Apprenticing Wise Interpreters

Abstract

Describe a successful classroom teaching tactic that could be replicated by other instructors. The context: I have used this strategy in classes on Christian scripture, but it could be replicated in classes on other religious texts (or non-religious texts). The pedagogical purpose: This exercise is designed to help students grow in interpretive wisdom by putting them in weekly “conversation” with three reading communities: with classmates and professor, with a contemporary, scholarly commentator, and with a pre-modern commentator. It assumes that growth in wisdom (1) is an essentially communal process, (2) requires apprenticeship to wise interpreters, and (3) that wisdom is as much caught as taught. Description of the strategy: Students complete a four-part interpretation worksheet. I assign this activity weekly for an extended period of the semester, but it could be used intermittently as well. Part 1: Students read an assigned text and record at least three notes on their worksheet. The notes should demonstrate attentive reading: purpose/result, verb tenses, chiasm, comparison, repetition, contrasts, conditional clauses, contextual allusions, etc. In class I facilitate a discussion while also sharing my observations. My goals are that students carefully attend to the passage and develop receptivity to the observations of others. Part 2: For the second class, students read a contemporary commentator on the same text and add at least three further notes to their worksheet. In class I work to help students form connections between their initial observations and those gained from the commentator. Parts 3 and 4: For the third class, students read a pre-modern interpreter and complete another set of notes on their worksheet. They also record at least three “final observations” which facilitates seeing connections and drawing together the week's three re-readings. Why it is effective: By apprenticing students to multiple interpretive communities this activity provides opportunities for students to develop interpretive wisdom, including: (1) honesty (recognizing presuppositions and prejudgments); (2) receptivity (encountering readings dissimilar to their own); and (3) patience (attending to the same text three times over encourages slow, attentive reading habits). Further, because this activity requires no specialized hermeneutical training or knowledge of ancient languages it is accessible for non-majors.