Religious EducationPGCE

University of Manchester

Neil Hopkin

HeadteacherRobin Hood Primary SchoolBirmingham

Surely the Most Boring of All Subjects?

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Clip of 3 characters by the riverside, being ‘saved’.

So where are youyou?

How does the prospect of teaching RE make you feel?

What do you remember of your own RE lessons?

What do you remember of your own RE lessons? Frankly, in primary school, nothing We drew candles and coloured them in. Often They were boring Our RE was done is assembly. It was always the

same:Two hymns, a good b*ll*cking and a prayer to finish with

The local priest came to do it. He was out of touch, old and irrelevant

I can’t honestly tell you if it was RE or PSHE

How does the prospect of teaching RE make you feel? It compromises what I think teaching and teachers

should stand for… objectivity! It terrifies me. What if I offend someone? It is an irrelevance in the modern world and irritates

me. It’s like sex ed. It should be done at home. It excites me. It’s a wonderful opportunity to show

children a better way to live. I feel nothing. It is boring and is a necessary hurdle to

gaining the holy grail of QTS and £££

What do you want to know?

Facts about faiths? Early Years RE? “I’m an atheist get me out of here…!”

What we will cover…

Christianity Islam Judaism Hinduism Sikhism Buddhism

The Big Questions…

Clip from Bruce Almighty, arriving at ‘Omni Presents’

Pedagogies we will discuss…

Visual Literacy Philosophy for Children Thinking Skills and De Bono’s Thinking Hats Kagan’s Co-operative Learning Structures The Mantle of the Expert approach Using visitors and visits

Do’s and Don’t’s we will consider…

Fanatical helpers Handling artefacts Dressing up The Truth! Intelligent Design and Creationism Faith schools

What is the goal?

The QCA non-statutory guidance for Religious Education

‘Learning about…’ and ‘Learning from…’ religion

Learning From…

Clip from Everything is Illuminated, telling the story of respect for the Torah

A suggested model…

Stage 1: Learning about (what do they do?)

Stage 2: Thinking about (what is similar in my life?)

Stage 3: Learning from (why are these actions significant to me?)

Stage 4: Learning to think from (how might my significances contrast to their significances?)

Stage 5: Learning to think about: (why might they do what they do?)

Compare or contrast?

Beware the dangers of comparative religion Be postmodern – just a little bit

Fancy a read? Daniel Dennett - Breaking the Spell Richard Dawkins - The God Delusion Alister McGrath - The Dawkins Delusion

James Fowler - Stages of Faith Robert Coles - The Spiritual Life of Children Karl Rosengren et al - Imagining the Impossible

Search for the unique…

Clip from Nacho Libre, debating whether all wrestling is a sin

Be visually (and spiritually) literate

Who is God, what is He/she/they like and how or why does believing in God affect people?

K-Pax O Brother Where Art Thou? Everything is Illuminated Bruce Almighty Nacho Libre

The fruits make it worth the journey…

Clip from K-Pax, initial meeting between Prot and Psychiatrist

Enjoy the course!

and thanks for listening