...to expect students and parents to take my subject seriously?

[TeacherAnonymous123]

Issue coming from another thread I posted, so thought I would ask for people's opinions.

I teach Religious Studies at a Catholic Secondary School. As it is my subject, I am clearly biased, but I believe that students learning about other religions and cultures is extremely important for their development and attitude towards the world and other people.

As it is a Catholic school, students must take RS at GCSE. Their first exam in it is tomorrow morning and some of them are still apathetic, telling me that parents have said not to bother trying as it isn't an important subject and it doesn't matter if they fail.

Obviously this leads to a battle in lesson which I cannot win as I do not have support from parents.

So parents - do you think RS is an important and relevant subject? If not, why not?

I think to make children use up a GCSE choice for RE is wrong. Religious school or not.

Why? Do you feel the same about History & Geography?

It really suits some students to be able to access double or triple humanities, and RE is a humanity (when it's not being hijacker's into the cause of religious instruction- that's something else entirely).

If my child was doing it at GCSE I would expect them to work hard and give it their best shot. However if they were struggling with GCSEs generally then I’m afraid I would want them to prioritise success in maths and English over RE. Failing Re simply doesn’t have the same consequences for getting future education and career as maths and English.

My DDs school have compulsory RE GCSE and they both are doing well at it, for me it seems if you are good at English, humanities etc. it is an easy way to pick up an extra GCSE. It also results in some interesting conversations and gets them to think about other perspectives.

I do know some parents tell their kids not to worry about it, but I think if you are going to study it you might as well get another GCSE out of it. DD2 is keen on doing RPE for A level as well.

Although my DDs do it as a compulsory GCSE they don't miss out on another GCSE it is just an additional subject and they only have one lesson a week on it.

They chose to send their kids to a Catholic school, so this is what they signed up for.

People don’t get to choose a Catholic school because they think it is “better” or separates their child from the most vulnerable children, or those whose parents don’t support their education. They have to buy into it if they send their child there. It’s a choice

I've sent my kids to a Catholic school in Ireland, the syllabus is probably much the same as in the UK, but I'm a bit surprised that there's an exam in it at the end, ours doesn't. You learn something new every day.

Anyway if you send your child to a catholic school then they should absolutely be paying as much attention and learning as much as any other subject. Parents know the ethos of the school before enrollment.

YANBU

I wonder if RE should be renamed though to also include cultural aspects. Travelling, experiencing different cultures, going on gap years were always seen as cool.

Regardless, it is a bit pathetic for adults to dissuade kids from trying hard and attaining their potential, regardless of subject.

Yes, that's the reasoning of my dcs' non faith school too about why they all do RE GCSE. It's common in non faith schools to have to do it

My school was almost the opposite, very few chose RS as an option, and it was given little weight by the school. About 3 months before the exams a dozen of us (all likely to do well in subjects such as English and history) were approached and asked if we'd like to sit the RS exams, given a textbook to read, all exam no coursework option. I got an A*. That doesn't speak volumes for the academic rigour of the subject.
I would usually say the school are at fault for enforcing it as an option, but people have chosen to send their children to a Catholic school, so of course there will be mandated religion. Unless the child invented to use it in later life, a poor RS GCSE can easily be left off if someone, CVs etc, maths, English, sciences not so much , so that's where parents will encourage focus and other humanities and languages subjects etc will have been chosen because the child has an interest so I honestly think you're fighting a losing battle.

My school gets students to take it in year 10 and presents it as a taster for the year 11 exams. I think it's a good compromise.

I went to school in a different country.

The RE content I'm talking about isn't on social media etc so it's not somebody's ignorant comments I'm basing my options on.It's the curriculum on BBC bite size etc that the DCs have to study (also RE compulsory in their school, non religious school). Most of the stuff seems ridiculous and outdated. Its hard to take it seriously as a subject, DCs think the same so I won't be encouraging them to devote much time to it at the expense of other GCSEs .
Although, I do support any teaching regarding ethics, philosophy etc and I hope they cover that too and my DS in year 10 did human rights recently, and that was interesting.

Yep. All my kids who could took it (was not offered at all schools). They appreciate the benefit it provides giving a broader understanding of others and what underpins why people are what they are in a religious cultural sense.

It’s a Catholic school so that’s fair enough and parents should support it. If they didn’t want this, they should have chosen a different school.

I wouldn’t choose a religious school for this very reason.

As shown in this thread, there's a real understanding gap. It's not 'how to be a Christian 101'. They should rename the subject.

I was discussing the importance of RE with my KS2 child only last night. His Humanities slot is currently RE and he would much rather it was not! By the end of the conversation he agreed that RE was important.

I didn’t find the vast majority of RE teaching when I was at school very inspiring and therefore found it boring, but I absolutely value what I learnt. I hope lessons today have been made more relevant and engaging.

If my child was wanting to study a particular subject or subjects later on and needed certain grades in specific subjects and was struggling with the workload or anxiety I would absolutely encourage them to prioritise the subjects they needed.

Well quite but then why - as an RC school - choose to study only Catholicism with a side order of Judaism? Either cover several religions or don't bother suggesting it's a dispassionate academic exercise (which is what it should be).

It’s the least important of my child’s subjects because not doing well in it won’t exactly shut off any avenues to him…but yes, he treats it like any other exam and studies for it even if it’s not prioritised. We are not disrespectful people but everything else comes first.

@ButterNork my kids find the RE lessons boring and unengaging at secondary school, so perhaps they haven't moved on!

I really feel for you and I am torn.

I think RE is much more relevant these days and interesting. On the other hand, in most schools you choose the humanities from an option block.

I have to admit I would tell my children to prioritise Maths, English and the Sciences, plus whatever they are thinking for their A level choices.

I wouldn’t tolerate them being disruptive or disrespectful though.

I just wanted to say this.

The subject is called Religious Education, when in reality it should be something like Cultural, Religious and Ethical studies.

I think you can have a lot of fun with this, but sadly for many the subject does die a slow death due to its name and misunderstanding.

I had RE = bible study and moral teaching, a little bit about other religions and more Christian values

In the context of a massive mental health crisis amongst teenagers, particularly around public exams, I think it is perfectly reasonable for parents to help their kids take the pressure off as much as possible. RE is a veryimportant subject but an RE GCSE grade is not very important, in comparison to Maths or English.

I feel for you OP, being undermined by parents is really unhelpful, I'm sure. RS is a compulsory GCSE at DD's school unfortunately. Whilst I'm all for learning about world religions, it's doesn't seem right to limit GCSE options in this way. If it wasn't compulsory I don't think she would have chosen it.

@DataColour what do you mean about "outdated"?
Much of RS is basic facts -
Christians/Jews/Sikhs/Hindus/Muslims believe this and have these rituals/festivals.
It's a lot of ignorance around these basics that still exists. For example Sikh men wearing turbans being asked if they need a day off for Eid - errr...no because Eid is a Muslim festival not a Sikh one.

DGS is starting his GCSE courses in September. Ethics (which includes world religions and philosophical ideas) is a core subject. He does get to study History too which he loves.
I think these subjects lead to a broader understanding of people, the political landscape of the world (which is so often influenced by religion) and human ideas. All immensely valuable life skills

It's compulsory here in Wales at ds secondary and I'm sorry to say but he's not interested in it. He's dyslexic and struggles a bit with learning, so he is concentrating on the subjects that are either more important or he's more interested in. So Maths, Science, English, IT and History. Id prefer it if he could get better marks in a small number of subjects, than fail them all cause its too much for him.