Amira and I had our second interview in late January, and ended up spending almost 3 hours together, I think. Before I turned on the recorder, we just caught up a bit on life since our first interview three years prior--the interview that started this dissertation process in some ways, but in other ways preceded it. Probably the last hour or so of the recording was just...well, interfaith dialogue. I shouldn't say "just," but as it had less to do with the dissertation questions and more to do with navigating the often difficult waters of being some of the few "Gen Y"ers in our congregations. We both grew up with gay friends who believed in God and had faced very angry elders in the community when they came out. Knowing individuals first as friends made this a bit more difficult and we first turned to scripture and sought first hand knowledge--about what scripture really says and where. As Amira said, "if they were Muslim and came out to me, I told them what scripture said, as we are called to do, then left it at that. If they weren't Muslim, I didn't say anything. It didn't stop us from being friends."
The key here in this story isn't the issue (I'd be happy to talk with anyone about my thoughts on this in relationship to faith, but would prefer to do so in person)--but it's the act of SEEKING KNOWLEDGE. Gen Y folks (which I'm noting here as something in-between or separate from Gen Xers or Millennials because we seem to draw from both sets of characteristics while also being quite distinct. Anyway...) have often been portrayed as this confused bunch, sort of wandering through life and questioning authority but being perhaps less reactive than Gen Xers. We're somewhat obsessed with the search for truth and seeking out answers for ourselves.
I never realized how this might be a generational issue until I observed at Amira's school in early February. I arrived about 10am, checked into the office and then was guided to her room which was only about 3 doors away from the main office. As a music teacher, she instructs several age groups and a class of fifth graders were milling about, grabbing pencils, clipboards and handouts when I arrived. The room was brightly painted with walls of orange and royal blue, covered in posters of chords, a few instruments, red/yellow/green card charts and sticker charts for students to help with behavior management. The students sat on the floor facing the screen while Amira ran the projector from the back of the room. It was a very diverse class of 20 students, almost evenly split between genders and from many ethnic backgrounds. As a well-established city charter school, it had gained respect as a place where students came to get a good education in a somewhat 'strict' environment. They were all required to wear uniforms.
Amira was reading to them about the life of Bach using an illustrated and humorous text, while students followed along on worksheets and answered questions from the text. Most of the lesson involved students who wanted to get drinks of water, go to the bathroom, sharpen pencils, or do just about anything but sit still and listen. The crucial part of this lesson, to me, was what happened in the following dialogue.
Amira: "Back then, they didn't have radios, so the only way to hear music was go to a concert or hire a band to come play for you in your home, which only royals could afford."
Student 1: "Didn't they have a boom box they could shoulder?"
Amira: "No, they didn't have radios or recordings. They didn't even have electricity."
Students: "What?" *frightened/excited murmurs
Amira: "Yeah, I know it's crazy. No electricity."
Student 2: "didn't they have, like, you know, those boxes with a hand crank to make stuff work?"
Amira: "you mean a generator?" (student 2 nods). "No, electricity hadn' even been invented yet. Servants or other people lit candles in homes to provide light."
Student 3: "What did they do for, like, fun?"
Amira: "For fun? They read books."
(student 3 laughs)
Amira: "no, seriously! Haven't you ever read a book you really enjoyed?"
Student 4: NO!
Student 5: yeah (quietly)
Student 3: "well I watch the movie and THEN I read the book."
Amira: "Are you getting this, Mrs. Hager? This is the generation that's going to take care of us. This generation that doesn't want to read."
Student 4: "Yeah! We're the AWESOME generation!"
It both sickened me and surprised me. They thought so highly of themselves because they DIDN'T want or like to read. They thought that life was better with movies telling them how to see or interpret the story. And if a book didn't have a movie? To them it wasn't worth reading.
Perhaps reading is a dying art (I certainly hope not! We're working with our 2 year old to love reading and learning) and the pursuit of knowledge for the sake of truth and discovery is disappearing. However, I know that it isn't among my study participants and that a big part of their identity development has come through listening, through reading, through seeking out scholars and helping that information about faith become part of their own. If nothing else, I hope this search for wisdom and knowledge is something that can be re-established in our schools as part of the purpose (and need for) education. It's about teaching skills and building tools for lifelong learning, not just about minute details like how many children Bach had (17, by the way. 4 by his first wife who died young and 13 by his second. I did enjoy the music class and learning with Amira's guidance :D )
James 1: 18-19 By his own will he brought us into being through the word of truth, so that we should have first place among all his creatures. Remember this, my dear friends! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry.
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