Day 4: Buddhism

As I've said each day, I am really enjoying all that I am learning about!  Today was no different.  We spent the day learning about Buddhism through some readings, a lecture from a professor from Aurora University, a visit from Cindy, a practicing Buddhist,who graduated from Naperville Central High School last month, and two different visits to Buddhist temples.  The first temple we visited was at Wat Buddha-Dhamma Meditation Center where we led through sitting meditation, standing meditation, and walking meditation by Tan-Ajahn Thapakorn. Additionally, he explained meditation, mindfulness, and awareness with some real world examples that we could easily relate to.  After that amazing practice, we headed to I.B.P.S Chicago (International Buddhist Progress Society of Chicago) to learn from Venerable Youheng about Humanistic Buddhism. 

Seth has asked us to really think about the religious identities of Cindy, Tan-Ajahn Thapakorn, and Venerable Youheng and compare the three B's: beliefs, behavior and belonging.  He would also like us to think about which "B" was most prominent and which one was the most powerful in shaping their identities.  This should be easy...not, lol. 

Cindy shared that she practices Shinnyo Buddhism.  Shinnyo Buddhism comes from Mahayana Buddhism which utilizes symbols and chanting to achieve a sense of spirituality. She shared that she believes  Buddhism is about bettering others and controlling one's anger, greed, and selfishness.  Cindy shared a lot about her behavior as a Buddhist.  She shared that she her practice includes giving "happy donations" to benefit the community, giving service to others, and bringing others to the faith. With regard to belonging, Cindy talked about how important the community is to her parents and family but shared that there weren't a lot of young adults within her temple to engage with. She shared that as she has gotten older and matured she has begun to connect much more with those at her temple. Cindy also shared that she was the only Buddhist that she's aware of during school years so didn't have that connection at school either.

Tan-Ajahn Thapakorn practices Theravada Buddhism.  From my google research, Theravada is the closest Buddhism to the one taught by The Buddha himself.  Theravada Buddhism focuses on self-liberation through practice of "letting go" and "not clinging" to things as they aren't permanent.  Meditation, mindfulness, and awareness are critical toward obtaining enlightenment.  Thapakorn demonstrated and then discussed his practice of meditation and mindfulness throughout his day.  He didn't share much about "belonging"; however did share that all are welcome at his temple.

Venerable Youheng practices Humanistic Buddhism which originates from Chinese Buddhism.  According to the literature she shared, Humanistic Buddhism's focus is on integrating Buddhism practices into all aspects of everyday life by creating a Pure Land on earth.  Venerable Youheng shared that Humanistic Buddhists socially engage and apply Buddhism into their daily lives, promote their cultural activities, promote their education to sustain moral guidance to teach people to purify their minds and to be good people, and try to better society through charity. She also shared that meditation is an important daily practice. Venerable Youheng provided some information about her community but I didn't get a sense that belonging was as much of a focus.

All three of them have very strong beliefs. While they all believe in Buddhism, their specific beliefs are diverse based on the type of Buddhism they practice.  What I found to be the most prominent was their behavior.  I was able to observe this behavior through their dress as well as what each of these individuals shared (and my google research :).  They all discussed their practice and importance of meditation and mindfulness. Belonging, while it sounded like it would be something they might all appreciate, appeared to less of a focus for each of them.  

Becky

Day 3: Judaism

I'm not going to lie, I really LOVE my summer, particularly sleeping in until 8 or 9 when I can. While I was excited to get into this class, I was worried that after a couple of days, I might begin to be less than enthused when my alarm went off at 5am. Nope...not yet! I'm in awe of this experience. I've learned so much in the last three days that I might need to sleep for a week, lol.

Today we learned about Judaism through some readings, attending Congregation Beth Shalom in Naperville, and listening to a student panel. The information presented today was excellent and plentiful. By the end of today's class, I was exhausted and had to come to take a quick nap before writing this blog. 

Mr. Bernie Newman gave our group an extremely interesting presentation on Judaism. Bernie shared that Judaism isn't so much a religion but rather a family. Jews are united because being Jewish makes all Jews family. They may not necessarily have the same beliefs but regardless are still family. If a Jew is in trouble, all Jews step in to help each other. What is most important is to be moral and ethical and to follow the ten Commandments taken from the Torah. (There are 613 commandments in total).

According to Bernie, there are 14 millions Jews worldwide. Judaism has no creed or dogma. He shared that all Jews believe they have a responsibility for all humanity and that they believe you can find God in anything you do. One additional constant is that if you believe in Jesus, you aren’t Jewish. Jews don’t consider Jesus to be a prophet, Messiah, or the son of God but do believe that Jesus was a Jew.
Judaism has clearly evolved overtime. Commandments that are no longer relevant have morphed over time. For example animal sacrifice have long ago been replaced with prayers. Ancient rabbis added conditions to make commandments that are problematic unable to be carried out without a majority consensus. 

For me, the highlight of my experience at Beth Shalom was when Bernie showed our group the 100 year old Torah that had been saved from Germany by being hidden in a cave during the Holocaust. It was beautiful to see and to recognize it's history as well as reflection on the resiliency and strength of Judaism. I also truly appreciated just listening to the Torah being read even though I don't understand Hebrew.

Immediately upon returning from Beth Shalom, a student panel of three Jewish students past and present from Naperville Central shared their experiences growing up as a Jew in Naperville. What a beautiful, strong group of young women! I won't lie, I teared up at points listening to some of the hardships they have faced but also loved their resiliency and their sense of humor in the face of it all.

The three young women began by stating what being Jewish meant to each of them. They individually stated that being Jewish is an extremely important part of their identity. The three girls continuously referred to being a family and community. Additionally, they shared that those in their community go beyond themselves in supporting each other. It was clear by watching their interactions and listening to their stories that this was their truth.

While the girls had many positives to say about growing up in Naperville and felt that for the most part they were supported by strong and understanding teachers and community, they shared many difficulties. Listening to their retell of their experiences to anti Semitic comments and bullying while hard to hear was extremely helpful. Due to the Sabbath, Friday at sundown until Saturday and sundown are sacred which means that this impacts their ability to attend birthday parties, football games, sports activities, etc. While two of the three girls mentioned being in sports, they shared how difficult it was to have to talk to their coaches about missing various events as they were concerned they would be excluded from the team. Each of the girls mentioned the difficulty of missing multiple school days in September/October for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. When asked what we as teacher's could to help, they shared providing understanding as well as extensions beyond a few days to complete missed work would be extremely helpful. They shared they are often spending their missed school time in synagogue praying/fasting/sitting all day. Additionally, they shared that they didn't particularly feel valued or as if they belonged in the schools during the month of December due to the emphasis on Christmas. but have noticed that this is beginning to improve in recent year. What was most difficult for them to share and us to hare was what type of anti-semitism they've experiences. The remarks and actions from their peers and even perceived "friends" was heartbreaking to hear. I'm so grateful that they shared these experiences with us so that we can do a better job of preventing them from happening at all. How do other students feel it's okay to throw pennies at another student???? How in the world do they feel it's okay to share Holocaust jokes???!!! We MUST do a better job of educating our youth on various religions so that they have an understanding of what they are saying.

This brings me back to trying to answer my essential question of why people fear, hate, or discriminate others because they are different? and the even bigger question, how do we stop it?  I think what I'm learning or more accurately affirming is through education.  We need to be educating our students/families/community NOW or even better as early as we can in a students educational career so that differences remain just that, differences NOT inequalities, discrimination, etc.  

Becky


6.13.19  This morning while drinking my morning coffee, I read Joe Nikel's blog @ https://joenikkelblog.weebly.com/ .  I really enjoyed reading's Joe's perspective.   Throughout his post, Joe acknowledged his "aha" moments and while my experience is different than his, I found myself agreeing along with many of the connections he's made.  One thing I also appreciated about Joe's post was how he set it up to comment on the 6 principles.  I attempted to do do that in the same way but found it challenging to make my post also readable so I wrote mine as a narrative while still remarking on the six principles.  Joe did a way better job than me on that. 

Day 2: Hinduism

Today we learned about Hinduism's beliefs, behaviors and belonging to the community by listening to a couple of lectures, one from our instructor Seth Brady, as well as from Shereen Bhalla, from the Hindu American Foundation.  Additionally, we had the great pleasure of learning from current and past students of District 203 who discussed the traditions, values, and norms from their personal experiences.  Our group also had an opportunity to visit two different Hindu temples today, the Venkateswara Sami (Balaji) Temple of Greater Chicago and BAPS Swaminarayan Temple.  Today, I was once again blown away by how much I did not know or misunderstood about Hinduism and am grateful for this opportunity to be on this religious literacy journey.  I'll be honest as I write this post, I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it as it's so diverse, dynamic, changing, and situated in such long, rich culture.

Core beliefs

Hinduism is one of the oldest major faith traditions and is the world's third largest religion.  The majority of Hindus believe that that "Brahman" or "the Absolute" is pervasive in the universe.  Essentially, it is believed that Brahman is "the one" and "God".  Hindu's believe that "Brahaman" is present in all living beings.  "God" spread out as the universe in to all living beings and elements and is understood as the cause of creation.  Additionally, in Hindu lore, there is a Hindu trinity of Bhrama (creation), Vishnu (sustenance), and Shiva (dissolution/reincarnation).  Hindu's believe that the soul is eternal and when a physical body dies, the soul is reborn in another living thing which is governed by the Law of Karma.  People are believed to strive for: Dharma (i.e. foundation of moral life, small acts that you do to get the good karma), Artha (i.e. pursuit of material prosperity), Kama (i.e. enjoyment of the material world), and Moksha (i.e. the ultimate goal of reincarnation).  In order to achieve Moksha, one must follow three paths: Karma Yoga (i.e. performing one's duty selflessly), Jnana Yoga (i.e. studying and contemplating the scriptures), and Bhakti Yoga (i.e. devotion and service)

Religions are always internally diverse.

It became clear as I began my readings on Hinduism that the religion was quite diverse but became even more clear upon visiting these two very different Hindu temples and listening to the students panel.  Outside of the core beliefs, there is a broad spectrum  of understanding and practices.   Throughout the reading, the words "some, many, most" were used frequently when describing what Hindu's believe, how they behave, and how they belong.  As one of the Hindu students from the panel stated there are  "no hard or fast rules for Hinduism.  Another student shared that "it wouldn't be possible to compare two Hindu households as no two Hindu household is the same".  They shared that their rituals and practices can even vary between family members of the same household.  As we visited the two different Hindu temples, it became very clear that they also come in different forms.  While Indian geography certainly can account for some of the diversity, the evolution of time may also play a role.   For example, the first temple we visited was humble and welcoming.  Hindu worshippers took time after worshipping to ask why we were there and then offered to explain various aspects of their temple to our group.  The other temple was extremely ornate, with amazing wood and marble carvings but appeared to be more focused on customs and traditions.  Both beautiful temples but were notably different in their beliefs and behavior.

Religions are always situated in culture.

Hinduism is a collection of traditions or as the Hindu student from today's panel described, a way of life.  Each of the students on the student panel shared that Hinduism is more than a religion but rather a part of their lives.  They also shared that Indian culture and Hinduism are so intertwined that it is difficult to separate.  Shereen Bhalla, from the Hindu American Foundation, also stated that there isn't a specific founder, doctrine, or creed, but rather that Hinduism is a way of life.

Religions are dynamic and changing.

In early Hinduism, many Hindus focused on rituals but over time it moved away from rituals and began to share stories across generations and continents that became guides for how to lead a moral and righteous life.  As Buddhism and Jainism gained prominence in India, Hinduism moved away from ritual and text and into personal devotion.  Later as British rule and colonization happened, some Hinduism practices became more rigid and other Hindu practices reformed.  

There is SO much more I learned today but I am just too exhausted after trying to wrap my brain around it all! Another busy, exhausting, but enlightening day. Tomorrow Judaism and Christianity. :)

Good night!!

Becky

6.12.19  I had an opportunity to read Melanie Pace's blog post about her review of our day @https://setthepaceblog.wordpress.com/2019/06/11/reflection-of-day-2/   I appreciated reading about so many facts that I didn't think to add to my post.  I feel like she had a better understanding of some of the traditions then I was able to put to paper.  

Day 1: Religious Literacy: Sikhism

Wow!  Just wow...what an amazing day of learning!  Today we started our day with an overview of religious literacy by listening to some great speakers: Linda Wertheimer, the author of Faith Ed and Benjamin Marcus, from the Religious Freedom Center.  They were both so knowledgeable and passionate and imparted some great information; however what I'd really like to focus on in today's post is my learning on Sikhism.

Before today, I'm embarrassed to say I had no real knowledge of Sikhism other than that it originated in India and that Sikh men wear turbans and the women wear head coverings.  What I learned today is that Sikhism, the world's fifth largest religion, is quite beautiful.

When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed into their center.  After removing our shoes and covering our heads with hair coverings, we were asked to join them for Langar, a shared meal that they prepared for us.  We sat on the floor as is their custom, as sitting together at the same level equalizes everyone.  They then served us the delicious food that they had prepared for us.  After Langar, we moved toward a meeting area where we had an opportunity to listen to Sikh children share a few of their experiences and then were provided an abundance of information on Sikhism.  The Sikh's believe that there is only one God. The basic tenets of their faith are that God's name is to be remembered in every breath, that they should earn their living honestly, share their good fortunes with those that are less fortunate, and to engage in selfless service.  Additionally, Sikh's believe that all people are equal regardless of their race, gender, religion, or social class. The Sikh's Holy Scripture is known as the Guru Granth Sahib.  The Guru Granth Sahib is at the heart of their worship and contains devotional compositions written by Sikh teachers known as "gurus" and hymns which are mainly written in the Punjabi language.  The Sikh's believe that the purpose of life is to try to integrate their individual personality with God.  The Sikh's religious tenets directly influence their behaviors of serving others and welcoming all as their equals which was evident during Langar and certainly created a sense of belonging.  

After the student panel and the presentation was finished, we were welcomed into their Gurdwara, the Sikh place of worship. There the students played an instrument and sang a hymn.  During an actual service, worshipers may join in singing the hymns, lead prayer, or just meditate and may come and go as they see fit.   

The Sihk's practice the Five K's also known as the Articles of Faith.  The articles of faith include: unshorn hair to represent their spirituality, a comb to represent their cleanliness, a steel bracelet, representing their self restraint and connection God, a short sword, to symbolize an emblem of courage, inner strength, and commitment, and lastly a type of underwear knickers to represent their purity of moral character.   Additionally, I learned that Sikh men wear turbans and Sikh women wear head coverings to protect their uncut hair and to express themselves outwardly to others as a Sikh.  These behaviors create a sense of community with their fellow Sikh's as they illustrate the belief that they are all equal during their worship and their dress.

I am so thankful for the Sikh's who welcomed us into their center and community and shared their beliefs, practices, and customs with us.  Thank you!

Becky

Why do people fear, hate, or discriminate another person that is different than themselves?

               

My religious literacy course's assignment for today is to develop my essential question for this course...I guess I am trying to figure out, why people fear, hate, or discriminate others because they are different?  This leads to an even bigger question, how do we stop it?  I see fear, hate, and discrimination quite frequently in working with my students with special needs; however I also overhear or note it when making small talk with family, friends, and even random acquaintances when the topic of other cultures and religions comes up.  For whatever reason or as I see it...blessing, I just don't think that way and never have.  When it's in reference to those with special needs, I'm knowledgeable and passionate and have no problem explaining to people why they are wrong, quite passionately.  You have been forewarned...don't ever use the "R" word around me.

                                          

When negative comments are made about people of different cultures or religions, I feel strongly this is wrong but I don't always know how to respond or justify why I feel that way.  I often feel confused or upset that people feel so negatively about a person they've never met just because of what they believe, what they are wearing, or how they look.  My hope in taking this course is that I will become more knowledgeable about history, traditions, and religions, the why...so I myself have more knowledge and can in turn help people understand that differences aren't to be feared but rather understood and possibly embraced.           

                                                                   

Becky                                                                                         

🌞Just some light summer learning...religious literacy 🌞

I'm seriously excited about taking this course "Religious & Cultural Bus Tour".   I truly love learning and feel pretty lucky to get this experience.

One of my first assignments for the course is to consider why it is important for educators to develop religious literacy.  Being a citizen of of the USA, I feel I'm truly blessed to have the freedom to believe in whatever religion I choose.  I also understand that if I truly believe and intend on making a positive impact toward democracy and peace, I should be knowledgeable about all religions, not just my own.  More than 1/2 of my caseload includes students who have a language other than English spoken in their home.  Additionally, almost 1/2 of my students and their families practice other religions than Christianity including: Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, or are Agnostic.   Religious illiteracy facilitates prejudice, hostility, and conflict which is completely counter to democracy and peace.

I was raised Catholic and attended a Catholic grade school.  Our family moved as I was beginning my freshman year or I would have attended a Catholic high school as well.   While I loved the Catholic traditions, as I became older, I began to question some of the church's practices.  When I met my husband who was not a Catholic but rather a Lutheran, it wasn't a big deal to me but it was a big deal to my grandparents.  My grandparents said they wouldn't come to our wedding if I wasn't married in the church.  As I was a practicing Catholic and because it was really important to me that they attend our wedding, we agreed to do so.   We attended "pre-cana" classes and attended the church just about every Sunday.  I can remember distinctly one particular mass watching my soon to be husband: kneel, sit, bow his head, kneel, stand, etc. for me, I can remember thinking "wow, this guy really loves me" and "does he really understand why he is doing all of this?".  While being a Catholic was important to me, it was more important to me that my husband and I have a relationship with God.  After we married, and had some great conversations, we began looking for a church that would work for us and our someday family.   As we were both were Christians, we didn't search for different religions but rather a different way to express our devotion to God.  With that said, the opportunity to observe various Christian churches, their traditions and practices was quite interesting, eye-opening, and at times intimidating.   After attending many different churches, we found "our church" 18 years ago.  My faith and relationship with God continue to be a big part of who I am.

As I consider my overall goals for this course, I really want to learn about other religions so that I can continue to grow as a person.  I believe it's important to have a greater understanding and awareness of religions so that I can promote peace and and democracy in this diverse world we live in.  As I've said my faith and relationship with God are a big part of who I am.  I do not believe that my religion is the "best" religion or the only one.  I believe everyone's faith or lack there of is a very personal one.  In order to best understand one another, we should learn from one another.  The history, the practices, the why...I want to better understand others.

Becky

What does summer really look like for a teacher?

Hi all!  I'm back.... I’m smiling again and the sun is out!  

I took a very long unplanned break because by January of this year, I really didn't have any energy left to give beyond what my own family and my students needed.  Sounds kind of yucky but it's the truth.  For many reasons that I won't bore you with, I found this year to be particularly tough. Summer break being delayed a week by snow days didn't help... damn Chicago weather.  With that said, I've been on summer break for SIX glorious days and already feel a bit better.  I've slept in a few mornings, read one book for fun, and have been spending time with my family.  Exactly what this girl needed! Okay, still needs...

My hope and plan is that next year my school year will be a bit more manageable and calm.  Fingers crossed!  If that is the case and I pray it is, I will be more active in sharing what's happening on my Autism SLP adventure.   I'm also planning on posting a bit this summer to get back in the swing of things as I have quite a few draft posts that I never published. 

So to get back to the question "what does summer really look like for a teacher?" or at least this SLP/teacher?   Yes, it's true, I do get to sleep in as well as do many of the things I love but don't ordinarily get to do during the school year.  Read books for FUN, travel, sleep in, walk my dog everyday, enjoy my fire pit with family/friends or alone with a great book and a glass of wine.  I also do so many things I don't get to do during the school year, like clean out closets, get to the gym multiple times during the week, cook regularly for my family, and most importantly reconnect with good friends.  I also spend a ton of summer working on things for school such as finishing my medicaid billing, planning, organizing, and learning.  I really don't think many people who aren't teachers or who have teachers in their family understand how much a good teacher does during the summer.  Yes, it is an absolute perk to be off and have a flexible schedule in the summer but it's not just well deserved but absolutely needed.  Teaching is caring for young little people that require every ounce of energy, care, love, and skillset we have.  It is 100% well worth it but it's also exhausting physically, mentally, and emotionally.  Teaching is not a job you put away at 5pm but one that you carry everywhere: every school night until 9 or 10pm and Sunday, your dreams, insomnia "events", the shower, your weekends, and your summer.  Truly!  Our students are our kids in so many ways and we don't turn it off with a switch.  With that said, summer is like a dimmer, we turn it way down to replenish, rejuvenate, reconnect, and relax.

This summer I will be doing all of the above things I mentioned with learning being front and center right now.  I love learning! If I ever become stagnant, it is time to leave the field.  "Our" kids deserve it.  This summer I'll be learning a lot more about many SLP related things such as AAC (Augmentative and Alternative communication), SEL (Social Emotional Learning), behavior, and Religion and Culture. 

I'm really excited that after multiple attempts, I was finally able to enroll in a course titled "Religious and Cultural Bus Tour".  Beginning on Monday, I will be back as a student in the classroom for 6 full days of learning about the various religions and cultures of my students and I can't wait!  For the next week or so, I'll be posting about my learning as part of the course I'm taking.  I really hope you'll follow along on this adventure.

Becky