I am a tutor with the 'Centre for Youth Ministry' in charge of a 'Professional Formation Group.' This is a role I love.
The group is about experiencing and helping the students to deliver 'group work' giving opportunities for reflecting on learning and practice, as well a safe place to question, challenge and think. I thoroughly enjoy seeing the students learn and grow, seeing their passion thrive at the same time as their theological thinking and their professional practice develops.
With the group that have just finished their two years with me we had a lot of conversations about 'theories' and the why, how and where of them. I described theories as the tools we keep in our toolbox, retrieving them to work in a situation where that 'tool' will help us analyse what was happening or take other people through a process of understanding.
I must have used this 'toolbox' metaphor quite a few times as for a leaving gift they bought me an actual hard hat to go with the metaphorical toolbox. Very chuffed with this!
And to the group ........................... thank you so much, I will miss you :-)
ahh i remember doing that at uni- i think we were all meant to come prepared with one theory each- i hadnt done the prep and completely blagged it creating the CLARE theory, bizarely the tutor bought it and it strangely people thought it made sense which is worrying!