Teaching as Reconciliation

Abstract

THIS ARTICLE WAS first published thirty years ago and is republished here both in recognition of its seminal use of a biblical concept as a metaphor for the role of the teacher and for the way in which it forms an instructive whole together with the other articles in this issue, adding a further perspective on the use of reconciliation language to describe education. It uses the writing style of the time in which it was written rather than that of the present day but, to maintain the integrity of the article as originally written and published, no alterations have been made.

The article proposes that the biblical concept of reconciliation provides a helpful metaphor for teaching. Three points are identified at which the concept can be specially helpful: first, in bringing the child to terms with society, with the hopes and enmities in himself and others, so that he may develop with a realistic view of his options; second, in achieving a better balance between thinking and feeling in the curriculum; and third, in being involved with, and mediating between, the various groups interested in making educational policy. In these ways, the appropriate professional stance of the teacher is that of a reconciler.