Preparing yourself to teach the course
PDF file: Lesson ideasDavid Gray, RME teacher at Grange Academy, Kilmarnock, who wrote, piloted and adapted ideas for this course shares some lessons he has learnt from the process.
Do:
Know your own skills and experience - read up about the subject area. See the about sectarianism section in this website and also the resources section which provide ideas for reading up on the subject.
Be prepared. Have a bank of ready-made and adaptable answers. For example, you might get a comment such as 'Well my Dad believes that!' At this point you may wish to raise the theme of independent learning and independent thinking.
Know your audience. Sometimes there may be pupils who wish to decline to give their opinion, especially during discussion activities. The ethos must be non-threatening at all times. Each class cohort will have different experiences of the subject matter.
Create a classroom ethos where the pupils and the teacher can trust each other. This is important as some of the questions and answers that the lesson materials generate can be sensitive if not controversial. If the pupils feel inhibited in their learning and teaching on the subject they may think their beliefs are unimportant or unorthodox.
Listen and allow the pupil to say her/his piece. For the lesson to work at its optimum the teacher has to adopt an open-minded attitude to all pupils. A pupil may have been identified, from past experience, as holding negative attitudes or controversial views that may challenge the teacher. Her/his views must be addressed and the pupil must be shown alternatives to the attitudes or views they hold. Everyone has a right to be heard no matter how challenging it may be to the skills of the teacher.
Allow discussion at the cost of any prepared learning and teaching. Experience suggests that more discussion is generated by the pupils themselves than the lesson demands. The discussions were always informed by both prior learning and self-knowledge on the subject / issue being taught.
Be prepared for cognitive conflict within the class. Pupils arrive with their own cultural and background mores which might have to be challenged. This is done through a process of cognitive conflict. When one informed culture has discourse with an ill-informed culture cognitive conflict arises. This is healthy as it can create a positive reflection in the person who has been challenged. From cognitive conflict there can arise creativity which can change the views of the person who has been challenged.
David Gray, RME teacher at Grange Academy, Kilmarnock, who wrote, piloted and adapted ideas for this course shares some lessons he has learnt from the process.
Do not:
Approach a lesson unprepared. Each classroom cohort will generate its own issues. Some may expose the practitioner to issues that might make them feel uncomfortable. The subject matter in itself is uncomfortable.
Gloss over issues that may arise through the methodologies that are used. It is easy for the practitioner to 'move on' to another task and ignore one that caused controversy or unease in the practitioner in a previous lesson. This only leads to the progression of the lesson being disjointed and, in some cases, meaningless to the pupil.
Inhibit the views of the pupils. Be aware of the cultural background of the pupil cohort. Their views are informed by it.
Allow one idea to dominate the class. This only creates an ethos of resentment. A balance between the unit's ideas and the pupils' ideas is important.
Single out a pupil for holding negative views. This is against the inclusive ethos of the subject area.
State explicitly that a pupil's view is outrightly sectarian. The course is not about confrontation. The ethos at the heart of the course is creative change through positive challenge.
Allow one pupil, or a group of pupils, to dominate the lesson. This happened in one lesson the practitioner delivered. The outcome was that the majority felt isolated by one view that could not be challenged.
Ideas for building a course on anti-sectarianism
The next section is divided into six units. It follows the course that David Gray developed and used in Grange Academy, Kilmarnock.
The units provide ideas on how to start considering the topic of sectarianism with your pupils. You may have other ideas of your own, particularly if you have done work with pupils on raising awareness of other topics such as racism, bullying, prejudice and discrimination.
If you wish further information about David Gray's course, he can be contacted at:
David Gray
Grange Academy,
Beech Avenue
Kilmarnock
KA1 2EW
Tel: 01563 521969
e-mail: David.Gray@east-ayrshire.gov.uk