Unit 2 assignment completed!!!

The second unit of the course had a lot more weight that the substantial unit 1. As well as dealing with some of the issues facing school administrators, we were prompted to look at the issue of R.E. in liberal societies that often promote the rights of the individual NOT to do something over the rights of others. (In this case, it was the rights of people to NOT to hear views on subjects such as homosexuality, over the rights of other who wish their views to be heard).

The content demonstrated implications for all branches of education, and not just for R.E. My research took me to a look at the Northern Ireland state schools, as well as into the secular and religious schools of the US and Canada.

It was a substantial project, and in addition to the 5 course readings (over 100 pages of text), I did additional research that led to me doubling the reading required. In 2 weeks! My assignment weighed in just a little over the recommended word count of 1000-2000 words, and try as I might, I just could not keep it down!

The next unit is still locked to me, and I have only just downloaded the course readings. This time there are 6 articles, totaling 74 pages of reading. Once again, the topics appear to be diverse. One paper discusses the forced religious indoctrination of Native Americans; another is from a History Journal and deals with the experiences in Ethiopia. There is a paper dealing with Christian support groups outside of education, and two that deal with the legalities of 2 seemingly innocent topics – graduation speeches and school uniforms, and a final paper on homeschooling.

It appears, at first glance, that this unit will be delving further into the debate about parental choice, though I will have a better idea when the instruction for the course is open to me (28 hours or so from now).

I will once again have an assignment to complete within 2 weeks, but this time things are complicated by the looming deadline for a group exercise in which an assignment should be submitted that outlines a theoretical outline for Religious Education in State Schools. My plan will be to complete the course readings for Unit 3 this week, and also complete the group assignment, giving me a free week to complete the research for the Unit 3 assignment. Thankfully, the research from the previous units means that most of the research for the group assignment is complete, so it should not be too difficult.

I recognise that I need to refine my methodology before the course starts properly, or I will quickly be overwhelmed by the workload. Right now it is 7:30pm and I have to do some work preparing for the classes I will teach tomorrow, and I need to find some quality time for my wife. At the same time, my mind is racing with ideas for the group assignment, and the readings for the next unit look somewhat intriguing!