Authentic Dialogue in the Graduate Classroom

Sharyn Slavin-Miller Mari Luna De La Rosa

Heather Browning

2009 NASPA Multicultural Institute

“….at colleges and universities around the country, an expanding and increasingly vigorous dialogue has begun, centered on examining personal values, meaning and purpose—including religious and spiritual values--as part of the educational experience,”

(Chickering, Dalton and Stamm, 2006, pg. 2)

What is happening in your programs or on your campuses around the topic of faith and spirituality? Index card

To discuss: Approaches employed in class and other

graduate program areas to foster dialogue and deep learning among students from very different spiritual and religious backgrounds;

Strategies to achieve authentic dialogue and understanding from a faith perspective

Relevance of spirituality for student affairs practice and higher education

Increase knowledge and awareness of spiritual, faith discussions as a form of diversity;

Apply approaches and strategies to various campus educational contexts

Further our collective understanding on fostering respectful and authentic dialogue around this topic

Religion: Engaging in the traditional beliefs, dogma,

practice and ceremonies of a church or religious organization

Spirituality: A transcendental personal notion of meaning

and purpose; living with the highest values possible and moving toward an authentic self

Adopted from: Diamond, M. (2008). Encountering faith in the classroom. Sterling: Stylus Publishing

An evangelical Christian community of disciples and scholars who seek to advance the work of God in the world through academic excellence in liberal arts and professional programs of higher education that encourage students to develop a Christian perspective of truth and life.

The university motto, “God First” was originally adopted in the early part of the twentieth century to reflect the desire and commitment that this institution remains spiritually alive and vitally Christian.

The College Counseling and Student Development Masters program prepares individuals to become student affairs educators whose special interest is college students and the environments that affect their development as persons and as scholar-students.

Welcomes a spectrum of students from those who have no faith tradition to those with a strong and singular faith focus

Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills. Graduates should possess the attitudes, beliefs, values and self-awareness necessary to serve students who are culturally different from themselves;

Moral, Ethical, and Spiritual Compass. Graduates should possess a well-defined personal moral, ethical, and spiritual compass that provides grounding and direction.

60% described the general climate of the program in terms of appreciation of religious diversity as “neutral to moderately respectful”;

66% described the general climate of the program in terms of multicultural diversity as “moderately respectful.”

“I would describe the field of student affairs as my area of ministry, therefore it is very important for me to understand how to integrate what I am learning with what I already believe as a Christ follower. While I do not expect to be taught how to act or think as a Christian in this field, I would expect from a faith-based, God-centered institution that we would have the important conversations about how Jesus Christ’s life influences our interactions with students.”

“I think faith has a prevalent factor within my development as a graduate student. However, I do believe as well that it is imperative that other viewpoints should be shown, because within the occupational endeavors that I will pursue, not all students and environments I work will be predominantly Christian-based. I also believe that not all my values match up with someone else’s but as long as one can “agree to disagree” without dire consequences, it would be most beneficial and probably most learning-inducive.”

The Role of Diversity in

College Student Affairs Practice: Social justice approach: Focus is on

hope, equity and fairness All elements of diversity are addressed:

white privilege, sexual orientation, gender, race/ethnicity, religious diversity and disability.

Critically examine own values, world view, assumptions, and biases about people who are different from themselves;

Identify ways in which diversity and institutional power affect individuals and their experience in college;

Develop programs and services for a diverse student population;

Challenge and support individuals and systems around diversity issues;

Cultivate multiculturally sensitive and affirming environments that espouse an appreciation of diversity.

Psalms of lamentAfter visiting the Museum of Tolerance, write a Psalm of Lament from the perspective of a victim of the Holocaust or a Holocaust survivor. Review your notes from the talk given by the Holocaust Survivor at the Museum. Use the format that was described in class and the Psalms of Lament by Ann Weems.

Religious DiversityResearch a faith tradition that you have stereotypes about or have heard of but know very little about. Be prepared to talk in class about your preconceptions of this faith tradition, what you found in your research about this faith tradition, and your reaction to attendance/participation in their “worship service”.

Diversity Action PlanBased on the Pope & Reynolds (1997) article, the action plan assignment is designed to help you identify and accomplish growth goals focused on multicultural awareness, knowledge and skills. Please identify one overall goal for your action plan and then develop 3 objectives for each area. Your plan must include a minimum of 3 student interviews.

Assumptions that are at a faith-based institution;

Assumptions that are present within a student cohort about a common, faith perspective;

Tensions/challenges of conversations in the classroom and judgments

Seifert article (2007): “Understanding Christian Privilege: Managing the Tensions of Spiritual Plurality” Question: How does your own background

compare to American culture of Christian privilege?

Question: How are you affirmed or marginalized by this perspective?

An extension of the classroom Gain a deeper sense of professional

identity to the CSA field and commitment to students;

Gain a deeper appreciation and respect of faith backgrounds and values of their cohort community;

Increase awareness of their moral, spiritual, ethical compass.

Session: Faculty Stories of background, tensions and being affirmed

Value of sharing narrative, personal story

Nurture appreciation, trust and community

OUR SPIRITUALITY AND APU“IMITATE ME”

Are there some places where your spirituality is nurtured here?

In what contexts do you feel uncomfortable about spirituality at APU?

What can others do in our program to create a safe place for authentic discussion of spirituality for you?

Read article, “Imitate Me,” by W.H. William (2002), About Campus

Reflect about a person or two whom you adore that they have influenced your character.

Reflect about a time when you were expected to serve as an example to others (perhaps you were not asked to serve in such a role).

“The retreat was wonderful. It was very helpful to hear from the professors about their own faith journey. I never take time to reflect on what is going on inside of me, so the individual time on the retreat was helpful. When I do take time, it usually becomes unfocused, so it was nice to have specific questions to think and talk through. I had the best conversations with people in my cohort.”

“ I am indifferent about the retreat as a whole. Some parts I enjoyed and others I did not. I learned a lot about myself and realized how dependent on technology and devices. I’m glad we were required to attend this retreat and gained a lot more out of it than I thought I would. We have all come from so many different walks of life and yet, we have all landed in this program, realizing we want to work with students in college.”

Helping our students with their awareness as they go on to graduate and work at other campuses;

Helping our students gain competency with these issues as they support other students in the future

Diversity conversation includes certain topics and faith not an area usually discussed;

Address lack of comfort level with talking about differences in faith;

How to include those in the conversation who do not have a spiritual/faith background and recognize that values and purpose take other forms

Sharyn Slavin Miller, Ph.D.

Associate Professor: sharynmiller@apu.edu

Mari Luna De La Rosa, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor: mlunadelarosa@apu.edu

College Counseling and Student Development, APU

Heather Browning: hbrowning@apu.edu

Interfaith Coordinator, Whittier College and Living-learning Community Coordinator, APU

Chickering, A., Dalton, J.C. and Stamm, L.  (2006).  Encouraging authenticity and spirituality in higher education.  San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass.

Diamond, M. (2008). Encountering faith in the classroom. Sterling: Stylus Publishing

Manning, B. (2009) Philosophical underpinnings of student affairs work on difference. About Campus, 11-17

Pope, R.L. & Reynolds, A.L. (1997). Student affairs core competencies: Integrating multicultural awareness, knowledge and skills. Journal of College Student Development, 38, 3, 266-275.

Seifert, T  (2007). Understanding Christian privilege:  Managing the tensions of spiritual plurality.  About Campus, 10-17.