ED50200 Course

Last week was intense for me. For 2009 I have undertaken to teach an Avondale MA course entitled Value Issues and Moral Development in Education. Suddenly it was July 6-9 Winter School and time to deliver 16 hours of teaching to 18 discerning learners in just 4 days. This diverse group of learners included Australian housewives, Pacific Island administrators and teachers, and Australian and New Zealand teachers, all wanting to know more about teaching values. The experience was fun but at times rather scary.

This course, really an exploration of how to teach faith, is my passion. Last week our group went on a journey through what is entailed in learning and teaching faith, ideas, worldviews, values, morality, spirituality, social and emotional learning and character. I admire housewives who can simultaneously raise a family, home school their children and pursue knowledge with a passion. And I also respect Pacific island students with heavy workload demands working in a second language in a strange culture.

The week was most enriching for me. My class searched for clarity, sharpened my own concepts and challenged me in unexpected ways. In just 4 days the group bonded as each shared his or her own journey. As I now turn to mark assignments I feel the need to keep talking to the class to clarify things that were hazy, to keep myself learning, and to encourage this new “community of faith”.

I have always thought that although we do well as a system, we are not well enough informed collectively on how to specifically teach faith and values in subtle and sophisticated ways. More than ever I feel a need to produce practical ideas for teaching values and faith for our teachers. For me this is the moment to consult with my class and other classroom teachers in a bid to start the book I have been dreaming about. And it is time that we talked more about how to engage more effectively with our great calling.

Barry Hill
Director of Education
South Pacific Division


News about the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific.