We managed to handle it in my high school. Parts of the Bible were taught in our AP English class senior year, By the head of the English department of my high school who had been a monk.
And we had atheists, a Hindu, Jews, Mormons, Catholics, and Protestants in the class, and were okay.
I don't know how or why it worked, except that Mr. Trevessani was very clear up-front why we were studying it: "Much of the literature we're going to be reading for the rest of the year, and for the rest of your life, involves imagery and references to the Bible. So you need at least a basic understanding of the images and ideas which are used. I'm a former monk, and will be trying to teach it secularly, but I am a Catholic, so my bias may creep in, and I want you to bring it up if it does. And if any of you are uncomfortable with this anyway, talk to me, and we will come up with something else for you to do."
But I can't imagine the class working with an ordinary teacher. Mr. Trevessani was extraordinarily gifted and self-aware.
The problem is that Mr. Trevessani's basic point is right: much of Western literature requires SOME knowledge of the Bible to understand. And one of the points of literature classes should be to give people the ability to understand and enjoy literature. So, for instance, if you're going to be studying anything from the late medieval period through the Reformation and beyond, you need to study the Bible and Greek/Roman mythology first. I managed to luck out and go to a high school that taught both, and taught both the same way. And managed to teach in a way that would offend neither Christians, Jews, Muslims, or Greek/Roman pantheists.
But I can't figure out any good rules for how to make sure that others would have similar experiences.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
no subject
And we had atheists, a Hindu, Jews, Mormons, Catholics, and Protestants in the class, and were okay.
I don't know how or why it worked, except that Mr. Trevessani was very clear up-front why we were studying it: "Much of the literature we're going to be reading for the rest of the year, and for the rest of your life, involves imagery and references to the Bible. So you need at least a basic understanding of the images and ideas which are used. I'm a former monk, and will be trying to teach it secularly, but I am a Catholic, so my bias may creep in, and I want you to bring it up if it does. And if any of you are uncomfortable with this anyway, talk to me, and we will come up with something else for you to do."
But I can't imagine the class working with an ordinary teacher. Mr. Trevessani was extraordinarily gifted and self-aware.
The problem is that Mr. Trevessani's basic point is right: much of Western literature requires SOME knowledge of the Bible to understand. And one of the points of literature classes should be to give people the ability to understand and enjoy literature. So, for instance, if you're going to be studying anything from the late medieval period through the Reformation and beyond, you need to study the Bible and Greek/Roman mythology first. I managed to luck out and go to a high school that taught both, and taught both the same way. And managed to teach in a way that would offend neither Christians, Jews, Muslims, or Greek/Roman pantheists.
But I can't figure out any good rules for how to make sure that others would have similar experiences.