“On a chilly Sunday morning in a Rockville, Maryland, classroom, a group of eighth graders is deep into a discussion about whether there’s an afterlife and — if so — what it might entail.
A few fairly standard depictions of heaven and hell give way to questions about reincarnation, reunion with lost loved ones, karma, ghosts, and whether we’re all just on a loop as in a video game, “rebooting” in an effort to level up.
“What if this is my five millionth time living this life?” wonders one 13-year-old, who appears equally amused and alarmed by the concept.
“You mean like ‘Groundhog Day’?” asks a classmate, referencing the 1993 Bill Murray film.
“That might be what causes deja vu,” suggests a third.
Co-teachers Rob Liebreich, who is Jewish, and Erika Callaway Kleiner, who is Christian, encourage some of the quieter students in the classroom and a handful participating by Zoom to chime in, but the teachers rarely interrupt as the students riff off each other and try to discern what, if anything, they believe.”
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