A spirituality of teaching, regardless of the subject matter, puts the central
emphasis on the student’s (and the teacher’s) continuing quest for a richly
textured interior life. It recognizes the pivotal communal nature of this activity
whenever it is undertaken in an educational setting. It encourages, at all
times, the development of a richer, more complete spirituality on the part of
individuals, one that reaches for a meaning far beyond the mere professional
mastery of the newest data, the freshest techniques, and the latest
technology. Most of all, a spirituality of teaching recognizes, in Fenton
Johnson’s words, that
faith is first among the cardinal virtues because everything proceeds
from it including and especially love. Faith is the leap into the
unknown – the entering into an action or a person knowing only
that you will emerge changed, with no preconceptions of what that