Valuing Education
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
August 7, 2022
Welcome to Light Reflections, this week our scripture is one of the many proverbs in scripture. It is from Proverbs 18 verse 15, and I am reading it from the Message Translation.
Wise men and women are always learning,
always listening for fresh insights.
This week, many of us are thinking about school – especially as most children, youth, teachers, educators, and administrators headed back to the classroom this week in Indy. While I was growing up, the first day back always entailed a lot of anticipation, anxiety, stories of summer trips, and yes exhaustion from usually sleeping in until noon for the prior two months.
Thinking back, most of my memories from the first days back to school are rather boring. I remember having typical issues with my locker combination, going to the wrong classroom one time, and in jr. high deciding to wear way too much of my new school clothing on the first day of school and almost over heating since it was in the upper 80s and we had no air conditioning – but boy was I styling in my Coca-Cola long-sleeve shirt, jeans and new denim jacket on the last week of August in Indiana. (Most of high school our son, Lewis wore shorts, even when it was 23 degrees and snowing.)
But not all First days of school are typical, let me read you some stories people shared from allmomdoes.com.
“When my son started first grade, he forgot to get off the bus on his way home. When the bus driver finished his route, he asked him where he lived and he said he didn’t know!”
“My first day of kindergarten had been such a fun and exciting day, and I’d met a little boy who was my new friend. I was so wound up and excited on the way home on the bus that I threw up on him… In my favorite striped tights!”
“On my son’s first day of riding the school bus, he fell asleep and didn’t get off the bus! The bus went back to the garage! I called the school to let them know that he never got off the bus and the bus driver went to the back of the bus and found him sound asleep!”
“I remember my mom always telling me to wear underwear in case you got in an accident. So, when I started grade one or two I didn’t wear any and decided to play on the monkey bars! The teacher brought me in to ask me why I wasn’t wearing any and I told her that I didn’t want to get in an accident and miss school.”
As I was reading these stories, I was struck by a memory I had tried to forget from my first day of high school. The first day of high school is full of so many anxieties, but I was confidently going to take my new high school by storm. I dressed up for the first day as a freshmen, looked very preppy – as we said back then, had my backpack and tennis bag for practice after school, and was determined to get to my locker and hang out with some friends for a while before my first class.
But as I was heading in, I decided I better use the restroom before starting my day. Thinking on my feet, I chose to use the restroom across from the counseling services and the Vice Principal’s office since it would be low traffic. I proceeded in and found it completely empty. Never being in this restroom before, I was taken-a-back by the round trough-style urinal in the middle of the room (please note: I was completely unaware of the wall-style urinals on the wall directly behind me). As I am taking care of business, the Vice Principal of all people comes in, gives me the weirdest look, and simply steps on the bar on the floor around what I thought was the round urinal and begins to wash his hands.
In my horror, I finished, looked around and realized there were no sinks. The Vice Principal smiled and said, “First Day of High School?” I answered “yep” and ran out as quick as possible.
Now, let’s get a bit more serious. Education is vitally important in our world, today. It has always been vitally important to Quakers as well.
Even though Quakers would never say that education alone was sufficient to make anyone a minister (which we all are), it has always had an important role in the Society of Friends.
In many ways, early Quakers were blazing a trail for providing education for all people. George Fox advised in his day that schools should be provided for both “girls and young maidens” as well as for boys, “in whatever things were civil and useful in the creation.”
William Penn also held and expressed at length advanced views on the importance of right methods and aims in the education of children.
Private Schools were opened in Pennsylvania as early as 1683, but with Penn’s work Friends opened public schools in Philadelphia as early as 1689 for all people, even girls, Native Americans, immigrants, and former slaves. They believed from the outset that schools could nurture ‘that of God’ in everyone and should therefore be available to all.
But I would be remiss, if I did not say that not all schools had the intentions that Penn wanted, some became elitist, others became anything but public, and some were no different than the Native Boarding Schools Pope Francis has been asking forgiveness from among the Native Americans and Indigenous people of Canada. This was wrong, and we too must acknowledge our involvement.
Yet, Penn’s original intentions and his public schools put Friends on the cutting edge of the development of educational opportunities and standards in the United States. Actually, the Quaker elementary and secondary schools in several states are still today considered the forerunners of the public school system. My wife, Sue, a public school teacher, often goes to conferences where she learns about the Quaker influence and foundations for Public Schools right here in Indiana.
One of the reasons, I believe this is so important, not just because I am married to a public school teacher, is because education to Quakers was originally intended to be holistic, to teach critical thinking, to help people engage with the planet, their communities, their neighbors, and their experience with God.
For the last week, I have been putting together our Fall Sermon Series. While looking specifically at the set of queries offered to us in our Faith and Practice, I turned to a section titled, “Education.” I rarely quote from our Faith and Practice for multiple reasons, but this day, I was drawn to a quote under the sub-heading the “Aim of Education.” It begins with this line from London Yearly Meeting in 1924:
The aim of education is the full and harmonious development of the
resources of the human spirit.
This sounds much like what Nobel Prize in Literature winner Rabindranath Tagore said almost the same year Quakers wrote that statement in London. He said,
“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information
but makes our life in harmony with all existence.”
Let’s be honest, education is about way more than taking tests, getting degrees, and for that matter it is more than a vocation or even a career. As the London Yearly Meeting concluded,
“The person whose mind is many sided has a special contribution to make to the solution of the complex personal and social problems of modern life.”
Now, obviously, we are a Meeting and not a public school, but I believe First Friends is dedicated to developing that “many sided mind” for the sake of our neighbors and world.
From early on, the Quaker understanding of education has had some common characteristics that I believe we need to return to, embrace again, and even instill in our lives and in the lives of our children (and adults), today.
To become people with “many sided minds” that can contribute and make needed changes to the complex personal and social problems of current times, we need to be people who are willing to
Learn through inquiry – this begins with what I talked about last week in my sermon – asking ourselves and our neighbors queries that prompt us to go deeper and even wrestle with our beliefs. One of the best people I know at this is Beth Henricks, our associate pastor. She is always asking questions in meetings and conversations. Sometimes, it surprises me, but it always leads to more knowledge.
It also means being willing to learn new things – like our friend, Kent Farr who told us last week he ordered a text-book on dinosaurs. You and I need to be continual learners, constantly asking questions, wanting to know what, when, how, and why, instead of blindly following people, especially politicians, authorities, yes, even your pastor. I know you don’t always agree with me, but when you don’t I hope you take the time to inquire about why?
We also need to be people who learn through reflection. This also has something to do with last week’s message. To reflectively learn means to take time to analyze your own beliefs and experiences. To test what you know and what you think you know. Taking time for reflection may happen through waiting worship, or through times of silence and solitude, retreats, even moments of pause. I know for me; I like to turn off the car radio on occasion and reflect on my commute.
As well, we need to learn through collaboration or working together. Often Quakerism can be seen as a very individualistic society. Yet, I believe our greatest learning opportunities arise when we interact and collaborate with people, especially those different than us – and let’s admit it – EVERYONE is different than us.
We all have differing views, beliefs, and experiences. Sure, we have similarities and at time stark contrasts, but when we take the time to really get to know our neighbors and fellow friends, things begin to change. It is part of that harmonious aspect Quakers sought. We must admit that part of the process of educating ourselves is being able to acknowledge our differences AND challenge one another to new possibilities.
We also need to learn through service. As I was reflecting about my high school days this week, I also remembered all the service events I took part in during high school. From drywalling apartments in South Carolina for the Daughters of the Confederacy with my youth group after a hurricane destroyed their homes to building a playground at our church camp that still is standing today for families to enjoy. Each time we serve, make a meal for someone, drive someone to an appointment, clean the snow off someone’s driveway, serve at the food pantry, you name it, we learn something about ourselves and about others.
This then leads to one of the most important aspects - building a culture of respect for all people. I continue to hear that America has lost its culture of respect and when I turn on the news and watch what is going on around me, it is hard not to agree.
Yet, when I see something lost or missing in our world, my first response is we need to teach this again. This also I believe is the Quaker Way.
Building respect takes time, and as a society of friends we need to lead by example in our world, today.
To learn a culture of respect begins with being willing to, at the least, listening to one another.
And to grow that respect will also take learning to care for people and help them.
And as one of my mentors taught me – respect comes when you encourage people to be themselves instead of trying to change them into what you want.
Too often the church has done just that, and it has left us asking for forgiveness one too many times.
I sense that if we committed to just those three things this week – listening, caring, and encouraging people to be themselves, we would begin to see the change needed in our world, today.
Let me stop there this week and let’s take some time to ponder how we can continue to educate ourselves and be an example to our world. Ask yourself:
What questions do I need to be asking about life?
When do I find time to pause and reflect?
Who could I work alongside and collaborate with?
Who should I be serving, caring for, and helping?
And how am I helping create a culture of respect at First Friends, in my family, and in my community?
Let us ponder these queries as we enter waiting worship this morning.