Tag Archives: teaching about religion

As Faith Ed nears its 6th birthday, author appears on two podcasts and works on new book

By | | Latest News and Press, Newsletter, Updates
Leave a comment

Fb-Button

Greeting, Faith Ed subscribers! I know it’s been a long time – perhaps nearly two years – since I’ve sent out a newsletter. I thought this was a good time to reconnect, given the state of our world and continued concerns about a rise in religious bigotry and racism in America.Faith Ed turns six years old this summer, and I still hear from new readers who have discovered the book and want to learn more about how religion is taught in … Continue reading →

Writing for Change in Trump’s America

By | | Latest News and Press, Newsletter
Leave a comment

Fb-Button

Greetings to new and old subscribers,

When you don’t hear for me for quite a while, it’s usually because I’m busily writing this and that. Our country’s polarization has made me even more determined to write commentaries and articles that will provoke thought and ideally, prompt change in some way. That’s not that unusual, I guess, for a long-time journalist, but these times make the job of a writer more urgent.

In the past few weeks, I’ve published a few pieces. One continues the themes I wrote about in Faith Ed. … Continue reading →

December Dilemma v. Thinking Broadly about Religion in Schools

By | | Latest News and Press, Newsletter, Updates
Leave a comment

Fb-Button

As I write this, K-12 schools are wrapping up classes or may have already finished them for winter breaks. In elementary schools, no doubt, many teachers have felt compelled to mention Christmas and Hanukkah in some way.

Look at the photo above, though. First-grade teacher Debbie Fagg at the Minneha Core Knowledge Magnet Elementary School in Wichita, KS, is teaching about Hanukkah in early November as part of a multi-week unit on three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. She brought … Continue reading →

Washington Post Publishes Op-Ed Stemming from Faith Ed. & Decatur Book Fest Report

By | | Newsletter
Leave a comment

Fb-Button

Greetings to new and old subscribers! The photo you’re seeing is me from this past weekend’s Decatur Book Festival. I’m standing in the sales tent for Eagle Eye Books of Decatur about an hour before my talk to a crowd of 200. As fun as it was to see a huge pile of my books in one place, it was even nicer to see people buying ’em after my talk.

Recap of the Decatur Book Festival: For fun, I … Continue reading →

Exploring Islam as Flash Point in Schools, Religion Debates & Other Faith Ed News

By | | Newsletter
Leave a comment

Fb-Button

booksonsaleGreetings to new and old subscribers! The launch of Faith Ed. is in full swing, and I’m enjoying the ride so far.

One of my latest articles stemming from Faith Ed has drawing a huge online following and impassioned commentary over at Religionandpolitics.org. It’s called “New Clash Over Religion in Schools: Communities Face Backlash on Lessons in Islam.” I’ll let you read the article and judge for … Continue reading →

Visiting Mosques Teaches Countless Lessons

By | | Jewish muse
7 Comments

Fb-Button

August 29, 2011

Mihrab. Wudu. Minaret.

Those words have been foreign to me most of my life. I have been like most Americans, woefully ignorant about other religions besides my own. For that matter, until the last decade, I knew little even about my Jewish faith.

Recently, I shadowed a Wellesley Middle School sixth-grade class as the students learned about world religions. The purpose was research for my article about how one Boston-area school teaches about religion … Continue reading →

A TEST OF FAITH: ONE SCHOOL’S DETERMINATION TO STAND BY ITS RELIGION CURRICULUM

By | | Education, Writings
Leave a comment

Fb-Button

Summary: During the latter half of the 2010-11 school year, I shadowed a sixth-grade Wellesley Middle School class as students learned about world religions. The class had been under scrutiny because of a past field trip to a mosque, where a handful of boys ended up praying. Click on the link below to read my Aug. 28, 2011 article in The Boston Globe Magazine about the school’s experiences teaching about religion.

Reaction: The article drew extensive reader reaction. Dozens of readers wrote letters to the editor, and at least 100 … Continue reading →