“The youth I know don’t come to school with a desire to learn how to pass a test—they come to engage issues and one another on matters that stir their intellect, rouse their sense of purpose, and connect them with concerns they understand as ultimate. While many may not bring their pencils or even their homework to school (!), they are always bringing their faith and their need to imagine and create” (Toshalis, 2008, 200).

Having previously taught in public schools in Virginia, I was made to understand that anything religion-related was taboo in the classroom. Therefore, I really appreciated this chapter’s almost startling approach to addressing spirituality in school, without valuing or promoting one religion over others or over the absence of one. As a young adult, I still question the existence of God and the meaning of religion and life, and Toshalis’s argument for the faith-friendly classroom and discussion makes me wonder what my belief system would be like now if someone had facilitated these conversations when I was an adolescent. I attended the same independent private school for fourteen years. While our school was technically nondenominational, sometimes its American protestant roots would show: at certain ceremonies that are now 116 years old, such as Convocation, we would say certain benedictions, the Pledge of Allegiance is still recited today, and Religion is an elective class offered by the school’s Chaplin. Although no students were ever pressured to participate in these events, I reflect and wonder what my Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, and atheist counterparts felt during these “traditional” times. Toshalis’s article taught me the importance, as a teacher, of providing a classroom community that provides students a sense of belonging, but also of recognizing that adolescents need to go through individuation and separation in order to discover identify and self. Teens can’t help being obnoxious and self-absorbed: “…narcissism is really an expression of hope” (Toshalis, 195). It’s just part of their process! Giving students an opportunity to discuss spirituality can be done without violating separation of church and state and prevents isolation because it allows teens to see that they are not alone in their struggles to shape themselves. These may be tricky conversations to facilitate, but I would love to learn more and put them to the test in the classroom.