Michael Commane
For many years I taught German, English and Religious Knowledge at secondary school.
Sometimes I envied my fellow teachers who taught maths, insofar as their subject was clearly defined and not a matter of opinion.
More or less the same holds for teaching German grammar. I’d explain a point of grammar in class.
It was not an opinion but a fact. While it might be difficult to explain, it made no sense for a student to say they had a different opinion.
It was not an opinion but a fact. While it might be difficult to explain, it made no sense for a student to say they had a different opinion.
But when it comes to English there could well be discussion over issues in literature. What does T S Eliot mean when he writes in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: ‘I grow old…. I grow old/ I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled./Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?’
I remember a student in Sixth Year saying to me that his mother completely disagreed with my take on Eliot’s poem. It turned into a good discussion and it was an enjoyable class.
Literature involves discussion, as does religion and trying to talk about God. But what does the teacher in the Religious Education class say to the student who says: ‘I don’t believe in any of that’.
Literature involves discussion, as does religion and trying to talk about God. But what does the teacher in the Religious Education class say to the student who says: ‘I don’t believe in any of that’.
Why do people vote for a political party? Of course policy and ideas play a role but it’s never the full story. My views on political parties have changed as a result of people I have got to know who are members of various parties.
Two weeks ago I wrote a piece in a daily newspaper about the Eucharist. I was trying to make the point that the Eucharist is about communion and solidarity. I questioned the value of webcam Masses. In the following days people expressed their views on the piece. Some disagreed, others agreed.
There has been a furore over Donald Trump and his White House ramblings that disinfectant might be the answer to Covid-19. Some days later the Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan in an interview on Fox&Friends praised President Trump. He went on to say: ‘I really salute his leadership.’
He also said he admired the leadership of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. ‘Everybody has really come through, but the president has seemed particularly sensitive to the, what shall I say, to the feelings of the religious community.’
It could be a hunch on my part, it might have something to do with their policies but I’m no fan of either Dolan or Trump.
So when I see the archbishop praising a president, who says and behaves in a demeaning way, all it does is strengthen my dislike for the cardinal archbishop.
So when I see the archbishop praising a president, who says and behaves in a demeaning way, all it does is strengthen my dislike for the cardinal archbishop.
Is it that both Trump and Dolan are savvy politicians, who know the way the wind is blowing?
On April 25 on a conference call on Catholic education, which included Cardinal Dolan and two other US cardinals, Trump said: ‘I am the best [president] in the history of the Catholic Church.’
I’m wondering did any of the three cardinals respond to such a statement and if not why not?
Supporters of Trump and Dolan will naturally be delighted with the exchange between the two men and indeed, use it to strengthen their support for Trump and Dolan.
I’m back thinking of Eliot’s poem: ‘Do I dare/ Disturb the universe?/In a minute there is time/For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.’
There are no simple answers.
Strange world indeed.
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