WAKEFIELD – Kathleen Pesta of The Prout School in Wakefield recently traveled to Cardiff, Wales to attend the World Religions Curriculum Conference hosted by the International Baccalaureate Organization.
Prout has been a member of the IBO since 1991, offering students the opportunity to participate in its rigorous academic program and to obtain an IB diploma. Currently there are 12 seniors and 18 juniors at Prout in the full diploma program and more than 125 students taking one or more IB courses. In addition to taking seven IB courses, diploma candidates must also complete 250 Creativity, Action, and Service Hours (CAS), take a central course entitled “Theory of Knowledge” and write a 3,000 word essay.
This is the second time Pesta, who has taught both English and religious studies for 25 years at Prout, has traveled to Wales for an IBO conference. The first time, participating teachers worked with IBO staff personnel to form a unified religion curriculum. On this visit, Pesta and four other teachers discussed aspects of the final paper in World Religions as well as methods of teaching the course. They also visited Atlantic College in Wales, where they participated in two classes, one on Buddhism and one on Christianity. Atlantic College is a school for students aged 16-19 from around the world, housed in a medieval castle most recently owned by the newspaper magnate Randolph Hearst.
Teachers in the World Religions Course have a choice of nine religions, from which they choose five to teach on a basic level and two to teach in-depth. Juniors in Pesta’s class study Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, and Islam as the shorter subjects and then return to Buddhism, along with Christianity, in their senior year for the in-depth section.
The IBO stresses critical thinking as well as an empathetic approach to various cultures and religious traditions. It aims to help students think of themselves as citizens of the world. However, it also seeks to expose students to the complex relationship between religion and culture, religion and politics, and religion and domestic and international conflict.
Part of the World Religions course entails visiting various places of worship and prayer. In the past, Pesta has taken students to the Hindu Lakshmi Temple in Ashland, MA; St. Joseph’s Trappist Abbey in Spencer, Ma; the Providence Zen Center of the Kwan Um School of Zen in Cumberland; Temple Sinai in Cranston; and St. Francis of Assisi Church in Wakefield. In addition, students have interviewed leaders of various faiths and attended services in traditions other than their own.
The final exams for IB students are sent directly to the schools from Cardiff, only a few days before the exams, and then immediately mailed to examiners around the world for grading. Pesta enjoys the challenge of not knowing exactly what will be on the exam and, therefore, not being able to “teach to the test.”
The three-day conference in Wales gave participants the opportunity to share ideas and to renew their enthusiasm for broadening their students’ horizons and helping them to better understand their brothers and sisters around the world.
