edenfalling | Mar. 22nd, 2009

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Mar. 22nd, 2009

Happy birthday,

lasultrix!

---------------

Last week was the final OWL class, so we started the regular Spirit Play curriculum again this week. We have a team of 5 teachers this semester (5!), so we worked out a schedule for lead and assistants; this week, I was assistant to Bob's lead.

Today's lesson was "How Ganesh Got His Elephant Head," which is an interesting story. The thing is... Um. How to put this. Okay, so it's not as if I'm any expert on India or Hinduism -- far from it! -- but Bob apparently knows even less than I do. (I tend to think of myself as relatively ignorant about the world beyond America, so I am always unpleasantly surprised to realize that I may actually know more than at least 90% of my fellow Americans.) He wasn't overtly negative about the lesson, but he did say things like, "This is different from normal stories," thereby implying that Hinduism is somehow abnormal and less true/valid/important than secular western culture, and he compared Hinduism to Greek mythology, which... okay, yes, there are parallels, but the Greek pantheon is basically dead whereas Hinduism is vibrant, alive, and HUGE.

Also, the point he was specifically talking about is when Shiva kills Ganesh by cutting off his head. And all I could think was, "Obviously you haven't read the Bible or the uncensored versions of fairy-tales, if you think that sort of violence and death is anything unusual."

I know I have a terrible habit of taking over lessons because I always think I know how to explain things and tell stories better than anyone else, so I was metaphorically sitting on my hands trying not to say, "Um, no, you're wrong and this is why," because that destroys classroom order.

And yet, saying nothing would be just as bad. So I did try to sort of talk around the edges of what Bob said, noting that this was a story from India, so while it may seem odd in Ithaca it's perfectly normal there, and that Ganesh is worshiped here and now and often -- he's not 'exotic,' he's a god of everyday life, a friendly god -- but I have a terrible feeling that wasn't enough.

...

Damn it.

Current Mood: upset
Current Location: home

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Spirit Play, week 21

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