Spring 2007 - Milton Academy

Faculty PerspectiveSelf EducationEducation either functions as an instrument which is used tofacilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic ofthe present system and bring about conformity or it becomes thepractice of freedom, the means by which men and women dealcritically and creatively with reality and discover how to participatein the transformation of the world.—Paulo FreireI have always believed that education is a process of questioningand that a teacher’s job is to challenge her students,widening their vision to a broader perspective, as well asdeepening their awareness. Education is about acknowledgingour preconceptions and allowing them to be brokendown in order to reconstruct a worldview out of greaterunderstanding. When I moved to Dallas five and a halfyears ago, I took this fundamental intuition about educationwith me. I knew Dallas was more conservative than theCambridge I had grown accustomed to, but I also knew thatI was prepared for a wholesome fight, the kind of intellectualwrangling that is native to the world of academia.For the five years of my tenure in Dallas, I was defined overand against the culture of the school and its administration.I was branded the “radical feminist liberal” who questionedthe Bible, who criticized the patriarchal representation ofGod, and who identified herself as culturally Christian andspiritually Buddhist. Needless to say, all of this was unacceptable,and I quickly learned that my view of educationwas quite different from the school’s objectives. There is alot to learn from being the “troublemaker” in a place. It wasan opportunity for me to reflect seriously on my own valuesand principles, as well as articulate them to an audiencethat often embraced an opposing view. I also learned toappreciate the conflict that exists in a place where peoplehave different opinions or ways of seeing the world. WhatI didn’t recognize at the time, however, was the negativeimpact of the school’s pressure against my perspective.On October 11, 2006, Milton Academy hosted its fourthreligious speaker since the 1952 Endowment for ReligiousUnderstanding had been established. I was pleased to hearthat it would be Bishop John Shelby Spong, the retiredbishop from the Episcopal Diocese in New Jersey. I had metJack Spong during my academic studies at Harvard DivinitySchool and remembered him as decidedly controversial, yethe was also overtly faithful. He proposes a very modernunderstanding of the biblical tradition to correspond to ourpostmodern society and sensibility. Bishop Spong rejectsreligious fundamentalism as divisive and contrary to thecore message of scripture, to love one another. The bishop’smessage is one of social justice, of standing with those atthe margins of society and struggling with them to guaranteethat their voices are heard. While Bishop Spong illustratedthe dark side of religion, expressed through violenceand hurtful speech, he simultaneously asserted the optimisticideal of religion: “Live fully, love wastefully, and beall that you can be.”Bishop Spong’s visit was an early turning point for me atMilton. First, his speech was a vocalization of my own intellectualand spiritual understanding, which had been inhibernation for some significant time. Second, just listeningto the Bishop’s expression of his own theology reignitedmy passion for theological thinking and reflection. JackSpong’s presence on the Milton campus provided me witha certain sense of freedom—free to speak my own mindwhen necessary, free to bring a critical theological perspec-38 Milton Magazine