Corrections_Today_May_June_2020_Vol.82_No.3

nEWS & vIEWS

learning guided by the reflections and learning needs expressed by the correctional chaplains themselves. At the start of each CPE unit, students develop personal contracts for learning. Their goals serve as a way to evaluate their progress. They are included in future writings and discussed in the peer group work and evaluations. The contract statement should be concise, measurable, and address individual personal develop- ment (emotional and developmental understanding), professional development (skills in pastoral func- tioning), and personal theological development (integration of faith into pastoral functioning). Students also write journal entries to provide material for each of their one-on-one conferences with the CE. These reflections continually assess the significance of the CPE experi- ence in relation to learning goals and CPE Standards. It is intensely personal, showing the style and voice of each student. Students are respon- sible for setting the agenda for the one-on-one sessions with the CE and may use them for a variety of func- tions that relate to their own learning goals and experiences. A major learning of the CPE student is to accept responsibility for their own learning process with humility. In Theological Reflection papers, students will engage in a theological reflection exercise which will help them to better articulate how they may experience the sacred, the holy, the role of blessing in their faith tradition, and how this may relate to their pastoral care. This exercise is helpful in development of one’s pastoral theology.

impact of Adverse Childhood Expe- riences (ACEs), and being victims of violence or sexual assault. In addition to offering spiritual care in their places of work, students attend regular education groups and one-on-one classes with a Certified Educator (CE). 2 The CPE method uses the pastoral experience, re- flection on the experience by the individual in written and oral reports, and feedback on those reported experiences by members of the peer group, faculty and CE. Through these experiences and evaluations, the education group becomes a labo- ratory for learning and the student learns effective evaluation of their ministry outreach and how they are perceived as pastoral persons. The traditional role of chaplains behind bars, in hospitals, and the military differ, and thus explorations of the perceptions of chaplains will differ in each setting as well. A major learning of the CPE student is to accept responsibility for their own learning process with humility.

take turns presenting verbatim and incident reports of their work and initiate discussion on issues that arose for them. The best verbatims come from situations in which students are deeply involved. Often this may come from situations where they may have missed an event or an individual com- pletely or did not know what to do. Self-directed learning The CE guides the students to discover their differing gifts for ministry and how those gifts may be shaped and improved. The basic im- petus for learning, however, comes from the students themselves, as they negotiate their contract for learning and invest in the learning opportuni- ties available to them. All encounters — with care-receivers, peers, staff, and CE — contain the seeds for chal- lenge and support which can lead to self-growth and self-development. A major learning of the CPE student is to accept responsibility for their own learning process with humility. Often, beginning chaplains may be aware of everyone except themselves and their own feelings without even recognizing their own blind spot. Under great stress, even the most advanced practitioners fall into old habits. Each student must negotiate their own way of learning to navigate the turbulent waters of a correctional facilities’ culture and also maintain sensitivity and compassion for the people around them experiencing their own individual distresses. As Anton Boisen, a founder of CPE said, peers and the people chaplains serve are real, “Living Human Docu- ments,” and real learning is through real relationships with people, not books. 3 This is experiential

Students complete various types of written work to address personal learning in the context of their work and the CPE outcomes. Students

18 — May/June 2020 Corrections Today