Toward a Spiritual Curriculum

Abstract

Educators avoid the word spiritual. It makes them uncomfortable. This discomfort and avoidance betray the sad state of education today. We focus on outcomes rather than have students explore the fundamental questions of life. These questions include such issues as: What is the purpose of human life? What is our role in the universe? What is the nature of reality? How can we deal with human suffering? To be educated should mean that one has addressed these issues in the course of one's life. Of course, these questions cannot be answered through logical or direct means. We must explore and experience them through art, literature, science, and the various traditions and practices. Unfortunately, we do little of this in our schools or universities; instead, we cover material and solve problems. We fiddle, while Rome burns. It is admirable, then, that James Moffett has tackled the issue of spirituality in his book The Universal Schoolhouse: Spiritual Awakening Through Education. In this review we would like to focus on Moffett's approach to spiritual awakening and how he would like to see this occur within education.