Teaching

This seems like a great picture to tie together my recent posts about our Skype sessions with Seyyed Nasr and Qasim Rashid.  This is a picture that I shamelessly swiped from a Facebook post from my student Ines de Haro, who arranged the entire Nasr talk by herself.  She wrote the following lovely words: "Our class that traveled to India this past spring break had the ultimate honor to Skype with the noted Seyyed Hossein Nasr.  His literature on Sufism and Islam as a whole has shaped the way I view and appreciate Islam.  While we had the privilege to talk with Nasr briefly, we get to have the honor and privilege to work with Gary Scudder Jr. each week.  Here is a photo of me with two people I greatly admire!" When we were chatting with Qasim Rashid he proposed that if the students wanted to make a difference they should remain close to their teachers in the years to come because no one other than their parents would ever be more invested in their success. These are remarkably true words, and it's such a pleasure to teach - and to in turn learn from - amazing young people like Ines.

Of course, when I first saw this picture all I could think was, "Does Sufism make my butt look big?"