Vladyka Seraphim: /* Teaching teachers and designing curricula, 1970 */

2024-10-26T01:28:21Z

Teaching teachers and designing curricula, 1970

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:28, 26 October 2024
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	In 1970, Connie began teaching religious education and related elective courses at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, and she taught a whole generation of students there. Many of these students are women and men from [https://www.britannica.com/place/Canada Canada], and who returned to Canada to serve the Church there. She also served for many years as the Director of the [http://dce.oca.org/ Department of Religious Education] for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Church_in_America The Orthodox Church in America].		In 1970, Connie began teaching religious education and related elective courses at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, and she taught a whole generation of students there. Many of these students are women and men from [https://www.britannica.com/place/Canada Canada], and who returned to Canada to serve the Church there. She also served for many years as the Director of the [http://dce.oca.org/ Department of Religious Education] for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Church_in_America The Orthodox Church in America].

	Connie Tarasar made major contributions to the development of the Orthodox Christian religious education curriculum in the USA setting. This is likely her largest and greatest contribution. It would be difficult to find anyone who published more curricula over a longer period of time in the Orthodox community, or who reflected as much as she did on how best to go about it. Late in her time of active service, Connie spearheaded a broad-based initiative, called “[https://www.oca.org/news/archived/hundreds-participate-in-pre-council-vespers-workshops FOCUS]”, which developed a generalised curriculum for each major liturgical event of the year, such as [https://orthodoxwiki.org/Pascha Pascha], [https://orthodoxwiki.org/Nativity, Nativity], [https://orthodoxwiki.org/Theophany, Theophany] and [https://orthodoxwiki.org/Holy_Week Holy Week]. The intention was to fashion a set of resources which would be adaptable for the widest use : by parishes, families, adults, teens, children, etc. Connie was also involved in helping to bring Orthodox education “online” on the internet. A good number of curricular materials are now available in that format, complete with “chat-rooms” and supplemental materials. It may be said that curriculum development was truly ~~Connie's~~ life's work. It was also the primary lens through which she understood her role as a religious educator.		Connie Tarasar made major contributions to the development of the Orthodox Christian religious education curriculum in the USA setting. This is likely her largest and greatest contribution. It would be difficult to find anyone who published more curricula over a longer period of time in the Orthodox community, or who reflected as much as she did on how best to go about it. Late in her time of active service, Connie spearheaded a broad-based initiative, called “[https://www.oca.org/news/archived/hundreds-participate-in-pre-council-vespers-workshops FOCUS]”, which developed a generalised curriculum for each major liturgical event of the year, such as [https://orthodoxwiki.org/Pascha Pascha], [https://orthodoxwiki.org/Nativity, Nativity], [https://orthodoxwiki.org/Theophany, Theophany] and [https://orthodoxwiki.org/Holy_Week Holy Week]. The intention was to fashion a set of resources which would be adaptable for the widest use : by parishes, families, adults, teens, children, etc. Connie was also involved in helping to bring Orthodox education “online” on the internet. A good number of curricular materials are now available in that format, complete with “chat-rooms” and supplemental materials. It may be said that curriculum development was truly Connie’s life's work. It was also the primary lens through which she understood her role as a religious educator.

	In 2002, during the last preparation for the [https://www.oca.org/history-archives/aacs/the-13th-all-american-council 13th All-American Council] of the OCA, Connie presented to a "workshop" meeting the OCA’s "FOCUS Curriculum", an internet-based programme that offers over 2,000 pages of educational materials, lesson plans, and background materials for use in parish religious education courses.

	Connie's guiding principles with regard to curriculum development may be summarised as follows : curriculum must be integrally tied to the liturgical life of the Church. Curriculum should be holistic and integrated, both in itself and in how it engages students. It is not enough, Connie opines, to get a few good themes right. Rather, one must order the specifics rightly within the context of a larger whole. With regard to curriculum design, she suggested 2 frameworks to help with this ordering : a) the Church in history ; b) the sanctification of time and life. The Church in history focuses on the development and refinement of Church life and its liturgical cycles, on the key events of salvation history, on the Biblical narrative, on the lives of the saints, and similar topics. The sanctification of time and life focuses more upon the “here and now”, on the personal appropriation of Tradition, on the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, on the importance of authentic spiritual growth and life, etc. Because of the importance of attending to these multiple contexts at once, curricula must be quite “broad-based". This means that the curricula must in some way keep all these elements (and others as well) in mind, because all the elements are inter-related.		[[File:Constance Tarasar 1974 1.png]] '''Connie Tarasar speaking, Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, 1974'''


			In 2002, during the last preparation for the [https://www.oca.org/history-archives/aacs/the-13th-all-american-council 13th All-American Council] of the OCA, Connie presented to a “workshop” meeting the OCA’s “FOCUS Curriculum”, an internet-based programme that offers over 2,000 pages of educational materials, lesson plans, and background materials for use in parish religious education courses.

			Connie’s guiding principles with regard to curriculum development may be summarised as follows : curriculum must be integrally tied to the liturgical life of the Church. Curriculum should be holistic and integrated, both in itself and in how it engages students. It is not enough, Connie opines, to get a few good themes right. Rather, one must order the specifics rightly within the context of a larger whole. With regard to curriculum design, she suggested 2 frameworks to help with this ordering : a) the Church in history ; b) the sanctification of time and life. The Church in history focuses on the development and refinement of Church life and its liturgical cycles, on the key events of salvation history, on the Biblical narrative, on the lives of the saints, and similar topics. The sanctification of time and life focuses more upon the “here and now”, on the personal appropriation of Tradition, on the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, on the importance of authentic spiritual growth and life, etc. Because of the importance of attending to these multiple contexts at once, curricula must be quite “broad-based". This means that the curricula must in some way keep all these elements (and others as well) in mind, because all the elements are inter-related.

	Connie was insistent that a curriculum should be developmentally sound (i.e., age-appropriate). In emphasising this point, Connie clearly suggested the more general principle that curriculum should incorporate insights from modern educational theory. To this end, her students at Saint Vladimir’s regularly read the works of the major peronalities in developmental psychology and religious education ([http://people.bu.edu/wwildman/relexp/reviews/review_fowler01.htm#:~:text=Stages%20of%20Faith%3A%20The%20Psychology,of%20the%20psychology%20of%20religion. James W Fowler], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget Jean Piaget], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Erikson Erik Erikson], [https://www.britannica.com/science/Lawrence-Kohlbergs-stages-of-moral-development). Lawrence Kohlberg]).		Connie was insistent that a curriculum should be developmentally sound (i.e., age-appropriate). In emphasising this point, Connie clearly suggested the more general principle that curriculum should incorporate insights from modern educational theory. To this end, her students at Saint Vladimir’s regularly read the works of the major peronalities in developmental psychology and religious education ([http://people.bu.edu/wwildman/relexp/reviews/review_fowler01.htm#:~:text=Stages%20of%20Faith%3A%20The%20Psychology,of%20the%20psychology%20of%20religion. James W Fowler], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget Jean Piaget], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Erikson Erik Erikson], [https://www.britannica.com/science/Lawrence-Kohlbergs-stages-of-moral-development). Lawrence Kohlberg]).

Vladyka Seraphim: /* References */

2024-06-23T23:40:28Z

References

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:40, 23 June 2024
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	[http://www.svots.edu/headlines/dr-constance-tarasar-alumna-and-education-pioneer-reposes Saint Vladimir's Seminary obituary]		[http://www.svots.edu/headlines/dr-constance-tarasar-alumna-and-education-pioneer-reposes Saint Vladimir's Seminary obituary]

	[https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/constance-tarasar-obituary?pid=173118506 Funeral Home obituary in the ~~"Saint~~ Cloud ~~Times"~~]		[https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/constance-tarasar-obituary?pid=173118506 Funeral Home obituary in the “Saint Cloud Times”]


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	[https://www.biola.edu/talbot/ce20/database/constance-tarasar Biola University Database : Christian Educators of the 20th Century]		[https://www.biola.edu/talbot/ce20/database/constance-tarasar Biola University Database : Christian Educators of the 20th Century]

	[https://digi.svots.edu/index.php/tarasar-constance Audio : ~~"Religious~~ Education ~~Today"~~ (C J Tarasar introduced by Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko)]		[https://digi.svots.edu/index.php/tarasar-constance Audio : “Religious Education Today” (C J Tarasar introduced by Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko)]

	[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/138556929 Findagrave listing]		[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/138556929 Findagrave listing]
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	~~Please send your suggestions, additions, corrections or contributions to this address :~~

	~~info@orthodoxcanada.ca~~



	[[Category:Lay-persons]] [[Category:ROGCCNA]] [[Category:OCA]]		[[Category:Lay-persons]] [[Category:ROGCCNA]] [[Category:OCA]]

Vladyka Seraphim: /* References */

2024-04-09T16:28:11Z

References

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Constance J Tarasar - Revision history

Vladyka Seraphim: /* Teaching teachers and designing curricula, 1970 */

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