A reflective piece from Fr Colin.
From 2012 to 2016 I was privileged to be a parish priest in NZ. Our three children attended school there, and on the wall of my son’s class – front and centre – his teacher had placed a mere. The mere is a short, broad-bladed weapon used to strike an opponent, usually in the head. It is a traditional weapon of the Māori, and is also a symbol of Kaumātua, or chieftainship. Needless to say, there were very few disciplinary problems in my son’s class!
Within Christianity, there is a theology of space. It is too broad a subject to discuss in detail here, but there are threads of it we can briefly touch on. The church buidling, and its land, were a sanctuary in the medieval period. A criminal who was trying to escape capture could go to an important church to claim sanctuary and the sheriff was not allowed to arrest them. The shape of the church building has theological significance, as does the liturgical space within it and the fabric. Put basically, everything there contained has meaning and explanation. Pulpits, lecterns, even the sequence of lighting the candles on the altar has meaning meant to engage, speak to and edify the worshipper. The word shekinah is used to describe God’s presence dwelling among humankind, and although God is not perceived as ‘living’ in a church, there is something significant about holy spaces that have been prayed in for hundreds of years.
This begs the question about our ‘holy spaces’ where we teach. What do they contain? What do they say about us as teachers? Do they contain our preferences, or do they point to some higher good – whatever that may be? What do they say about the subject we teach, about values and what matters? But overall, are they safe spaces? Are they places of sanctuary where it is safe to learn, where freedom to unpack and formulate concepts can happen without fear, or judgement or reprisal? Surely, this must be the priority. Safety impacts growth. How will students learn if they don’t feel safe?
The Rev’d Colin Datchler
Megapedagogy 
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