged by?
Icon- religious artwork that
communicates something of meaning
and truth to the person gazing at it.
- a window between God and people
Icons are like windows into God …..
Some say that they are also open windows
through which God enters people’s lives …
Icons in the form of
texts, symbols, people, stories,
scripture, teachings, artwork, poetry,
music ….
Considering the icon …
If this text contains an aspect of God’s
vision/dream for humanity and the world, what
is it saying to you?
What does it say to the approach you are taking
to the issue?
What service is being asked of you in this vision?
Think, Pair, share
What possibilities does this offer for enabling
learners to engage critically with the Catholic
tradition around the issues in your context?