Transcript Marcus Brigstocke - Somerset County Council elections

Signs of Quality in
Religious Education:
What are the key indicators that a school is
providing good RE?
As HMI concentrate on SMSCD, and schools seem to struggle ever
harder to give the subject an hour a week, good teachers are
determined to give pupils quality learning. What re its key
features?
“I find myself, a 38 year old married
man with two children, loving my job,
reasonably content most of the time,
with periods of ecstasy and spells of
gloom, and yet for reasons both
explicable and inexplicable I wish I
could find a God to believe in. It
ought to be simple – decide to
believe, stop being a smart-arse, find
a church, temple, mosque, woodland
ritual, statue of a thing, special book
or ritualistic dance, and get stuck in. I
know a great number of people far
cleverer than me who believe in God
without any trouble at all. So why
can’t I?”
Copyright RE Today 2012
“Though I seek to express myself
through comedy a lot of the time,
there are some things I’m deadly
serious about, and the desire for a
workable and available Deity in my
life is one of them...
I wish there was a God. I wish for
that God to exist now and for all
time. I wish to be fully conscious of
God and more importantly for Him
to be fully conscious of me. I wish
for God to be powerful, infinitely
wise, kind, loving, fair....”
How would God reply?
Copyright RE Today 2012
Copyright RE Today 2012
Copyright RE Today 2012
Copyright RE Today 2012
What makes it good RE?
• High quality real life
stimulus
• Driven by a big
question
• Open to pupils’
individual responses
• Demanding and
challenging of their
intellectual skills
• Fun
Copyright RE Today 2012
Spiritual development – growth in
understanding of spirituality and in
skills and qualities of spiritual
development such as hope, courage,
reflection, compassion
Moral development – increasing
understanding of and commitment to
what is good and right and rejection
of wrong, bad or evil.
Personal Development through RE: the subject
makes an holistic contribution to spiritual, moral,
social and cultural development
Social development – engaging
with relationships and community
in increasingly empathic, dynamic
and creative ways for the wellbeing
of all
Cultural development –
developing wide and deep
appreciation of my identity and its
expression in arts, sport, dress,
celebration et al. The same
appreciation grows for the diversity
of others’ cultures.
Copyright RE Today 2012
The milk and the jasmine flower
Guru Nanak believed that everyone is equal. Rich or poor, sad or
happy, brainy or practical: God sees everyone equally.
Nanak and Mardana were travelling to a new city in India 500
years ago. He was such a famous holy man that the news about
his arrival spread, and before he even got to the city gates, the
holy men who lived in the city were talking about him.
They were worried!
They knew Nanak was a truly good and holy person, and they had
promised to try to be good like him. But they had actually been
greedy and unkind. They were scared of Guru Nanak’s arrival.
He might show them up! They decided to send a messenger
with a bowl full of milk as a gift to say that there was no room
for anyone else in the city: as the bowl was full, so was the city,
and they were sorry that they could not receive Nanak and
Mardana.
Would the Guru and his companion please go somewhere else?
As Guru Nanak walked up the road to the city gates, the
messengers met him, carrying the gift of a large bowl, full to
the brim with fresh milk.
“Our holy men send you this milk, and apologise that they cannot
receive you’ said the messengers. ‘Our city is already too full of
holy men. You could go somewhere else.”
Nanak sat down with the messengers and the bowl.
Before he drank any, he picked a jasmine flower from a wayside
bush and floated it on the top of the milk. Not a drop spilled
out. He looked around the group before he spoke, with a smile:
“I think the city is not quite full” he said. “As the flower finds
space in the full bowl of milk, so there is always room for more
holiness in the world.” The flower floated on top of the milk
and not a drop was spilt: there was room for it!
The messengers went back into the city and told the holy men
what had happened. They suddenly saw the stupidity of
what they had tried to do, and felt sorry that they had tried
to send Nanak and Mardana away. They threw open the city
gates and asked Nanak and Mardana to stay with them, and
teach them how to fill their city with good things.
• Why did the holy men of the city try to stop Guru Nanak
from coming?
• What makes people feel ‘shown up’? Have you had this
feeling lately? (You could talk with a partner about this)
• Why do you think Guru Nanak did the experiment with the
jasmine flower, instead of just marching in to the city?
• “The world is not full enough of...” Can the class think of lots
of things that we need more of, in the world today?
These children have heard the
story. What do you think they
might be doing next?
“There is always more room in the
world for ...”
Mess? Mod roc? Craft activities?
“There is always more room in the
world for ...”
Crafty RE is usually fun and can be
profound
“There is always more room in the
world for ...” Children had lots of
good ideas about the qualities that
will make a better world
Friendship
Encouragement
Hope
Harmony
Praise
Justice
Courage
Co operation
Love
Wisdom
Truth
Patience
Sharing
Display of the bowls made by
Charlotte’ White’s class:
“There is always more room in the
world for...”
On the next set of slides, you will
see the work the children wrote
about this activity. They explain
their spiritual words carefully.
These children are all 8 or 9 years
old, a mixture of girls and boys.
Which one do you like best?
What would you write?
“We told the children they were going to read a story from the Sikh
faith. We used the story of the Milk and the Jasmine Flower.
Children had not done much study of the Sikhs before, so we
introduced the religion using basic information through a PowerPoint
slide show. I asked children to think about how the story can influence
the way Sikhs live and behave. After hearing the story, we talked about
these questions: Was the bowl full of milk a symbol of something else?
Why did Guru add a Jasmine flower? What was his purpose in doing
this? What effect did it have on the other people in the story?
I introduced the craft activity we had planned to the children: each one
had to make their own bowl out of mod roc, and an origami flower. I
asked them to think about something that the world can always use
more. Just as Guru Nanak taught there is always more room for
holiness, goodness, generosity or kindness, so I wanted them to think
of the wise word they felt there should be more of in the world – and
the classroom. This was a key aim: to enable children to choose a
spiritual virtue they really think matters.”
Charlotte White, Year 4 Class Teacher
The children had to think of their own single spiritual word which they
believed would have a positive impact on others. We spent some
time talking about other symbols in story (there’s a literacy link to
metaphor and symbolic language) before moving on to making
origami jasmine flowers. This gives the children a practical time
when they may also think more about the story. Then we matched
up some ‘wise words’ with some common symbols: peace / dove /
caring / holding hands / love / heart; I’d made a PowerPoint of
internet images and asked children which wise word went with
each symbol or image. Children discussed what they thought each
image or symbol represented.
When they had made the mod roc bowl, children decorated and
painted these with paint and oil pastels, applying their own symbols
and design ideas. They put their jasmine flowers into the bowl, and
we encouraged them to share the reasons they had for choosing
their spiritual word. We set up a writing activity for children to
reflect on the reasons why they felt sure there is always room for
more love, care or kindness in the world.”
Charlotte White, Year 4 Class Teacher
What makes it good RE?
Good RE sometimes...
•
•
•
•
•
High quality real life stimulus
Driven by a big question
Open to pupils’ individual responses
Demanding and challenging of their
intellectual skills
Fun
• Uses authentic simple
material
• Sets simple and accessible
activity
• Builds spiritual
development into learning
• Opens minds
Copyright RE Today 2012
Copyright RE Today 2012
Guidebook for the journey of life: Notice the man selling guidebooks. These might
be guidebooks for the journey of life. If you were asked to write the first page
of the guidebook for the journey – what would you say? What advice would
you give?
Pick a route: Notice the starting point – the baby in the pram leaving the hospital.
The baby is setting out on her life journey. If you could choose the route for
her – where would she go? What would you include and what would you
avoid? Why have you picked this route? Does a good life mean no suffering or
do we need the stormy times too?
Buildings: Notice the buildings on the journey. 8 shops, 2 sheds, religious
buildings, a wedding chapel, a hospital – if you could take one thing from each
building to help you on your journey of life, what would it be and why?
Shopping: If you could choose something from only four of the shops to help you
on your journey of life which would you choose and why? Put these four in
order. Which matters most of all to you? Can you say why? Now think about
someone who is a Christian, Muslim, Jew or another religion: what would they
choose and why?
Before and after: This map shows the journey of life – but what about what
happens before we are born and after we die? Show your ideas using pictures
/ symbols / colours and words. Fold a sheet of paper diagonally. Bottom left:
what you think came before this life? Top right: show what you think / believe
happens after this life. Do the same for a Hindu or Christian.
Copyright RE Today 2012
Emily, 7, has given us
two great ideas about
life before birth and life
after death.
The scaffolded
structure enables her
to put the ideas down
in a controlled way.
This shows some of
the value of creative
thinking in RE
Copyright RE Today 2012
Thomas Butler
has charted life’s
journey as he
sees it. Can he
consider
reflectively and
sensitively some
questions about
life as a
journey? Does
he need to get
some different
viewpoints as
well?
Copyright RE Today 2012
10 year old
Catherine from
Meadowside
PS gives her
introduction to
the guidebook
to life.
Copyright RE Today 2012
What makes it good RE?
Good RE sometimes...
• High quality real life stimulus
• Driven by a big question
• Open to pupils’ individual
responses
• Demanding and challenging of
their intellectual skills
• Fun
• Uses authentic simple material
• Sets simple and accessible
activity
• Builds spiritual development into
learning
• Opens minds
• Relates to the child’s own
life clearly
• Provokes deepening
reflection on life and belief
• Creates time and space in
which deeper thought can
develop
• Connects religions with
children in dynamic ways
Copyright RE Today 2012
SACRED SPACES in RE
Visiting the Place of Worship
Deepening Encounter with
the Natural World
Better ideas for the church / mosque /
mandir /synagogue visit in RE
Can better enquiry learning boost RE?
How do we use natural world ideas to
deepen engagement?
Do children have special spaces of their
own? Can they express this as sacred?
Friendliness, peace, thoughtfulness:
Purposes of sacred space?
• Before the visit, ask pupils to think about the school
building and grounds. Where in school is the friendliest
place, the most thoughtful place, the most peaceful
place?
• When the class rare agreed about this, take them to
these three places, and do something friendly at the
friendly place (Affirmation exercise? Group hug?),
something thoughtful at the thoughtful place (Read
out some poems? Ask big questions?) and something
peaceful at the peaceful place (listen to music? Gaze
into the clouds?).
• Record this activity in 3 photos with a digital camera –
get the children to do this.
Copyright RE Today 2012
Enquiry method: what, how, who, where, why?
• Questions: Plan the visit, to Mosque, Gurdwara, Church or
Mandir, carefully with the pupils. Consider how the five
enquiry questions can be used to get the most out of it that
they can. Build in to the visit as many opportunities to
answer the enquiry questions as possible. It is very valuable
to have a member of the community present for the visit,
to answer children’s questions (even better than having
them give a talk).
• Senses: it works well to ask pupils to record what they see,
hear, touch, taste, smell, feel and think during the visit. A
recording sheet can be provided for this. Make space for
them to notice the atmosphere of the building, for example
by having them sit quietly, or lie on the floor, while a piece
of sacred text is read, or a short piece of sacred music is
played. Notice as well there are some things ‘not to touch’
and that believers might taste, but visitors might not.
Copyright RE Today 2012
Purposes: make sure that the enquiry is not just into the outward features of
religion. Remind the children of the friendly, peaceful and thoughtful places in
school (above). Ask them to agree which places in the holy building are the most
friendly, peaceful and thoughtful – this is about the reasons why worshippers
come to the place. Ask them also to think: where would be the best place in the
building for believers to feel close to God? How can you tell? Why? Again, digital
photos of these four places are a great way to record what the children learned
and thought about.
Outcomes from the work done on a visit
• Time to follow up. Teachers might plan to use literacy, art and RE lessons
creatively following the visit. Don’t let the experience go cold before following up
the thinking.
• Creative, thoughtful, written: ask pupils to make a record / recount of the trip,
but also encourage them in every way to do creative writing and artwork that
draws on the experience of the visit. E.g:
• Suppose the place of worship was destroyed: what the community do?
• If you could choose four things from the place of worship to explain its
importance, what would you choose and how would you explain?
• Imagine the building is personified (Y6 literacy) What story could it tell of ‘A week
in my life’?
Copyright RE Today 2012
“We chose the old font for a friendly place
because it is where every baby is welcomed
into church
Copyright RE Today 2012
A thoughtful place.
“Because when you look
up to the top it makes
you wonder if God is
there.” Sam, 10.
Copyright RE Today 2012
A peaceful place in the
church: set up by pupils
in year 5. They were
asked: what seven words
sum up what the church
is trying to do for its
community? They
arranged harvest festival
tins to show their idea.
They said:
This church makes
Peace by:
Sharing
Action
Responsibility
Generosity
Caring
Giving
The tins of food and the circle of chairs represent how people in the
community share with people in need. This makes peace.”
Copyright RE Today 2012
God’s presence:
“You might feel
close to God if
you look at the
candle because
Christians think
God is the light of
the world” Aiden,
11.
Copyright RE Today 2012
Design and create an image of
your own sacred space – the
space that makes you realise
your own deep thoughts
The most spiritual place: House in the Tree by Daisy Timpson age 9
I’ve done spiritual space .The girl is to represent me. I put me in a tree
house because I have a tree but not a tree house and I would like one. I
think when I can’t get to sleep so I’ve done a bed. I hope people will
notice that it’s a tree house because that is the main thing to do with my
art work. Doing this picture has made me think in a different way to
when I normally do art. What I like best about my work is my windows
because I like animals. I have done plants to make it special in its own
way. Some of the windows with animals show that the world is full of
life. My tree house in my mind is a special space to me.
Copyright RE Today 2012
Copyright RE Today 2012
• “My photo shows the view at dusk from the beach at Ryde on
the Isle of Wight towards Portsmouth. I holiday on the Isle of
Wight every summer. Being in Ryde in particular – my
favourite place on the island – makes me forget my worries
and responsibilities and I can just relax. I took this photo at
around midnight, when my brother and I sat on the beach.
The sea seemed so vast and mysterious: there are countless
things about it that we do not know. It’s so powerful it’s
almost alive. The lights reminded me of how far mankind has
come: we started out with no knowledge of the world or how
to survive and now we have huge cities and electricity. The
night sky made me feel incredibly insignificant. The vastness
of the sea and the sky is quite frightening, and makes me
think that nothing so huge could come about by chance and
that therefore there must be some form of God.”
• Joe Cook is 14
Copyright RE Today 2012
What makes it good RE?
Good RE sometimes...
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
High quality real life stimulus
Driven by a big question
Open to pupils’ individual responses
Demanding and challenging of their intellectual
skills
Fun
Uses authentic simple material
Sets simple and accessible activity
Builds spiritual development into learning
Opens mindsRelates to the child’s own life
clearly
Provokes deepening reflection on life and belief
Creates time and space in which deeper thought
can develop
Connects religions with children in dynamic ways
Copyright RE Today 2012
• Links AT1 and AT2
clearly
• Enables many
teachers to ‘get it’
• Requires pupils to be
researchers or
enquirers themselves
• Has spiritual depth
• Enables better
knowledge of
religions.
• High quality real life stimulus • Provokes deepening
reflection on life and belief
• Driven by a big question
• Open to pupils’ individual
• Creates time and space in
responses
which deeper thought can
develop
• Demanding and challenging
• Connects religions with
of their intellectual skills
children in dynamic ways
• Fun
• Links AT1 and AT2 clearly
• Uses authentic simple
• Enables many teachers to
material
‘get it’
• Sets simple and accessible
activity
• Requires pupils to be
researchers or enquirers
• Builds spiritual development
themselves
into learning
• Has spiritual depth
• Opens minds
• Relates to the child’s own life • Enables better knowledge
of religions.
Copyright RE Today 2012
clearly