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Original poster

Tell me if this is normal- year 7 RE

64 replies

seeker · 04/10/2012 21:54

Ds told me he was upset at school today. They are doing RE at the moment, and they are doing a project on various aspects of Christianity. He and another boy have been allocated the Crucifixion. Among other things, ds told me that they have to find out why Jesus was crucified, when and where crucifixion was used as a method of execution, why it stopped being used and whwt happens when someone is crucified.

Is this normal? Ds is already disturbed by some of the stuff he has found out, and they've only been researching it for a day! I am perfectly happy with the findingnout why Jesus was crucified, but I really don't think there is any value in the gory details is there? Or am I missing something?

OP posts:
Knowsabitabouteducation · 04/10/2012 22:42

What is the problem with what he is being asked to do? I assume there is no problem with the why or where, so the issue is the how?

Should we pussyfoot around human suffering? I don't think so.

If the school subscribes to the moral side of atonement theology, I can see why they might describe the martyrdom of Christ.

slambang · 04/10/2012 22:40

Yes yes teacher.

Which is why the facts about crucifixion are part of understanding it.

I'm all for good RE actually. The moral stuff ds1 is doing about drugs, abortion, sex from the perspectives of different religions is really fascinating.

visualarts · 04/10/2012 22:36

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LadySybildeChocolate · 04/10/2012 22:35

Ds is in year 9, he's learning about punishments around the globe so it kind of fits in with this. RE isn't just about religion, there's more aspects to it (so it seems). He looked at crime last year as well for Geography.

teacherwith2kids · 04/10/2012 22:31

Slambag,

I am not a Christian. However, a working knowledge of the main beliefs of important world faiths seems to me to be a fairly essential pre-requisite to general understanding of the world and its history.... which is why RE as an academic subject seems to me to earn its place in the curriculum, even though collective worship 'of a mainly christian character' does not.

slambang · 04/10/2012 22:29

I stand corrected.

but as the whole lot is nonsense anyway, well...

Original poster
seeker · 04/10/2012 22:26

It just seems to me to be part of the "London Dungeoning" of history- even castles which never had torture chambers have to build one now to get the punters in. I want my child to learn about the important tenets of world faiths- spending time looking up the gruesome details of crucifixion seems to me like studying Keats by researching the symptoms of tuberculosis.

OP posts:
teacherwith2kids · 04/10/2012 22:25

slambag,

To be fair, it's the resurrection, not the crucifixion, which is the most important bit of Christianity ...

Possibly the most important bit in terms of the creation of 'Christianity' as a wolrd-wide religion would be Pentecost, with St Paul as the indefatigable putting-it-into-practice and all purpose chivvying-the-faithful bod.

Christians would say that the fact that Jesus died, plus the belief that this was for the sins of the world and was followed by him rising again, is central. The details of the method of death are not.

visualarts · 04/10/2012 22:22

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Original poster
seeker · 04/10/2012 22:13

I don't think it should be pussyfooted around- but actually asking them to look up all that stuff about suffocation because you can't breathe while handing from your hands and nails through the wrists and all that. Why?

He's fine, thank you Ingles- lots of sport so he's happy. He's had a couple of people having a go at him for "being clever"- somebody said "why are you at this school?" and he was quick enough to say "the same reason you are, mate" and he got a laugh, so he came home rather pleased with himself!

OP posts:
slambang · 04/10/2012 22:07

I think by yr 7 this level of info is probably OK. The crucifixion is the most important bit of Christianity so they tell me and I think understanding what it involved is probably necessary to grasp its significance. You only need to go into a church to see bleeding Jesuses images, statues with nails etc so it's not exactly something we can pussy foot around.

Just get rid of RE from the curriculum altogether I say.

Original poster
seeker · 04/10/2012 22:07

I just don't see the point-how is the exact process of death through crucifixion relevant to the study of Christianity?

And actually, maybe year 1s would be fascinated- thoughtful 11 year olds with rather more mature imaginations might feel differently.

OP posts:
Ingles2 · 04/10/2012 21:58

No I wouldn't go for gory details, just a brief paragraph explaining the basics...
I am an atheist though and don't have a great deal of time for RE homework
Grin
How's he settled in btw?

pudding25 · 04/10/2012 21:57

He's Yr 7, not yr 1! Most primary kids would love to hear about this, in fact, when I taught Christianity to my yr 1 class a few years ago, they were particularly fascinated to know how he was put on the cross.

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