nurturing servant leaders in religious education - Scholarly ...

An essential element of obtaining knowledge is being able to use it in effective ways.
Freire (1970) describes this use of knowledge as critical thinking, meaning people are
able to effectively use their knowledge to learn how to think for themselves, to
empower themselves to make a difference in their environment. With knowledge
there is the tendency for what he terms the “banking” mode to dominate, that in which
knowledge is given, and stored by the recipient without thought for how that
knowledge could then be used beyond its immediate context. Looking beyond
banking knowledge, growth in the garden could be enhanced as knowledge is used in
relationships with other plants and the soil, seeking to enrich both in the long term.
Canopy: The examples of others
The canopy is the layer of foliage covering what grows underneath it from the harsh
effects of weather, the seasons, etc… The canopy is made up of plants, trees and life
that have grown to a certain stage of maturity and can offer guidance and shade to
those that need rest, and serve as examples of strong growth.
Participants indicated the examples of others as strong influences on their
understanding of servant leadership. Participants described exemplars as people they
looked up to as sources of inspiration. Although set apart, they were very real in their
examples, and offered strength to participants in the way of increasing personal
resolve to live as servant leaders.
Those cited as strong examples of servant leaders generally had more in the way of
life experience than the participant, or those with whom the participant had shared
many personal experiences. The wisdom that many of the exemplars held was of life
experience, not that of scholarly wisdom, as in the case of family members. Family
members were able to share experiences about what Kenyon (2004, Fall) has termed
“ordinary wisdom” (p. 31). Kenyon (2004, Fall) argues for the creation of a wisdom
environment in which the sharing of ordinary wisdom can take place.
Ahn (2000) conjectures that associations of wisdom with age and experience, popular
in early wisdom literature have been replaced in modern times with a primary focus
on intellectual attainment. As such, moral associations have been eclipsed such that
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