Framing Teaching: Models of Teacher Development

Reflections on Teacher Development

Rev. Dr. Elizabeth M. Strong
Massachusetts Bay District, District Religious Educator

The idea for teacher development came to me when I was working on my research into Universalist religious education. In the early 1900s Sunday school teachers were trained to the same standards as the public school teachers. Granted these were not the four year and master's degree level standards, but the point was, Sunday school teachers were trained, earned certificates and were highly regarded in their communities. That got me thinking about how we train our religious education teachers today.

In the Jewish tradition it is the responsibility of every adult to engage in learning. Through learning the literature of the faith, an individual is connected to the larger Jewish community. Studying the Talmud each day helps center one on what matters - family, religion, and values. This is the center of the more evangelical Christian religions as well.

We seek a deep understanding of Unitarian Universalism that can inform our daily lives and connect us to rich and meaningful faith development experiences for those who work as volunteer teachers with our children, youth, and adults; and for ourselves. I know personally that whenever I have taught, regardless of the age level, or participated in adult education or leadership training, I have deepened my faith. I gained an understanding of what I believe as an individual and made a deeper connection to the living faith of Unitarian Universalism.

And what is this Unitarian Universalism to which I connect? It is a religion that affirms the belief in the inherent dignity and worth of every person and thereby enables us to stand with gay and lesbian couples for their right to the happiness that marriage brings to a relationship. It is religion that enables us to stand with people of color in their struggles for equality; with women in their struggles for equity and equality; with laborers asking for a living wage, and more. It is a religion that is open to the free and responsible search for truth and meaning that calls me to engage in a life long journey of faith development and to work to encourage spiritual growth in our congregations. It is a covenanted religion, where we each are called to be faith seekers in community with one another. And teacher development that engages us in our spiritual journeys and faith development is part of this religion. It is part of being true to our Unitarian Universalist faith.

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