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I think one of the trump cards of RE is our ability to teach critical thinking. In the wake of a general election, with the diverse voices and opinions our young people are exposed to, and as they embark on relationships, it feels that an ability to spot flaws in people's arguments is vital. In this episode, I explain what I mean by 'flaw' or 'fallacy and break down into easily accessible chunks a few of the most common fallacies;

• Post hoc ergo proctor hoc - after this, therefore because of this
• Reductio ad absurdum - reducing something to it's most ridiculous extreme to try and prove an opinion is wrong
• Slippery slope - arguing that one event will evetually lead to something catestrophic
• Ad hominem - when you can't find anything wrong with someone's argument so start attacking the person
• False dichotomy - when someone assumes there are only two options
• Straw man fallacy where you slightly misrepresent someone's argument to make it look like it is flawed
• Circular arguments where your premise is assumed to be true and therefore is used to prove your conclusion is
• Non-sequiter so where a conclusion doesn't logically follow a premise
• Fallacy of composition where you assume that something that is true for an individual is also true for the whole
• False authority - where you use an authority figure who isn't an expert to prove a point
• Confirmation bias - where you look for evidence to support what you already believe.

I apply these fallacies to philosophical arguments and modern day dilemmas and talk about how to overcome them.
I really hope this is a helpful episode that will help you equip your students for life in the 21st century.

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I have been thinking a lot recently about the Science of Learning and what that looks like in the RE classroom. I think we have a lot to learn from educational research. But what I am noticing is that children don't seem to LOVE learning, in fact some seem to resent it. I have been trying to work out why. Like many things, I think it is multifaceted with social and political factors, but what I am more interested in is solutions. HOW do we encourage children to LOVE learning? Children are naturally curious and love to ask WHY - and the RE classroom is such an ideal place to cultivate their curiousity and encourage them to be like they were when they were younger. So I was thinking about HOW we can cultivate curiosity in our classrooms. This episode is the result of my thinking.

I'd love to hear how YOU cultivate curiosity in your classroom so please get in touch!

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Back in February, Jamie and I discussed doing an episode together! And three months later it happened! And it was a delightful chat. We dicuss so many things including the worldview approach to RE, what sentientism is and what it means in terms of how we treat living things, as well as the the importance of evdience and reason in working out what's real!

Here is a link to Jamies website, articles of RE today, Christspiracy and how to contact him;

https://sentientism.info/

https://www.natre.org.uk/resources/termly-mailing/secondary-investigating-worldviews/investigating-non-religious-worldviews-re-today-services/investigating-a-non-religious-worldview-what-is-sentientism/

https://www.christspiracy.org/

@jamiewoodhouse

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On 2nd May The RE Council has published its Draft Handbook for the Religion and Worldviews in the Classroom: developing a Worldviews Approach project.
This is an historic day for the RE community. But, what is the RE Council (REC) and what is this handbook? Who is it for? And how is it different from the National Content Standard?

I discuss all this and more with former NATRE chair, current Deputy Chair for the REC and RE advisor, Ed Pawson, and chair of the REC and educational officer for the free Churches, Sarah Lane Cawte.

After a hard day it was delightful to chat to such wonderful people and appreciated them giving their time to me considering how busy they are.

I also learn something and demonstrate how NOT to do respectful curiosity!

https://religiouseducationcouncil.org.uk/rec/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/REC-Worldviews-Project-double-pages-Revised-cover-v1.2.pdf

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The wonder woman of the RE world! This incredible advocate of RE has worked tierlessly to champion RE, from her own teaching, to leading, training and supporting, advising, inspecting, writing and speaking.
She now teaches and advises about leadership, school improvement and the curriculum on a whole school level, but this interview highlights the passion she still has for RE.
We discuss her extensive career, why she loves RE so much, her proudest moment so far, top tips for teaching RE!

https://www.marymyatt.com/

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Have you heard of Ed Finch? You may know him from BrewEd or as a Primary Head Teacher? Well, he now is training to become a Humanist Celebrant. Following the death of his wife, he was introduced to the wonderful concept of a humanist funeral. Ed tells us all about the training he is recieving to be able to support others through grief in the way he was.
You would think that this would make this conversation depressing and heavy, but it is anything but. It is beautiful and joyful, as is Ed!
We discuss what a humanist funeral is, what happens at them and why there is a need for them. But also we consider beliefs about life after death and the wonderful phrase 'a taste of the sacred'.

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If you teach GCSE Islam, then you will know how important sources of authority are. In this episode, Waqar Ahmedi, Zameer Hussain and I discuss sources of authority in Islam. We explore The Qur'an, The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the Sunnah and the Hadith as well as other Holy Texts that have authority, and we also consider the role of the Imamate as a source of authority in Shia Islam.
Some of you maybe aware of Zam's recent work on Ijtihad, This is a new concept for me so we explore that a little bit also. See links below for more details.
We look at common mistakes and misunderstandings when teaching sources of authority in Islam. A fascinating chat that will change the way you teach Islam!

https://reformingre.wordpress.com/2021/11/16/teaching-diversity-of-opinion-in-islam/
https://www.reonline.org.uk/research/research-of-the-month/ijtihad/
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13617672.2024.2312337

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It's a few weeks until the first GCSE RE exam and so here is a bitesized episode to help support revision. I look at different revision methods and some top tips for the exam. This won't replace the valuable work done in the classroom but might give some helpful tips alongside lessons!
Good luck to all of you out there as you embark on exam season. You got this!

Link to St Marys Catholic High School and Sixth Form Religious Education position:

https://stmaryschs.org.uk/Teacher-of-Religious-Education/

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