Rebecca Dow: on Education, Policy, and Living Well

Host Sam Bloore talks with Rebecca Dow about education, policy, and living well as a single woman deeply committed to family and community. Rebecca lectures in education at Laidlaw College, helping to form the next generation of teachers. Her experience in education has been extensive and diverse: she has been a teacher, Deputy Principal, consultant, and policy researcher and advisor to the Spokesperson for Education. Here, she shares her vision for education: for Rebecca, good learning is not simply about information, or instruction, but is a matter of whole-person formation. This holistic vision of life also marks her journey as a single woman. With disarming openness and joy, she talks with Sam about what she’s learned about living richly as a single woman who cares deeply about the Church, about community, and about family. Rebecca’s commitment to community is reflected in her governance experience in both the education and not-for-profit sectors; among her current roles, she is the Acting Chair of the Venn Board.

This is a conversation charged with a quiet, delighted awareness of God’s leading, and of our call to seek the flourishing of our wider communities. It’s a cracker—we know you’ll enjoy it.

It’s not hard to find podcasts with experts, or full of information. But here we’re interested in the whole person at work, rest, and play; we’ll be exploring how faith in Christ has unfolded in their lives. As the conversation rolls, we hope you’ll catch a glimpse of how deep and wide God’s purposes are for each of us.

Welcome to Venn Presents, a series of conversations on the depth and richness of the Christian tradition, as we attempt to outwork it in our 21st century lives. Through this collection, host Sam Bloore and members of the Venn Foundation team will present aspects of their work and reflection, as well as that of the wider Venn community.

Each short series will run across two or three episodes and the topics will be wide-ranging: from exploring Christian faith or doctrine; to engagement with wider culture, like business, the arts, education, music, and sport; and even discussing features of community and family life.
Our hope is these conversations will, in some small way, help us all to re-imagine how the Master’s Gospel might sound in the communities and callings we find ourselves in today.

For more on Venn Foundation's work and resources, go to www.venn.org.nz.

• No. of episodes: 16
• Latest episode: 2023-06-30
• Religion & Spirituality Christianity

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