Teaching Experiments Reach Philippines

I am thrilled that a teacher from another culture wants to try the Supported Experiments! Gladdys is a local elementary school assistant headteacher, chief librarian and curriculum advisor for her region in the Philippines. Several months ago, I sent her some DVD curriculum material that ended up as a successful art and religious studies project for her entire school. Learning of my involvement here in England in co-ordinating supported experiments for our department, she has wanted to try some experiments of her own. The idea she is working with involves daily focused student prayer. The story so far...

"I love your idea, Gladdys, (as you appear to be teaching in a Catholic setting, the prayer will not be a problem), and what you say: 'a specific purpose like "giving them the grace to learn and practice being courteous" , in this way the children have a goal... and throughout the day u will know if such specific prayer is carried on/lived on by the pupils...'

"What strikes me is that this is very focused and specific; this is the right way to make your experiment 'measurable'. Obviously, you will be monitoring student response 'throughout the day' (as you say) and I wonder if you’ve thought of a 5 minute review exercise at the end of the day, with the students writing one sentence about if they felt they achieved the goal, why or why not, and what their next step of progress might be? Indeed, if they write the prayer at the beginning of the day and return to it later, it would tie it all together. At student review times, progress of these little prayers could be included in the review. Those that might be uncomfortable with "prayers" or of a different faith, could be encouraged to see it as daily "goals". It would be lovely to see how this project progresses, and maybe I will enter a separate blog entry, so all can see your progress!"

Marginalising Faith

Saw this bookshelf in our local 'Oxfam' charity store recently.. a big gap when it came to books on 'religion'!

Unfortunately, there is a big gap for religion / faith / spirituality in many people's hearts and souls, and it is at the root of lots of problems in Britain. Of course, a lot of people are religious, but has it transformed their life, or is it helping them become more loving, caring and tolerant? Some expressions of faith are directed towards a seeming intolerance of others, and this is why many other things may sometimes hide under a religious mask. We cannot point the finger at any one faith, and indeed, I have met many an intolerant Christian. However, I make no excuse for being a committed Christian myself - for the values that Jesus Christ modeled are those of love, faith, acceptance and caring for others - the values that I seek to emulate, however poorly, in my own life and in my teaching practice.

It is less about 'preaching' and more about 'living', and for this very reason, (since we are considering ways to improve teaching practice) I refuse to make this blog a 'secular' thing. The spiritual is easily divided from the whole person, and the idea of excluding 'godly' values and virtues from our educational system is hogwash. However unpopular the notion may be, there is an objective 'right' and 'wrong' out there, and the Ten Commandments are a good place to start... provided we remember that it is only those of us 'without sin' who have the entitlement to 'cast the first stone'. I don't know where you stand, but it means that while I learn to hate every manifestation of sin (teenage knife crime, for example?) as a follower of Christ, I am free to love the sinner.