RE lessons can be an area of concern for Christian parents, Ruth Evans advises an open constructive approach to engaging with schools over this issue
When you hear the words ‘RE lesson’ what springs to mind? It may trigger memories of copying notes from a board or a book about things we didn’t really understand. It may be remembering particularly quirky teachers, or maybe you don’t remember RE lessons even happening!
RE provision in schools – both primary and secondary – has changed considerably since I was at school, but there are some things that remain the same. Whoever is teaching the subject may be a person of any faith, or none, but whoever it is should be teaching the subject without bias or leaning, and often without declaring whether or not they believe what they are teaching. That might seem strange when we know how much we might want to be honest about our beliefs with people, but it does frequently lead to more open discussion between children and teachers in lessons (sidenote… Let’s ensure we pray for Christian teachers teaching RE in this way, it can be hard for them, and they will know that they are being watched).
1. Find out what is actually being taught
When we think about what it is our children are being taught about religion the first place to look is the school website – they should have an RE policy/curriculum map that gives information on what topics are taught, and at what stage. If you can’t find it, ask for it, they will have it somewhere! The curriculum maps will often be ‘spiral’ in nature – each couple of years they build on a topic they have covered lower down the school. For example: ‘How do people celebrate Christmas?’ in the younger years then might become ‘What is Christmas? Why do Christians find it important to celebrate Christmas? What does the celebration of Christmas tell Christians about the nature of God?’ in future years through school. This kind of progression of thought is very helpful, but sometimes, as Christian parents, we might think they are not doing enough!
It may also be that RE is taught in topics, not with each religion being given a term to itself. For example, a topic on ‘Special Books’ might have children considering the writings special to Christians, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus and so on, all in one term, with a different ‘special book’ each week.
RE lessons in schools and sessions in Sunday schools/youth groups are not looking for the same outcome
It is important to find out how your school teaches it so that you are able to address any questions/confusions your youngster might come up with. If you know they teach it as topics then if your child comes home having got the Qur’an and the Torah mixed up you can understand why, or if they seem to have done nothing about Christianity for months it may be that this term’s teaching is heavily weighted towards another religion, and Christianity will be picked up later in the year. Both these methods have pros and cons, and the school teachers will have considered carefully which is the best for the context in which you live.
2. Offer your help
But what about if we focus specifically on the teaching of Christianity within RE, surely that will be plain sailing, right?! Unfortunately, not! As we know there are many denominations and there is no way that a school is able to cover all of those different aspects. Often the teaching materials they use will take a line that is recognised withing Anglicanism, Methodism or Catholicism and use that as their basis, particularly when it comes to things like ‘What does a church look like’ lessons! It may be that your child or young person comes home confused, possibly upset, or finds it funny, when they try to describe what church looks like for them and the teacher disagrees!
what about when it appears that what your child and their friends are being taught is wrong?
Again, this is where knowing the teaching plan for RE can really help, particularly with younger children. Sending in some photos of the church your child goes to (especially if it a ‘non-traditional’ church), and maybe a little information about what their church service is like not only helps the teacher, but also then gives their classmates an opportunity to see the wide range of Christian expression. Depending on your relationship with both the class teacher and your church leader you may could offer that they come in/the whole class go and visit the church for a lesson. It is so helpful to view these kind of differences as an opportunity for us as parents, or even for our children /young people if they feel confident enough, to share something of our faith or Christian practice with the adults who see our children so much.
3. Teach in the home and be ready to engage with wrong ideas
And then, what about when it appears that what your child and their friends are being taught is wrong? This is where we may need acres of grace! Maybe the teacher thinks that they understand Christianity because it is kind of embedded in our society to some degree, maybe they have a very busy timetable or are simply having a bad time at home and for whatever reason haven’t got fully to grips with what you might want your child to come away knowing about, for example, a particular parable.
Read more:
5 ways Christian parents can engage with sex and relationships education in school
Parents are the key to bridging the gap between church and school
RE lessons in schools and sessions in Sunday schools/youth groups are not looking for the same outcome. In churches we want our youth and children to know that they are loved by God, that they are in need of a Saviour, that they can have a living relationship with Jesus and so much more. In schools, they need them to know certain elements of Christianity and other religions in order that they can try to see things from someone else’s point of view, and so that they can live a society where all sorts of people with different beliefs can live alongside each other peacefully (something we would hope for too, of course).
This is when we can truly embrace verses like Deuteronomy 6 v 7 “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” If we want our children to know about our faith, if we want them to understand scripture, if want them to know that are loved by God, it is our job as parents to do that. If we do that prayerfully, joyfully and consistently then hopefully when our kids come across something that they think is misaligned with what they have been taught at home and at church they can ask us. Maybe they will even, graciously and respectfully, challenge their teachers on it, and who knows, the living Word in our children’s lives may draw their teachers to want to know more/get it right/teach it better next time!
