Showing How: The Act of Teaching [Paperback]

Gabriel Moran (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1997

This book is thoroughly original work on the meaning of teaching by one who has been widely credited with reshaping the field of religious education in the United States, and to have had a significant effect also in many other countries. Despite a steady flow of books that have “teaching” in the title, nearly all of them leave out most of the story. In Showing How, Gabriel Moran presents the full story of the act of teaching. Part 1 establishes a fundamental meaning for “to teach,” examining why there exists a deep-seated fear that teaching is an immoral act. Professor Moran then grounds the meaning of “to teach in its most basic forms, moving from examples in the nonhuman world (what the mountain teaches the mountain climber) to communal and nonverbal forms of teaching among humans. Part 2 explores the languages of teaching and the diverse forms of speech appropriate to teaching; rhetorical forms, including storytelling and preaching; therapeutic languages; and religion'’ preservation of these languages in ritualized settings, including confessing and mourning. Part 3 draws out the implications for education, the school, and the teaching of morality. Showing How addresses not only schoolteachers but parents, counselors, ministers, administrators, and everyone who can recognize teaching as a fundamental human act. By exposing the root meaning of teaching, the book represents a challenge to any proposals for educational reform. Gabriel Moran is Professor and Director of Religious Education in the Department of Culture and Communication, New York University. He is the author of sixteen books, including Uniqueness: Problem or Paradox in Jewish and Christian Traditions and A Grammar of Responsibility.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Showing How achieves Moran's hope of opening a conversation about teaching." —Readings

"A fascinating and challenging book, one that should be of interest to anyone who finds him- or herself teaching religion." —Peter C. Hodgson, reviewing for Religious Studies Review, October 1997 (Religious Studies Review )

"...a provocative, absorbing book...Moran's book is a gift to the imagination and to the knowledge of teachers in the pulpit, the classroom, the committee meeting, and the counseling session. The book is analogous to the water's way of teaching someone to swim; to be with Moran and in his thought is to know our bodies, minds, and spirits to be both challenged and supported as we try to be faithful to the holy calling of teaching." —The Princeton Seminary Bulletin (Freda A. Gardner, Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Seminary Bulletin, The )

"...a provocative, absorbing book...Moran's book is a gift to the imagination and to the knowledge of teachers in the pulpit, the classroom, the committee meeting, and the counseling session. The book is analogous to the water's way of teaching someone to swim; to be with Moran and in his thought is to know our bodies, minds, and spirits to be both challenged and supported as we try to be faithful to the holy calling of teaching." —The Princeton Seminary Bulletin (, Princeton Seminary Bulletin, The )

About the Author

Gabriel Moran is Professor and Director of Religious Education in the Department of Culture and Communication, New York University. He is the author of sixteen books, including Uniqueness: Problem or Paradox in Jewish and Christian Traditions and A Grammar of Responsibility.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Trinity Press Int'l (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563381877
• ISBN-13: 978-1563381874
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #748,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contextually Not Impressed, January 10, 2005

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Melekali - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Showing How: The Act of Teaching (Paperback)

Guess my being the 1st reviewer may be a tip off that this isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread. Then again, I had to buy it for my Master's and I had 10 other books calling my name, three of which I found so intersting and relevant that this one took a back seat because the others were so fantastic.

Of course, how many teachers are out there who want a religiously orientated book? I'm really not sure. If you do fit in this category, you may want to try it out. What's the worst that could possibly happen? You tell everyone it was a waste and ignore the author completely?