Home Page
|
Educate Together |
|
|
|
Written by Carmel Mulcahy
|
|
Tuesday, 30 November 2004 |
New Ethical Education Curriculum
Learn Together, the title of the new ethical education curriculum
for Educate Together schools, aptly captures the vision, which was first enunciated
by the founders of the Dalkey School Project as early as 1975. At a public meeting
that same year the group stated that their concept of multidenominational should
be defined as the inclusion of all children of all faiths and none.
Since the
opening of the first Educate Together school in Dalkey in 1978, the principle
that no child should be regarded as an outsider regardless of social, cultural
and religious background or personal creed has been the cornerstone of all schools
in the sector. Such an ethos permeates all interactions within the school communities
and is based on the key principle of respect. It is not surprising that research
conducted on the identification of core values in Educate Together schools highlighted
respect as the overarching value around which other values were encouraged and
fostered. The living out of this value ensures that a culture of equity exists
which encourages communities of practice where everyone can feel a sense of belonging,
security and esteem and where human dignity and freedom are recognized and respected.
From a curricular perspective, the embodiment of the principles of Educate Together
is actively studied in what is commonly referred to as the Core Curriculum. Under
the National School system the Patron of the school allocates 30 minutes per day
to deliver its religious programme. In Educate Together schools it has been the
responsibility of the Patron body of the school to submit a statement on religious
education as a requirement for recognition by the Department of Education and
Science. Up to now schools offered individual programmes but in truth all programmes
were based on the Educate Together Charter and had many common elements. The Educate
Together Charter commits the movement to support the establishment of schools,
which are multidenominational, co-educational, child-centred and democratically
run. Unlike denominational schools, where the aim of religious education programmes
is primarily to foster and deepen the child’s faith, the key aim of the
Core Curriculum is to foster in each child knowledge and understanding of different
value and belief systems in an atmosphere of critical inquiry and mutual respect.
It is important that no aspect of the programme should exclude any child, parent
or guardian. While religious and other symbols are studied as part of the programme
and are expressed through celebrations, drama, music, poetry and artwork, no religious
icons are displayed and the family is recognized as having the primary responsibility
for the religious formation of the child. The Boards of Management of the schools
facilitate groups of parents who wish to do so, to use school facilities for specific
religious instruction classes outside of school hours.
The Learn Together programme is a set of guidelines, which has
been developed by the sector to support the growing number of schools. Patronage
of schools within the sector has predominantly become the responsibility of the
Educate Together body and with this role came the need to submit a statement on
religious education for each school. Research had also indicated that new and
emerging schools would welcome the support offered by the guidelines and that
such a document would provide an opportunity to encapsulate the inclusive ethos
of the sector in a curriculum that would be both functional and accessible to
teachers and members of the school community. The Curriculum Development Committee
worked on a voluntary basis for over two years to develop the programme and presented
the work in progress for feedback and further comment at a series of ethos conferences.
In keeping with the democratic nature of the organization, the views of students
both past and present were sought on the final choice of topics for inclusion.
The final document which is published this week is a beautifully illustrated and
colourful publication which features the original artwork, stories and poems of
children from Educate Together schools throughout Ireland.
In drawing up and agreeing the content of the curriculum, much research was done
on existing Core Curriculum documents that had been developed by schools. Research
also identified that many of the innovative and exciting areas addressed by existing
curricula may overlap with programmes which were subsequently developed by the
Department of Education and Science such as the Social, Personal and Health Education
Programme, the RSE Programme and the Walk Tall Programme. The challenge for the
Curriculum Committee was to develop a programme, which respected the four key
principles of Educate Together, supported the ethos of the sector, provided guidelines
for teachers and respected the individual nature of all students. A possible greater
challenge is to provide an opportunity for school communities to develop responses
at curricular level to challenging issues in the search for meaning and purpose
in life.
The Learn Together programme identifies four key strands that emerged as critical
to the delivery of the Educate Together ethos at curricular level: moral and spiritual,
equality and justice, belief systems and ethics and the environment. Each strand
is developed using a spiral approach that is age and stage appropriate. Teachers
are encouraged to use a wide range of delivery methodologies, which recognize
the multiple intelligences and in particular the range of learning styles that
are present in all classrooms. The programme should allow an opportunity for reflection
at both group and individual level in particular in relation to the strands dealing
with moral and spiritual development and equality and justice. This last strand
also features a section on activating equality through positive action that should
appeal to all age groups.
The biggest challenge of any curriculum is to guide children towards informed
opinions and to provide them with the skills and attitudes to make value judgements,
not just on impulse but on reflection. The Learn Together Programme seems poised
to do just that.
|
|
|
| The local planet |
Fivealley
Birr
Co. Offaly
Ireland
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Tel. 057 9133119/ 9133985 / 9133962 Fax: 057 9133985 | | |
|
MA in Ecology & Religion |
|
Part-Time Ma Programme in Ecology and Religion
- Science & Religion with John Feehan
- Ecology & Economics with Richard Douthwaite
- The Ecological State of Our Planet and Country with Sean McDonagh
- Ecology and The Bible with Sean Freyne
Further information from: The MA Admissions Office, IMU Institute, Dalgan Park, Navan, Co. Meath. Tel. 046 9021525 (ext. 332)
Email
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
|
Value Hosting |
|
The publishers of the Local Planet have recently launched a domain name registration and website hosting facility. Special offers are available from time time. Features include a getting started wizard and video tutorials - in addition to many advanced features for experienced users. Dot com names are currently free (8th March 2009). Host My Ireland. Lo-Call 1890 92 94 10 |
|
