Listen and Learn: Equity, Embodied Pedagogies, and Engaging Asian American Buddhists

Abstract

In this article, we consider the intersection of experiential learning and equity work through the lens of a 10-week project: “Listening to the Buddhists in Our Backyard” (L2BB), undertaken in collaboration with a group of six high school seniors at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, in the spring of 2022. L2BB was part of a broader undertaking known as The Workshop, an experimental school-within-a-school that seeks to reimagine education beyond the restrictive norms or “grammar” of schooling. Mirroring the emergent and adaptive methods of L2BB, this article incorporates student voices, narrative interviews, and methodological reflections to advance our claim that an embodied, listening-first model of learning avoids common pitfalls of community-based learning while enabling students to develop a more accurate picture of racial and religious minorities in the United States.