STAFF & FACULTY DIRECTORY PROFILE
Jay Feist
Job Title:
Religious Studies Teacher
Department:
Religious Studies
Email:
Phone: (510) 577-9100
ext.
Started at O'Dowd:
2021 - Long Term Substitute
Degrees:
AB History The University of Chicago, MA Systematic and Philosophical Theology, Graduate Theological Union (Jesuit School of Theology)
Originally from:
Berkeley
Why I Teach:
I teach because I love learning and I love sharing my learning with others.
Most powerful teaching technique:
I think my most powerful teaching technique is using a variety of media to present the same material in multiple ways. Different students learn differently, so I have them read, watch videos, do an activity, etc. so that I expose them to the content more than once and using different avenues of learning.
Why are the subjects you teach important?:
Whether we are religious or not, religion is a powerful force in our society and across the world. I think knowing something about religion and being able to discuss religious issues intelligently and competently is an essential component of an education.
Favorite quotes:
Aristotle: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
May Sarton: "One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being."
Adyashanti: "Enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the crumbling away of untruth. It's seeing through the facade of pretense. It's the complete eradication of everything we imagine to be true."
Favorite trivia:
Since the beginning of John Paul II's papacy the number of canonized saints has more than doubled.
Recommended visual media:
I am a big fan of classic Western films. My top three of all time are Once Upon a Time in the West, Silverado, and The Searchers.
Recommended reads:
In my spare time, I read Plato in Greek.
Hobbies or outside interests:
In my spare time, I read Plato in Greek.