And to Thine Own Self Be True: Ideological Challenges for Orthodox Bible Teachers in Pluralistic Schools

• In Event: Doing and Being: Religious Experiences in Schools

Abstract

This paper looks at the ideological dilemmas that Orthodox Jewish Bible teachers face when teaching in a pluralistic environment, specifically, in North American Community Jewish high schools. This study took a phenomenological approach, using semi-structured interviews, to map the field of Orthodox teacher’s lived experiences in a pluralistic school environment. Ten teachers of diverse Orthodox affiliations were interviewed to identify ideological dilemmas according to Billig's (1988) theoretical framework, in combination with Galili-Schacter’s (2011) work on pedagogical hermeneutic orientations. The teachers’ interpretation of text, or hermeneutical approach, was used as a vehicle for understanding their experience. Two areas of tension emerged: 1. authenticity versus sensitivity, and 2. the tension between valuing pluralism as a pedagogy but not on a personal level.

Author

• esther friedman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  Presenting Author