| What
is respect?
Context:
These
lessons are part of a scheme to enable pupils in RE in England to think
through issues of respect in plural societies. They are suited to citizenship
lessons or RE lessons in lower secondary schools.
Learning
Objectives
Pupils:
-
To learn from situations which demand respect across religious and
cultural boundaries to explore attitudes, religious perspectives and
ideas
- To
enable pupils to evaluate and deepen their own ideas about the concept
of respect for all
- To
use the teachings of different religions to examine the concept of
respect in depth.
Teaching
strategies / group dynamics:
Pupils
work in pairs on 9 situations where respect is needed, but not shown.
They make judgements as they go.
Working
methods
Group
and individual work
Themes
addressed:
- Respect
for and tolerance of others
-
Empathy
Target
group/size of group:
These
activities are written for 14 year old pupils
They
are suitable for work in a class group of about 30 pupils.
Persons
involved:
Teacher
and pupils
Description
of activity:
Time
needed:
- Preparation:
20 minutes
- Implementation:
2 lessons of 40 minutes will be suitable
Instructions
(unfolding of the activity):
| 1. |
Work
through the nine situations given below in a pair |
| 2. |
Discuss
the alternatives to each situation – what could have happened
if there was total disrespect? What could have happened if there
was total respect? |
| 3. |
Give
a mark out of ten to the person named in each box. 10 = gives plenty
of respect. 1 = gives disrespect. Use a full range of marks |
| 4. |
Discuss
your marks with other pairs: can a class agreement be reached? |
| Activities
to follow up the learning |
| a. |
Put
the nine characters in a rank order, from ‘most respectful’
to ‘least respectful’. |
| b. |
There
are various kinds of disrespect: racism and sexism are two. What
kind of disrespect lies behind each of these nine situations? |
| c. |
Arrange
the class into nine small groups, and dramatise the situations given.
Use a ‘freeze frame’ strategy to stop the action at
key moments, and ask those involved what their character would be
thinking just then. |
| d. |
Look
at the teachings of faith about respect for all in the bubbles.
Who, in the situations you’ve looked at, needs to learn from
the Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Muslims? What might they learn? |
| e. |
Write
(in pairs?) two more situations which happen in school where respect
is needed. Make them about the same length as these nine. Share
the best ones with the class. |
| f. |
Examine
some religious teachings about respect and human dignity, to discern
whether religions have good advice for us on this topic. |
| g. |
Think
carefully about your own attitudes: we all say we believe in respect,
but we all fail to show it or do it sometimes. Discuss with a partner
a time when you showed respect, and a time when you didn’t. |
| h. |
What
would make for a more respectful school? What would teachers, pupils,
and others have to do to make your school a more respectful place?
Draw up a five point plan ~ and send it to the School Council if
you like |
| If
you want to re-use these worksheets, then get pupils to note their
scores on separate paper. |
Pedagogical
material and equipment used:
See
below
Appraisal
This
approach to considering respect is rooted in pupils own lives, draws
attention to religious aspects of intercultural diversity and education,
and is simply implemented in any classroom by a teacher willing to try
active learning.
Tangible
results: in action, we have found this work is a good way to open conversations
about the meaning of respect in concrete and stimulating ways, including
the religious dimensions of intercultural education. Pupils enjoyed
the work.
We
have published the activity to our subscribers, and from them have received
feedback that it is practical, user friendly and thought provoking.
How
can the activity be evaluated?
Teachers
can evaluate this work through discussion with students, or by setting
written questions about the learning: what did you do? What were your
thoughts? What did you learn?
Suggestions
for transfer:
Teachers
for whom these situations are distant or dissimilar to those faced in
their own national context might create scenarios of disrespect closer
to the needs of their learners. They might write situations that correspond
to the issues their pupils face, or those which use case studies from
local or national news to stimulate values clarification and thought
about the impact of respectful attitudes.
Wisdom
sayings from many traditions of faith and belief could be used to counterpoint
the situations.
Contact
details:
Lat Blaylock
lat@retoday.org.uk
1020 Bristol Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham B29 6LB
Resource
Sheet 1
| A.
Jonathan and Iqbal have had three fights this year at school. Last
time, both were suspended. Jonathan runs into Iqbal on the playground
on Thursday break, and sends him flying. Iqbal stands up, and as
the blood oozes from his knee he takes a deep breath; ‘Tell
me you didn’t mean that will you?’ he says, in a challenging
tone. There is a tense pause. Sorry mate – didn’t mean
it’ says Jonathan. They go their separate ways. |
B.
Sian is an Irish girl in an English class, the only one. Lots of
her classmates tell Irish jokes, and usually she ignores the implications
that she is a member of a stupid nationality. But on Thursday when
Mr Jackman, a teacher told a joke like this, she was offended, and
refused to do any more of the Maths work until he apologised. Mr
Jackman wouldn’t apologise, and said Sian was “being
disruptive”. He sent her to the head of year, and excluded
her from Maths classes for the rest of the week. |
C.
In the playground, a gang of bullies often look at your trainers,
and ‘tax’ anyone who isn’t wearing the ones they
approve of. This Tuesday, Gang Big Cheese Derek picks on Hannah:
‘Your trainers look like damaged dog paws, you uncool person.
We require you to pay 50p tax. Cough up.’ Hannah is having
none of it, and boldly replies ‘’Your face looks like
a damaged dog’s backside, bully. Leave me alone.” There
is a short silence, but then Derek decides not to push it. He laughs
and leaves. |
| Jonathan’s
respect score: [ ] |
Mr
Jackson’s respect score: [ ] |
Derek’s
respect score: [ ] |
| D.
Ms Hussain, the supply teacher, is getting a bit of trouble from
class F. after a whole week in which they have been rude and unhelpful,
on Friday morning one of them shouts out to her: ‘Miss, you’re
a Muslim, you ain’t supposed to be working today – it’s
Friday, you don’t work on Fridays do you? Ms Hussain looks
red in the face, but is silent. David, who has joined in with the
bad behaviour all week, suddenly speaks up for her: ‘shut
up, it’s her religion, she can’t help it. You’ve
got to respect her religion.’ |
E.
It is the class RE trip to the Hindu Mandir: on entry everyone is
asked to take off their shoes. Sharon and Karen leave their gorgeous
costly footwear in the Temple shoe racks, but moan in whispers all
morning about the requirement. ‘Why should we take our shoes
off? We don’t worship their gods and goddesses, so why do
we have to leave our shoes? They’re nice shoes: someone might
nick them!’ But they say nothing out loud, and at the end
they thank their Hindu hosts for having them. Their shoes are still
where they left them. |
F.
It is the school end of term Talent Show. Some of the acts are excellent,
but several are dodgy. On the back row, Year Nine boys are seated,
and laugh about the undetectability of shouting ‘Rubbish’
‘You talentless nobody’ and similar at some of the Year
Seven dance acts. Darryl decides not to join in – ‘At
least they’ve got the guts to get up on the stage’ he
tells his mates ‘Unlike you, hiding on the back row in the
dark.’ His mates tell him he’s a wimp, but he doesn’t
care, and keeps quiet, applauding the good acts, but not dissing
the less good ones. |
| David’s
respect score: [ ] |
Sharon
and Karen’s respect score: [ ] |
Darryl’s
respect score: [ ] |
| G.
Rose is a traveller girl, and joins her class of 13 year olds three
weeks into term. She is rather alone, and doesn’t have many
good friends at the school. After a couple of weeks of term, Anna
(a bit of a leader in the class, never short of an opinion) picks
on Rose with a bit of advice: ‘You’re never going to
make friends in this school unless you start acting like a friendly
person, and not keeping your own precious Gypsy culture to yourself.’
Rose feels very anxious – but she replies ‘You won’t
make friends with me if you start by dishing out advice Anna.’
The girls eye each other up for a moment, and then Anna says ‘OK,
well we’re going to the cinema on Saturday. D’you want
to come?’ |
H.
At the school disco, Kelly spent a long time showing off to some
lads from Year 11, but when she went outside with Jamie, one of
them, it wasn’t what she expected, and she told her mates
the next day ‘He has no respect for a girl. Don’t let
him get near you. He’s about as attractive as a baboon’s
armpit‘ Jamie spends the day telling his friends and any other
lads who will listen that Kelly is a baby ‘She is about as
mature as an egg’ he says. |
I.
In a class of 15 year olds studying food technology, there are 24
girls and two boys. In the Technical graphics class there are 24
boys and two girls. At the School Council, Jo and Mark ask the teachers
if the school’s option groups are sexist, and offer to do
a student survey about sexism in the subjects. The head teacher
and a governor agree to this, and Jo and Mark organise the survey
as part of their citizenship studies. They report that the school
options system is biased and sexist, and not enough is done to make
it possible for boys and girls to choose subjects against stereotypes. |
| Anna’s
respect score: [ ] |
Kelly’s
respect score: [ ]
Jamie’s
respect score: [ ] |
Jo
and Mark’s respect score: [ ] |
What
some religious groups say:
| Buddhists
say: |
Christians
say: |
Hindus
say: |
Muslims
say: |
| “Compassion
for all beings is close to the heart of the Buddha’s teaching.
We want to be aware of anything which hurts others, and practice
meditation to live harmlessly. We aim to find a way of life where
right speech and right action do show respect for all, as the Buddha
taught us." |
Our
scripture says that in Christ there is no male or female, Jew or
Greek, slave or free person – we are to live as one family.
Christians should be the last to be prejudiced, because we believe
God loves everyone with boundless love, and we seek to try to do
the same. |
There
is a divine spark in all life, so we should respect the fire of
the gods that burns in all brothers and sisters everywhere. Many
Hindu heroes and stories remind us that a god may come to you in
the form of beggar or outcast so treat all people fairly to honour
the spark of god within. |
Allah
is the creator of all, so no human has reason to despise another.
Allah is the judge of all, so all humans should take responsibility
for their attitudes to others. Allah is the most merciful, so even
if someone wrongs you, you can learn a lesson, and be merciful yourself.
Islam gives a good foundation to respect between all the world’s
people. |
|
