What is the Facilitator Guide? Why is it a good curricular option?

The Facilitator Guide is a compilation of curriculum opportunities to explore the themes found in each of the 41 poems authored by Joe Davis in his book Remind Me Again. I think of this Facilitator Guide not as an instruction manual, but as a gentle journeyer, walking alongside learners and providing a spectrum of invitations to explore the diverse layers and expansive themes found in each poem that we might not otherwise recognize from our own lenses. The open-ended framework makes it easy to implement in any context!

How do you use it?

There is a guide in the front part of the book that provides some helpful tools and resources to engage the Facilitator Guide. Facilitators can use as much—or as little—content as needed for the time, space, and audience. With options for individual/small team reflections, activities for varied size groups/abilities with ranges of time windows, this Facilitator Guide is definitely a resource that can find its place on every bookshelf!

In my life and ministry, I have discovered that students make the most effective teachers. Accountability is built into the curriculum to ensure that facilitators initially enter this space as learners themselves, navigating the curriculum from first-hand experience prior to sharing it with participants. This enables them to discover the nuances needed to facilitate this material in their specific contexts and present activity examples when applicable.

What settings does it make sense to use it in?

So often we search for resources that directly relate to our contexts. While this approach often renders some helpful results, we limit our scope when we fail to explore beyond our familiar comfort zones. Like a vibrant kaleidoscope, there are so many colorful adjacent themes that can bring layers of richness to our learning!

This Facilitator Guide is meant to do just that—get us out of our comfort zones and into some rich conversations that we might not have in our usual contexts. Jesus, Love Incarnate, continues to demonstrate his Love so we can learn how to share it with ourselves, each other, and the world! What better way to practice than to intersect his teaching with art and literature that we regularly engage, such as the poetry found in Remind Me Again?

This tool can be used in any place where learning happens—which is everywhere! Learning happens at home, in church, in schools, adult/youth groups, or in other educational settings. Formal setting or otherwise, there is something for everyone!