The Joy (and Peace) of Not Knowing

“Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Tonight I’ve been thinking a lot about faith – any sort, mind you. Naturally, I tend to think about the nature of spiritual faith and how people seem to hang onto it. While it may be, as noted above, a conviction of things not seen, I do believe that for many believers, faith in a higher power is connected to something seen or experienced. It may be one’s awe in the incredible beauty found in nature. It may be the experience of holding one’s child for the first time. It may be because of some apparent divine intervention in one’s life. While we may hold onto faith in things unseen, I still believe there are connections to our lives and our experiences that influence and sustain that faith. After all, the Bible is full of stories of visions and events that help people restore and/or sustain their faith.

I’ve been thinking about this tonight because I’ve been trying very hard to count my blessings in the form of a first grade teacher. Now, more than ever, I realize how we cannot take good teachers for granted. Tonight was one of those nights where I NEEDED to think about all the good things that are happening in that first grade classroom. As I thought about it, I realized that much of what I “know” about Mrs. Wilson’s class is based upon “things not seen.”

For the most part, I do not know what goes on in Niamh’s classroom. I’ve seen the schedule. On parent night I got to see the cool morning work they do on the Smartboard, and I know the basic topics/objectives of the week because her teacher sends them to us. And the beautiful part of this is that I do not need to know. It isn’t important for me to have a play-by-play of the events as they unfold in that first grade classroom.

I don’t need to know that because of what I DO know:

• · I know my child runs to the car in the afternoon with a huge smile on her face. This tells me she’s spent the day in a warm and caring environment.
• · I know my child loves to read. She hasn’t missed a beat from the gains she made last year. More importantly, she WANTS to read. She loves showing us how much she has learned and how she is able to read “harder” books now.
• · I know my child is learning math. I don’t know this because of a mountain of worksheets. In fact, I’ve seen very few. Nothing could thrill me more. The fewer worksheets I see, the more I know she is actually LEARNING. Again, more importantly, she WANTS to do math. She asks to do math games and practice flashcards at home even though they’re not assigned homework. She doesn’t want to do it to “beat” someone else or because she is afraid she isn’t doing well on assessments in class. She thinks it’s FUN.
• · I know that in spite of all the pressures to teach only math and reading my child is learning a lot about science and social studies. Several times each night she gets a big grin on her face and says, “You know what????” and she follows it with a series of facts that she has learned.
• · I know that my child has the opportunity to think during the day. I hear her describe connections that she could only make if there is time that isn’t stuffed with competitions and other “noise.” Knowing how critical those connections are for Niamh’s overall understanding, I am thrilled that she has those moments to make connections. I see the ways in which simple experiences encourage those connections: a book she made about bridges – how wonderful! Her mind raced as she discussed each page with me; a simple sheet where she was asked to write down the years she found on pennies. This is such a simple exercise that led Niamh on all kinds of mental adventures.

I have faith in the kinds of experiences Mrs. Wilson is providing for my child. I appreciate the fact that I do not “see” what is going on. I think it means that Mrs. Wilson is there for the kids. She is focused on the right things. She is a tremendous steward of the discretionary space the school and district have given her.

While it’s a faith in the unseen, it’s not a blind faith. As E. O. Wilson warns,

“Blind faith, no matter how passionately expressed, will not suffice. Science for its part will test relentlessly every assumption about the human condition.”

I know enough about good teaching to have faith in the unseen. I SEE a great deal in the midst of that not known, and because of that, I KNOW, and, I am thankful.