Controversial Issues: spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through a study of the events around 9/11

Culham St Gabriel’s September 2012

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to show how RE can take a lead in proving opportunities for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development;

to gain clarity on what might be meant by the key terms;

to consider the issues involved in dealing with controversial issues in the RE classroom;

to consider a case study of good practice in relation to the events of 9/11 – showing how elements of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development can be provided through lesson activities.

Aims:

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9/11 BBC News Footage

Story of Mohammad Razvi

Connect & Reflect Activity Questions.

www.911educationprogramme.co.uk/

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‘Where a school does not provide the National Curriculum and RE, inspectors will need to fully explore the school’s reasons’;

Defining smscd: see handout;

Parent Engagement Policy.

SMSCD: Subsidiary Guidance Issued To Inspectors January 2012

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Ofsted Report: Transforming religious educationThe 2010 Ofsted ‘Long Report’ on RE: noted that,

The Report stated that, ‘A positive contribution to spiritual development involves opportunities for pupils to:  develop a sense of fascination about themselves and the world around them;explore and reflect on the more intangible and puzzling aspects of their experience;use imagination and creativity in their learning.

 It is these aspects of learning which were often weakest where the provision for RE was no better than satisfactory.’ (Ofsted, 2010, p.16)

‘in about six in ten of the schools visited, there were few opportunities for students to explore the more spiritual aspects of the subject. For example, they rarely engaged with challenging or evocative material drawn from religious and belief traditions that might stimulate more profound feelings or ideas.’

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Signs of the following behaviour and/or attitudes are an indication that more or wider opportunities for spiritual development need to be provided:

indifference to others, their beliefs, values and needs;

indifference to reflection;

over-concern with status and material rewards.

Spiritual Development:

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Signs of the following behaviour and/or attitudes are an indication that more or wider opportunities for moral development need to be provided:

narrow-mindedness;

self-centredness.

Moral Development:

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Signs of the following behaviour and/or attitudes are an indication that more or wider opportunities for social development need to be provided:

use of offensive language;

refusal to accept responsibility for actions;

disrespectful behaviour;

disruptive behaviour;

refusal to work or attend lessons.

Social Development:

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Signs of the following behaviour and/or attitudes are an indication that more or wider opportunities for cultural development need to be provided:

being dismissive or disrespectful of other people’s deeply held beliefs, values and convictions;

indifference to cultural activities;

ignorance of the damage that can be done by stereotyping and generalisation.

Cultural Development:

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One approach to providing opportunities for pupils’ spiritual development is to think of spiritual development in terms of a person’s inner life (sense of awe, wonder, curiosity etc) and the ways in which a spiritual life might be outwardly expressed (in lack of concern for status, for example).

Some also talk of downward and upward and expressions of spirituality, i.e., ‘down-to-earth’ and ‘aspirational’.

What is ‘spiritual development’ and what is its place in education?

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What are the signs of a ‘spiritually developed’ person? Such a person might be observed, for example (inner life):

engaging in activities which involve listening, reflecting, puzzling, searching for truth;

developing an understanding of their own feelings, likes and dislikes;

developing personal beliefs and values;

showing insights into deep questions about life, change and death;

engaging in prayer, meditation or worship.

What is ‘spiritual development’ and what is its place in education?

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What are the signs of a ‘spiritually developed’ person?Such a person might be observed, for example (outward expression): engaging in activities which involve questioning, valuing, creating, envisioning, empathising, imagining;immersing themselves in constructive work, sacrificing immediate self-interest;developing an understanding of their relationships with those near and far;enjoying exploring diversity and difference;being involved with a faith or belief community .

What is ‘spiritual development’ and what is its place in education?

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ART & DESIGN: Inner Life

reflecting on the power and mystery of art to create feelings of sadness, anger, fear, humour, happiness in both figurative and abstract work;

responding personally through their own feelings and preferences to paintings, sculptures, artefacts and buildings;

developing beliefs about the role of art and design in human life and society;

making connections between examples of art and themes of life, change and death.

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ART & DESIGN: Outward Expression

valuing art and design from other cultures and times;

investigating art from unfamiliar cultures – why was it made, what was its purpose?;

creating their own art and designs and developing their understanding of symbolism to communicate ideas;

exploring and experimenting with ideas, materials, and processes;

making connections between art and design from different cultures with their own work;

enjoying the diversity and difference in art and design.

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www.911educationprogramme.co.uk

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Aims of the projectThe 9/11 London Project is a charity with two aims:

To erect an art work in central London on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 made of steel from the World Trade Centre.

To fund resources and support for teachers wishing to teach about 9/11 and related events.

The education element of the project, under the direction of the Institute of Education, had two main aims:

To increase students’ awareness and understanding of the events surrounding 9/11.

To develop students’ ability to reflect on the events surrounding 9/11 openly, sensitively and critically.

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Controversial Issues in RE

I tell my students that there are no right or wrong answers in RE.

I tell my students that there is no agreement as to what the right or wrong answers are in RE.

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Causes of Violent ExtremismLook at the coloured cards:

what types of factors are indicated by the different colours?

is a combination of many of these factors needed to produce a violent extremist, or are one or two factors alone enough?

which are the most important factors in your view?

what could be done to prevent such factors taking hold?

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Some values in religion/belief

Justice

Love

Forgiveness

Courage

Duty

Self-sacrifice

Mercy

Respect / Fair Play

Excellence

Friendship

Courage

Determination

Inspiration

Equality19

Identify smscd in the scheme of learning:spiritual:

moral:

social:

cultural:

What really matters in religion and belief:

SMSCD opportunities in a scheme of learning for RE

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RE-Route Access Boxes

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