Workingwithapassionate Creed (Booklet)

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Working with a Passionate Creed

© Norsworthy, B. E. (2009). Tauranga: ConsultEd Page 1

IntroductionThis article explores the relationship

between the way God has graced each

human being so that they contribute and

participate in His kingdom, and the

importance of understanding that sense

of purpose and calling in being an

effective and inspirational teacher.

Inspirational teachers know who they are, are vital and full of

passion. “They love to teach as a painter loves to paint, as a

writer loves to write, as a singer loves to sing. They have a

serious purpose and yet enjoy enormously what they do”

(Cronin, 1993, p. 2; italics added). This ‘serious purpose’ can

be described as a ‘calling’ or vocation. Within teacher

education literature it might be described within a Philosophy

of Education, or a Passionate Creed (LaBoskey, 1994). As

Intrator and Kunzman (2006, p. 16) wrote:

“Teachers who make a difference employ various

methods, and their success cannot be linked

merely to facility with a technique or a method.

Instead, the authors contend that a teacher’s

capacity to teach well is linked to a set of

ineffable, hard-to-codify qualities that often

become characterized as heart, passion, or

connectedness. These intricate qualities emerge

from the inner or core landscape of a teacher’s

life and represent the integral feature of inspired

and memorable teaching.”





Teachers are described as professionals. For a time, the

notion of ‘professional’ was linked to having a sense of

autonomy from outside influences due to the particular

knowledge and skill base owned by its members. However,

being professional requires a personal commitment to the

telos or purpose of the professional activity (Hall, 2001) and

involves intentionality. The word profession is a derivative of

‘profess’ from the Middle English, professen meaning ‘to take

vows’ and before that from Latin, professus, ‘to affirm

openly’. Thus the essence of profession could be described

as a committed choice to proclaim, or declare, in such a

manner as to lead to certain responses, behaviours or

choices. Inherent within ‘profess’ion is a sense of ownership,

of commitment. The professional may make decisions

informed by the best research available (Snook, 2000) not

because they are prescribed or the current bandwagon idea,but because they fit with the moral and ethical purposes

which motivate one’s very being and living (see Norsworthy,

2003). Vicki LaBoskey1 (1994, 1997) calls the basis for this

intentionality a ‘Passionate Creed’.

The work of Vicki LaBoskey

Vicki LaBoskey is passionate abouteffective teachers and their

commitment to social justice, care and

pedagogy. She studied student

teachers to see if there were particular

1 A passionate teacher educator at Mills College, California.

Figure 1: Vicki LaBoskey





characteristics that distinguished the more effective from the

less effective – particularly with reference to being reflective

about their work. Her study discriminated between student

teachers on the basis of the consistency with which they

reflected. LaBoskey refers to those who do not reflect

consistently as Commonsense Thinkers (1994, p. 27). These

are student teachers who, in her initial research, she

identified as either unable to engage in reflective activities, or

while able to engage they had beliefs, values, attitudes or

emotions that prevented or distorted the reflective process in

most situations. Such students tended to focus on questions

such as: What works? or How do I ….? In contrast, those who

do reflect consistently, described as Alert Novices,

demonstrated two characteristic tendencies. The first is that

they tended to “be guided by a strong belief ”; what LaBoskey

referred to as a ‘Passionate Creed’ – meaning they have apurpose, a rationale for, and a mission to accomplish in and

through their teaching. The second characteristic of Alert

Novices was their tendency to ask the question, “Why?”

According to LaBoskey (1994), these Alert Novices had the

cognitive ability and conducive beliefs, values, attitudes and

emotions, the capacity and the willingness to reflect (Haigh,

2000; Hill, 2000).

What is a Passionate Creed?

A passionate creed is the passionate motivation which you

recognise God has placed in your life. LaBoskey defines it as

follows; “ . . . a belief held with intensity that permeates the

teacher’s thoughts about his or her teaching.” (p. 97). From





my observation, while a Passionate Creed provides a certain

mission to accomplish in one’s teaching it is not necessarily

restricted to teaching. It is a “strong belief” or overarching

moral purpose which motivates you. For example, the ideas

in my Passionate Creed for teaching are also present when I

think about being a parent, researcher or writer.

Often you can discover what is important to you when you

think about what a ‘best teacher’ looks or sounds like. For

example, in Vicki LaBoskey’s book, Development of reflective practice: A study of preservice teachers, she reports about

some students and their passionate creeds.

Heather was committed to developing students who

were strong and able thinkers, to know their ideas and how

to express them – and therefore her teaching aimed at

teaching students how to think, not what to think. She saw

herself as a guide, a moderator and facilitator. An observer

watching Heather’s teaching noted the following in his

evaluation of her teaching: “ Underlying thread to her

teaching: students must learn to be active learners, must

learn that they are responsible for making meaning and

making decision s about rightness and wrongness of

interpretations” (pp. 91-92).

Laura was committed to multicultural education and

her passionate creed focused on reducing the oppression of

minority students and Third World peoples. Consequently

her teaching was strongly focused on literacy and “ facilitating

the acquisition of skills needed to make decisions and act

responsibly within society; fostering a student’s sense of self -





worth and dignity and the same in others” (p. 92). Laura

wanted to teach because teaching “is one of the few socially

responsible occupations that I know of where you can also

have a steady, liveable income. . . it is active and appeals to a

belief that people can learn and change” (p. 92). As you

would expect Laura was most concerned that her teaching

was meeting the different needs of students, but particularly

the minority students.

Denys was committed to promoting spontaneity andcreativity in the classroom. As you can imagine, his classroom

was less structured and he presented himself to students as a

co-learner. An observer wrote about Denys’s teaching, “ . . .

he likes to play with knowledge in the classroom, making the

atmosphere one of discovery, a ‘one never knows what may

happen’ kind of feeling” and “Denys’s greatest strength as a

teacher is his creativity, his ability to see things in unique

ways. . .He uses varied techniques in teaching, and shows

personal attention and sensitivity to his students “ (p. 94).

Don was committed to making classroom material

relevant to students’ lives and help in the development of

their self-esteem (p. 95). He thought it was very important to

be consistent. His classroom had structure – but it wasunderstood in terms of “good teaching makes material

extremely relevant and interesting to kids and important to

their daily lives and makes a real effort to tie things in, to

make sense of them in order to have some value” (p. 95). It

was very important to Don that he understand his students’

needs – educational and social.





Kim was committed to helping students be creative

problem solvers who care for one another and for their

environment. Her Passionate Creed focused on helping

“ produce a more thoughtful generation of individuals who will

creatively solve problems and care for

Mother Earth.” (p. 95).

Angela, a passionate student teacher I

have had the pleasure to know and who

is now in her second year of teachingwrote about her Passionate Creed while

a student teacher:

It shows my ability to articulate and

justify my reasons for teaching and

learning and captures it within a

simple statement; “To use my God -given gifts to

inspire and equip children to unlock and fulfil

their potential”. This statement is at the heart ofmy teaching philosophy and shapes the rest of

my beliefs as a teacher (as outlined in my

passionate creed). By having this document

written down, I am essentially accountable to the

things that I believe and strive to live up to these

standards and values in my classroom teaching

and other aspects of teaching and learning.

(Angela Captein, 2007, eportfolio)

In shaping this statement, Angela drew on the meaning of her

name, scriptures, favourite sayings. She was able to take

these commitments and explain how they looked like in the

classroom and what they meant for the process of teaching,

learning, behaviour guidance, planning and assessment. She

also did not see it as a finished work but wrote:





For those who are teachers, this notion of a Passionate Creed

is closely tied to the image of a good teacher. This mental

picture of a ‘good’ teacher inspires them to achieve a certain

way of teaching – including the way the classroom

environment was structured or designed. LaBoskey quotes

Elbaz’s (1983, p. 134) writing: “On this level, the teacher’s

feelings, values needs and beliefs combine as she forms

images of how teaching should be, and marshals experience,

theoretical knowledge, school folklore, to give substance tothese images.” However, these ideas are not just for

teachers. We see them operating in the life of:

Jesus - who wanted to do always act in a way that pleased

his father and to point people to Him (see John 10:37,

38; 12:45; 13:7; 14:7-10).

Paul the apostle – always presents himself as a servant ofChrist. This image of a servant shaped the way he

lived and worked – always seeking to please His

master and saviour, Jesus Christ.

Future Implications to Note: This document is a work in

progress and I am always willing to have my views and beliefs

challenged. I see this document like a piece of artwork that isalways being shaped with pieces being taken away and added

to. It may never be completely finished but the heart of it is

there to guide my teaching practice and I think the results can

be beautiful…like a painting!





Mother Teresa – Mary Poplin2, wrote about

Mother Teresa:

"The humility and clarity with which

Mother Teresa understood her task in life

was one of the most incredible things

about her. . . Nothing could sway her

from what God had called her to do. If

there was one characteristic of hers I desire, it

was her ability to know and to focus on her life's

purpose. She did not become confused, distractedor discouraged by criticisms or complements. She

remained able to hear clearly and respond

immediately to the voice of God". (2008, p. 92).

Mother Teresa believed she was “called by God

(she did not decide on her own) to go into the dark

holes of the poorest of the poor to do small things

with great love in order to bring Christ to the

poorest and the poorest to Christ.” (p. 13)

Because of this clarity her work was not diluted but

rather she concentrated on the focus God had

planted in her heart – leaving other work to those

called to that work. People would criticise her for

loving the individual poor but she would answer that

she had been called to feed, clothe, bathe and tend

the poorest of the poor. If she tried to do thingsoutside of her calling, she would be less effective in

the ‘little things” God had given her to do.

2 a teacher educator from California spent several months as a

volunteer at Shishu Bavan, or home for babies in what was then

known as Calcutta (now Kolkata)

Figure 2: Mother Teresa





Nelson Mandela – whose dream of freedom motivated and

sustained him in prison so that every day he exercised

and kept fit for that time when he would be freed and

able once again to work for other types of freedom –

freedom from indignity, from poverty,

Martin Luther King, Jr – was motivated by the image where

people were not judged by the colour of their skin

but by their character. Though the dream was very

different from the reality in which he lived, itmotivated and sustained him to live, and die, to bring

the dream to reality.

Each of these, and many others lived their life because of an

image they had in terms of their life purpose. And, for each

of the examples above, this life purpose, this ‘dream’ was

something which God had given them to do.

Two reasons for articulating a Passionate

Creed

In my work with teachers and student teachers, I have

observed two powerful reasons for working with Passionate

Creeds and taking the time to articulate them, write them

and revisit them. In the first instance writing a Passionate

Creed statement helps us to understand who God has made

us and in particular what aspect of His kingdom work he has

given us a passion for. The second reason is that questions

such as How can I do better ? or, How can I improve my

teaching? are meaningless unless we have a clear idea of





what our goal is and therefore what better might look, sound

or feel like. We now consider each of these in turn.

Each is unique, designed for God’s glory

The first of these two reasons relates to increasing our self-

awareness of God at work in the way he designed and called

us. As noted in Romans 1 verse 3: “For by the grace given me

I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly

than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober

judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has

given you” (NIV).

It is believed that “good teaching cannot be reduced to

technique; good teaching comes from the identity and

integrity of the teacher ” (Palmer, 1998, p. 10). In this quote

Palmer uses the word Identity to describe what he calls the

generic ‘irreducible mystery of being human”, but also,specifically, what it means to be ME, a specific human. He

further explores this notion

through the use of Integrity. He

writes: “Integrity is that which is

integral to one’s person – being

able to discern that which fits and

that which does not and thenchoosing life-giving ways (as

compared with ways which

fragment) of relating to the forces

that converge within, becoming

more whole, more real, as one acknowledges the whole of

‘who I am’ ” (ibid, p. 13). The Psalmist (Psalm 139) writes of





the wonder of being human and how completely God knows

us and how marvellously he designed us:

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my

mother's womb.

I praise you because I am

fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are

wonderful, I know that full well.When we read this together with Scriptures such as Psalm 8,

Jeremiah 29 verse 11; 2 Peter 1 verse 3, Psalm 20 verse 4 and

Psalm 37 verses 4 & 23; Romans 12, Ephesians 4; 1

Corinthians 12, we also realise that God has placed within

each of us specific ‘desires’, graces or ‘ways of being’ and

serving to bring Him glory. These work together so that, with

reliance on the grace of God, we contribute to the Kingdom

of God coming on earth (Matthew 6). It is why we are

different. Each of us is given something to do that shows

who God is (1 Corinthians 12 verse 7, The Message). Paul,

the apostle uses different lists to describe different ways we

experience the way God’s spirit gets worked into our lives. In

Ephesians 4 we read about different ways to serve or

minister, In Romans 12 we read about different functions or

motivations, and in 1 Corinthians 12 different expressions of

the spirit at work.

According to theological writers such

as Perry ‘Downs from Trinity

Evangelical Seminary in Chicago, even

Figure 4: Perry Downs

Figure 3:Amanda Patrick’s Psalm 139





the way we live out our Christianity will show a preference.

Perry speaks and writes of preferences towards mystical,

activist and cognitive expressions of faith. The person with a

mystical preference is the person who loves to be lost in the

presence of the lord, enjoys spiritual retreats, and tends to

find it easy to focus on personal devotions and long periods

of prayer. An activist preference is demonstrated in concern

for social justice. Social action is typically concerned with

social, structural and political sin. It looks at culture and sees

that the gospel critiques all cultures with which it engages.

The person with an activist preference is keen to be out on

the street putting his faith into action – feeding the poor and

sick, (meals on wheels), debating city council decisions in

terms of their benefit to people’s well-being, or finding

innovative ways to work with wayward youth or pregnant

teenagers. Those with a rationalist/cognitivist preferencetend to focus on the importance of thinking and may typically

be drawn to teaching rather than preaching. People with this

preference

may be

authors, or

philosophers.

We tend to

see the world

through our

preference

lens. But each

of these also





has a danger: The cognitivist may over value thinking and

ignore action, the mystic may over value experience and

individualistic expressions of worship and the activist may be

too busy doing and ‘acting’ at the horizontal (person to

person) level that they don’t take time to pray and relate to

God, or to read material to sustain and inspire them.

The point is that while we may understand our preferred way

of being, we are to seek to grow more and more to be like

Christ who is the perfect of expression of each and all.Understanding our preferences does not excuse us from

growing in grace and other expressions of the Spirit. But such

insight does help us understand our motivations and

tendencies.

The educational world recognises that people are different

too. It is full of different types of tests which indicate our

‘preferences’ and ‘strengths’. For example, the Keirsey-Bates

Personality test is well known and describes people in terms

of being a guardian, an idealist, a rational or an artisan.

Another well known Personality Test was developed by Isabel

Briggs Myers, and her mother, Katharine Briggs. “The essence

of the theory is that much seemingly random variation in the

behaviour is actually quite orderly and consistent, being dueto basic differences in the ways individuals prefer to use their

perception and judgment. Perception involves all the ways of

becoming aware of things, people, happenings, or ideas.

Judgment involves all the ways of coming to conclusions

about what has been perceived. If people differ systematically

in what they perceive and in how they reach conclusions, then





it is only reasonable for them to differ correspondingly in their

interests, reactions, values, motivations, and skills.3" Myers

Briggs describes people in terms of careers such as Architects,

Inventors, Builders, Supervisor, Inspectors, etc. Then there

are programmes such as “Strength Finder” which suggests

that people have “several times more potential for growth

when they invest energy in developing their strengths instead

of correcting their deficiencies” (Rath, 2007, p. i).

Some of these can help us understand the way God has madeus. They can also give insight to the way we relate and

respond to others. However, the trap might be that we

confuse the source of these strengths or think we can fulfil

our calling without reliance on God, and this is definitely not

the case. We are totally reliant on Him. In Deuteronomy 8,

especially verses 10 – 14; Moses is teaching the people that

no matter what blessings they have, or what achievements

they can claim, at the end of the day they are to be careful to

not forget that it is God who gives us everything – including

strengths, abilities and vision.

Parker Palmer (1998, p. 2) notes that “. . . knowing

myself is as crucial to good teaching as knowing my

students and my subject ”. One reason why this isso is that students learns as much from who we are

and how we behave as they do from the content

we provide (Norsworthy, 2007; Wilson, 1990).

3 Downloaded from http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-

personality-type/mbti-basics/

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/










Increasing our self-awareness of God’s design and plan for us

helps us make decisions about what to be involved in, and

what to say no to. We know we cannot do everything and

sometimes we find it difficult to choose. However, by

understanding those things that are our treasure and gift to

offer to God as a sacrifice- helps us to discern and to make

decisions in our everyday living.

The importance of writing your Passionate Creed

The second reason for articulating and writing a Passionate

Creed statement mirrors the scriptures which clearly indicate

the importance of having a vision (Proverbs 29 verse 18) and

of writing and articulating it (Habakkuk 2 verse 2). The verse

in Habakkuk highlights the importance of writing the vision

clearly or plainly so it can be easily read and lived. This is why

we suggest that teachers try and capture their Passionate

Creed in one or two simple sentences. It is not easy to do –

but once it is done it is wonderful to work with. It helps us to

be clearly focused on the task which God has ordained for us

in order that we may be faithful to that calling.

“The importance of developing a Passionate

Creed, or “critical rationale to guide their

practice” (Brookfield, 1990, p. xvii) for different

course work components should not be

underestimated. Without such, there is no sense

of direction and purpose, or “sense of where they

are going and why it is important to get there”

(ibid). Without this interrelated sense of

personal, teleological, professional, and

pedagogical purpose, reflection remains

paralysed by questions such as: What worked





well? and What can I do better next time? Such

questions are actually meaningless without a

purpose and reason by which to determine anunderstanding of ‘better’. To have a teleological

mirror as one of those which generates questions

to ask of the pre-service teachers provides the

possibility of the type of connectedness which

appears to be critical.” (Norsworthy, in press).

Discovering your Passionate Creed

One aspect of knowing our calling is to know our spiritualgifts, desires, opportunities and special skills. But also, we

learn of our call from those ‘things’ –

words, experiences or observations -

which cause us to be upset – not in a

superficial manner – but to the depth of

our soul. For some, such as William

Wilberforce this was slavery, for MotherTeresa this was the lack of dignity

afforded the poorest of the poor, for

others it might be the deforestation in

their local environment, or the indignity

shown to the elderly, or the child in the womb. For some, it

is about equal access to educational opportunities, or care for

the disabled. It is not that we should not all care for eachperson – but God has designed us with very special concern

for specific issues – and that is one reason why we all need to

work together. Here are some ideas that can help you

identify and craft your own Passionate Creed statement.

Figure 5: William

Wilberforce





1. What is your image of a great teacher? What are

their characteristics? How do they talk to their

students? What are their goals? What types of

lessons or assessments do they design?

2. What makes you righteously angry – when you hear

or read the news – what catches your attention more

than others?

3. If you are asked to name your favourite scriptures –

what is the theme that holds them together?

4. Who are your role models – local, international,

present and historical – what do they have in

common?

5. Do you have some favourite proverbs, whakatauki or

sayings – can you see a theme in these?

First of all sit down and write answers or make jottings in

response to the above prompts. Once you have done this

then prayerfully work with the ideas and bring them together

into a paragraph or two. Then capture the key ideas in one

sentence. Once you have done this, you can think about how

the ideas you have captured in your Passionate Creed

statement work out into your teaching. As you do this – you

will have the basis for a Philosophy of Education – and a basis

for deciding what is effective education and what is ‘better’.

Conclusion

Effective teaching is intentional. Each aspect of the

reciprocal teaching and learning process is shaped to lead to

maximum learner engagement and connection. This process





is enhanced when the teacher is guided and informed by a

clear Passionate Creed. Such clarity helps us to understand

how who we are informs our teaching. It influences our goal

setting and most importantly the willingness to persist at

pursuing these goals. This knowledge and insight is

particularly important in terms of our resilience – our

willingness to persist longer when things don't go well; to

explore other strategies with students who struggle – if one

approach doesn't work teachers who have a clear

understanding of their motivating Passionate Creed will try

another and another until the student connects and

understands.

A person who really knows and believes something

understands it and lives by it. It becomes part of them and the

way they view the world (Hansen, 2001, p. 56).





ReferencesCronin, T. E. (1993). Excellence Retrieved 26 March, 2000,

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http://www.whitman.edu/admission/excellence.cfm

Hall, A. (2001). Professionalism and teacher ethics. In C.

McGee & D. Fraser (Eds.), The professional practice of

teaching (2nd ed., pp. 273-300). Palmerston North:

Dunmore Press.

Hansen, D. T. (2001). Exploring the moral heart of teaching:

Toward a teacher's creed . New York: Teachers CollegePress.

Hill, L. (2000). Theory, practice and reflection: A pre-service

primary mathematics education programme. Teachers

and Teaching: theory and practice, 6(1), 23-39.

Intrator, S., & Kunzman, R. (2006). The person in the

profession: Renewing teacher vitality through

professional development. The Educational Forum,

71(16-29).LaBoskey, V. K. (1994). Development of reflective practice: A

study of preservice teachers. London: Teachers' College

Press.

LaBoskey, V. K. (1997). Teaching to teach with purpose and

passion: Pedagogy for reflective practice. In J. Loughran

& T. Russell (Eds.), Teaching about teaching: Purpose,

passion and pedagogy in teacher education (pp. 150-

163). London: Falmer Press.Norsworthy, B. (2003). Teaching - profession or practice? In

D. Fraser & R. Openshaw (Eds.), Informing our practice.

Selections from the 2002 TEFANZ Conference,

Wellington, New Zealand (pp. 59-76). Palmerston

North: Kanuka Grove Press.




Norsworthy, B. (2007). Pedagogy as person: Relational and

transformative teachers. Christian School Education

10(3), 32-35.Norsworthy, B. E. (2009, in press). Effecting change in pre-

service teachers' reflectivity. Action in Teacher

Education, the Journal of the Association of Teacher

Educators, 31(2).

Palmer, P. J. (1998). The courage to teach : Exploring the inner

landscape of a teacher's life (1st ed.). San Francisco,

California: Jossey-Bass.

Poplin, M. (2008). Finding Calcutta: What Mother Teresa

taught me about meaningful work and service.

Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Books.

Rath, T. (2007). Strengths Finder 2.0. New York: Gallop Press.

Snook, I. (2000). Teacher education: preparation for a learned

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Christchurch: Canterbury University Press.

Wilson, S. (1990). The secret garden of teacher education.

Phi Delta Kappan. November , 204-209.

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