We all have them, they influence the way we see... Worldviews

Worldview. This term that I am seeing consistently in what I am reading and learning about in this unit.  'At the center of every culture is its worldview, answering the most basic question, what is real?' (Kwast, as cited in Habermas and Issler, 1997, p.60.)

Habermas and Issler (1997) suggested that whether a culture's worldview is conscious or unconscious it strongly influences every aspect of the culture. They propose that our views of reality are 'developed through experiences, convictions, and level of maturity'.


This idea of what a worldview is and how it can impact the way in which we live our lives was further discussed at our first intensive weekend. We looked specifically at what a Christian worldview looks like. In the article, 'Teaching for transformation', Jenkins (1995) argues that true transformation comes from a radical change in behaviour, renewal of the mind and change in worldview. Before starting this course I had heard of having a worldview and we have had different speakers come to our staff conferences that have mentioned this concept. However, I have never really taken the time to evaluate my personal worldview or thought about how it impacts on my life or my role as a teacher. Tracey made the point at the intensive weekend that our worldview has a historical-contextual and individual perspective.

In terms of a Christian worldview, at the intensive weekend we discussed the importance of incorporating an understanding of both religion and spirituality. Tracey highlighted that education from a Christian worldview requires educators to have a critically thoughtful understanding of these concepts as well as the concept of justice. She discussed that we need to critically think about these concepts independently and in conjunction with one another. I have found that my understanding is growing the more I am reading and after the intensive, I am definitely starting to think more critically about what I am reading and also about the way in which I am teaching. Instead of just getting into the classroom and teaching, I am starting to think about the why's. Why am I teaching? Why am I teaching this content? How do interact with my class and from what perspective am I teaching them and what is the context of the content being taught?

I have a Year 8 homeroom which I see every morning and afternoon. I am in charge of their pastoral care and I get the opportunity to share devotions with them each morning. For every teacher this looks very different. Some work from a youth devotions book, others watch videos, some I am sure don't even do them. When I first started teaching I would often spend more time planning my devotions than I would planning my other classes. I felt the pressure of having such an opportunity to share this time with my class. We can look at and chat about about real life issues, I can get to know them and hopefully plant a seed in their hearts to help them want to get to know Jesus. I have always been unsure about the best way of going about these devotions and in the past have used a variety of sources; sometimes videos, stories or articles I may have read or heard about that I thought would be relevant and interesting to the students. I am always conscious of not 'tacking' a bible verse onto a motivational story but sometimes I feel that this is how they may come across. Through the intensive and starting to think about these concepts, I definitely feel challenged to think about the way that I approach not only devotions but everything I believe.

At the intensives we had discussions about what do we know is true? I have often recalled myself saying 'the bible says...' to students when they have asked questions in devotions or in Christian Education. Tracey made me challenge these thoughts when she brought up some big issues like capital punishment, sexuality and even marriage. Hearing her talk about the thought that do people really need to be married in today's age to line up with what God speaks about heterosexual relationships? She spoke about the context being different now and what was written, how could it apply to every situation now. This argument really made me think and I believe that was her aim. We need to critically think and we want to create critically thinking students. For me this makes sense the more I think about it. If we are going to grow in relationship with God, we need to be questioning and finding answers, not just accepting what is written with no understanding behind why or how it relates to us.