Pauleen Angeli P.

Baloyo

Integration of Faith and Values in Learning

February 8, 2020

Reflection Paper on The Integration of Faith and Learning:

Problems & Praxis

As an English major, I have always been fascinated with literature. Under the influence

of my mom who is a Literature major, I grew up reading classics such as ​Little Women,​ ​Anne of

Green Gables​, ​Nancy Drew​ mysteries and Greek mythology. Having raised and taught in an

SDA environment, I was aware that there are certain themes found in books that are not

recommended for one’s recreational reading. As I grew up, I’ve read different types of literature

and I could sift through the underlying lessons that I learned in my readings.

When I was assigned to teach Literature at California Prep International School in

Thailand, I was taken aback by the readings that were assigned in the syllabus. There were some

short stories and poems that have dark themes such as Edgar Allan Poe’s writings, and I was

worried about how I could integrate faith and values in these types of literature. In Richardson’s

essay, he comes across the same problem. He proposed that he could revise the syllabus to

consist of only Christian literature, but IFL doesn’t only work by limiting lesson content to fit

Christian standards.

This won’t pose as a problem when teachers effectively use IFL not in content but in

context. The author stated, “I strive to respect the beliefs and standards of my community, but

most often I do so not by choosing different ​content​ from other institutions, but by providing a
different ​context​ for its discussion”. Most of my students in Thailand were Buddhists so giving

them direct Christian content wouldn’t have been appealing for them. Wanting to enhance their

love for reading books, I gave them the freedom to choose age-appropriate books that could

interest them. My work as a teacher would then be to help them identify the values and morals

that could be taken out of the story. Students are able to ask more questions and talk more about

the books when they are engaged in the plot so the context was where I used IFL.

The author encountered the question, “How well did the instructor integrate faith and

learning?” in course evaluations and I also keep asking that question to myself. As an English

and Literature teacher, I need to be able to use IFL effectively in all my subject content and it is

still a skill I need to master. Constant research and reading about other teachers’ experiences can

surely help me improve in this area. It is not enough that I use IFL; students should also be

taught the skill of being able to see the good in anything they encounter. The author used a

quotation by 12th-century theologian Hugh of St. Victor: “​Omnia disce, videbis postea nihil esse

superfluum” ​which means “Learn everything; afterward you will find that nothing has been

superfluous.” This quote has inspired me that as educators, we never stop learning for the sake of

our students.

Article Source: ​https://www.uu.edu/centers/faculty/teaching/article.cfm?ID=462