So Much More: Learning to Teach and Teaching to Learn

I was born into a very strict religious group, and at the age of thirty-six, I left the group. After obtaining master's degrees in theology and humanities from Xavier University, I was invited to teach theology in the Weekend Degree Program to non-traditional students. For fourteen years I was privileged to teach Theological Foundations, into which I interwove much dialogue and critical thinking. For the first time in their lives, many of these young adults were "allowed" and encouraged to look critically at the belief systems they had been taught.

As we dialogued and opened our hearts and minds to each other, "miracles" would happen. A large percentage of my students told me that their lives were forever changed by these classes. Many of my professors and students begged me to write a book; so with that in mind, I have written this book to fill in some of things that I did not have time to share with the class. This is in no way a complete autobiography, but it is an effort to share more of my story with my students and with others who may be interested.