SACRE 18.09.13 item 3 - Ealing SACRE Briefing

Ealing SACRE briefing: September 2013 Inspiration, Lauren, aged 18 Spirited Arts, www.natre.org.uk 0F Agreed syllabus: new units 0B Please find attached schemes of work for the following new units in the revised agreed syllabus 1) Seeds of unity, and 2: Most of the material in these schemes comes from work commissioned by BGCI (Botanic Gardens Conservation International), whose specific remit was to create resources for ks2 RE teachers on the subject of how the human dependence on plant life is reflected in belief/ ritual and what various traditions have to say on the subject of stewardship and conservation [Please note that it was part of the BGCI’s grant proposal for this project that the resources focus on Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Humanism.] 2) History of belief in the UK, (History of belief in the UK, will be presented at the January meeting.) 3) Mixed metaphors (compares religious/poetic/metaphoric thinking to scientific/logical thinking) It is hoped to send these units out to schools in Gatekeeping after SACRE has had a chance to offer feedback/comments Reflection guidance We will revisit the Reflection guidance in the January meeting However following the discussion at the June meeting, I propose the following change to the sample consultation letter for parents Current wording Proposed change Ealing SACRE recommends an approach where there is no actual worship; instead, following a presentation based on a religious or ethical theme, pupils are requested to spend a quiet moment praying silently, meditating or reflecting on what they have just heard Ealing SACRE recommends an approach where there is no formal worship; instead, following a presentation based on a religious or ethical theme, pupils are requested to spend a quiet moment praying silently, meditating or reflecting on what they have just heard Lauren was the secondary winner in the 2005 Spirited Arts Competition She says “My mural represents architecture of my home town of Kendal and the beauty and inspiring landscape of the Lake District I wanted to bring together the manmade stone buildings and the ‘God made’ curvaceous surrounding hills …” Ealing SACRE briefing 18 September 2013 Potential school visitors On several of the RE monitoring returns we’ve been asked about suitable school visitors; I have also received this request via email I am hoping to put together a list for schools, but I need your help/suggestions (You will already have received a letter about this, but in case you missed it, I’m repeating the request here.) It is important when making suggestions to keep in mind that the visitors that you recommend must be able to relate to the relevant age group They must also follow the attached guidelines NASACRE news If you have not yet viewed the Summer 2013 NASACRE newsletter, you can find it here: (http://www.nasacre.org.uk/newsletters) Attached: Guidelines for visitors KS2.12: Seeds of unity (1) KS3.10: Seeds of unity (2) KS2.13: History of belief in the UK (1) KS3.13: Mixed metaphors Ealing SACRE briefing Nora Leonard SACRE consultant September 2013 18 September 2013 Guidelines for visitors The following guidelines are to be used in conjunction with the policy regarding visitors already existing in schools; they also assume that a teacher is present when a visitor is presenting an assembly or leading an act of reflection It is helpful if visitors:  are familiar with the school, e.g through a prior visit  are clear about their brief and the time available to them  are encouraged to bring resources and artefacts to illustrate their contribution  are sensitive to the response of the group to what is being said  not use the opportunity to influence pupils unfairly, or to attempt to win them over to their stance  not have to compete with school notices It is helpful if the person responsible for the school’s programme:  has met the visitor so that they are aware of the visitor’s language and communication skills, and their particular expertise  has provided the visitor with a clear written brief, and with an idea of the number, age, gender-balance, religious/non-religious and cultural background and ability of pupils in the group they are visiting  has given the visitor directions to the school, the school’s telephone number, details of resources and equipment available to them, and offered hospitality  has ensured that equipment is available and working  has encouraged visitors to speak from their personal perspective, and not necessarily on behalf of the religious/philosophical community to which they belong  has prepared visitors for awkward questions from pupils  is aware of the demands on the visitor (e.g whether they have taken time off work in order to make the visit)  has an alternative prepared in case of an emergency  offers feedback Ealing SACRE briefing 18 September 2013 Please return to: Nora Leonard, SACRE consultant, Perceval House P2: NE, 14-16 Uxbridge Road, London W5 2HL SUGGESTED SCHOOL VISITORS (For classroom talk or assembly) SACRE Member Name of person/group with full contact details Ealing SACRE briefing Tradition (e.g Sikh) Target Group (e.g infants, primary, secondary) 18 September 2013 Specific offering (e.g Bhangra dancing/music; classroom/asssembly) Ealing Agreed Syllabus: guidance for teachers 3B KS2.13: History of belief in the UK (1) Timelines Aim: to introduce pupils to the idea of layers of history in Britain Pupils will 7B Overall aim: To look at the various ways we learn about the beliefs of past generations; to understand that the ideas and beliefs in Britain today have been influenced across time by a variety of traditions Learn some of the key words and concepts related to creating an historical timeline; understand that, even if it appears that way from schematic timelines, there are no clear demarcations between ages, i.e they overlap 8B SEN 10B 9B Gifted 11B Possible activities Suggested resources Note: This unit could be part of a cross-curricular lesson with history, although it is probably best suited to years or Starter: Ask children to raise their hands if they were born in the UK Then ask them to keep them up if at least one of their parents was born in the UK Ditto with grandparents Project a large world map on the IWB (preferably one that has the UK in the centre) Draw lines from the different countries showing where the members of the class or their relatives/ancestors have come from Ask class to list things that they or their relatives might have brought to Britain that aren’t readily available here Ask: what—if any— religious practices did their relatives/ancestors bring with them to Britain Do they still observe these? Activity 1: On the IWB, take pupils through an interactive timeline, such as the “Ages of Treasure” timeline on the BBC website Using the images on the website build up a vocabulary of words such as: monument, inscription, statue, burial site and artefact Look at the way archaeologists use the term ‘age’: e.g Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, Iron Age, Age of Reason etc Create your own timeline in a form that can be re-used during the course of this unit (This is something that the class will come back to in later lessons.) Be sure to emphasise that ‘ages’ overlap Give as an example something like the use of computers, e.g how some people in the same family could have entered ‘the age of computers,’ while others have not Activity 2: Hand out worksheets that have a time line that extends a few years before the birth-year of the oldest child in the class and a few years in the future Ask pupils to plot significant events (with dates, as detailed as possible) in their lives, including when they met significant figures or were introduced to ideas that really made them think KS2.13: History of belief in the UK, Materials for creating a timeline http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ interactive/timelines/treasure/ index_embed.shtml Timeline worksheets Activity 3: Return to the timeline you used in the first activity and indicate to the pupils where their individual timelines fit into the schema Tell them to imagine leaving behind some artefact of their life, e.g a house, a treasured object, some clothes What object could they leave that would explain their beliefs or interests to someone in the future? Then, get them to imagine the layers of artefacts that humans have left behind Show them a diagram of an archaeological dig, which reveals ‘strata’ of history (see background information) http://pages.vassar.edu/realar chaeology/author/ngtran/ Activity 4: Brainstorm words that refer to ages in an individual’s timeline: e.g infancy, childhood, school age, adulthood, pension age, old age etc Also talk about how we outgrow clothes Have any of the children worn hand-me-downs? How about fashion in clothes? Now, shift the discussion to ideas Do we outgrow ideas? Are there hand-me-down ideas? What about the introduction of new ideas? How hard or easy is it to change the way we think? (This should be an open discussion.) Plenary: Tell class to imagine that your school was built on land where there used to be a school in Victorian times And that when builders were working on an extension, they discovered an old metal box You open that box and find: an abacus, hand slate, chalk, copy book, dip pen and inkwell, or pictures of these What would these objects tell you? http://www.victorianschool.c o.uk/schoolday.html Now, ask class if they know what a time capsule is Say that people sometimes deliberately bury things/or put things away (e.g in a loft or cupboard) so that they can look back on their past Create a time capsule that would give students in the future an idea of what your school life is like What would you put in it (e.g a school badge)? Get students to write a letter to their future older self, describing their current interests, something that they could read out at a future class reunion How much they think would have changed by then? (You can tell them some of the things that have changed since you went to school.) SEN Gifted KS2.13: History of belief in the UK, Evidence from the past 12B Aim: To get pupils to start to formulate intelligent questions about historical and archaeological evidence Possible activities Pupils will 13B Learn that we can speculate about past ages based on archaeological finds; they also learn that bias has to be considered when looking at historical accounts of other cultures 14B SEN 15B 16B Gifted 17B Starter: Remind pupils of the time capsule from the previous lesson On the IWB, go through the relevant pages and stories from the “Dig up the past” game about finds in a peat bog, specifically the skull, sword, cauldron, bog body and spindle whorl As the ‘fact file’ on the website suggests, we can only look at the clues and make ‘educated guesses’ about what these finds suggest about the people who put these things in the bog All of these could be viewed as sacrifices to a god or gods, but they could also have mundane significance How we tell? Or can we know for sure in the absence of more conclusive evidence? (This website makes the following excellent point: “Children need to understand that the history of this era—i.e the Iron Age—was created using supposition, imagination and reconstruction.”) Activity 1: Share with the class your personal artefact or memento This can be anything, as long as it has ‘clues’ about what it is and what it says about you or the person to whom it belongs For instance a hiking boot or gardening glove that is well worn could indicate that you/the owner really love(s) to hike/garden; an old family photo in an antique frame could indicate that you treasure your past and/or your family Plus, the location/subject of the picture could say something about your origins, or the origin of your family, or a treasured holiday spot Suggested resources Iron Age Celts “dig up the past game” http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/c elts/index.shtml?1 A personal ‘artefact’ that says things about you or about someone close to you Activity 2: Class to break into groups and discuss what your object says about you or the person to whom it belongs They write down questions to ask you about the object—they aren’t allowed to ask a direct question like “What does this object say about you?” They should rate these questions in importance (i.e the one that they think will provide the biggest clue should be at the top) and then come back together Activity 3: A representative from each group gets to ask you their top question Answer these questions and then ask class to make ‘educated guesses’ about what the object says about you If none of their questions hit the mark, suggest further questions they might have asked Emphasize that without your input it would be impossible to know for sure what the object says about you Plenary: Chose a few sentences to read from the Roman historical records about the practices and beliefs of the Celts (see background information) What these accounts tell us about the Celts? How we decide whether a report is factual or propaganda? (Give contemporary examples of both.) Ask class: why we think that the objects found in the bog were sacrifices to their gods? (E.g Roman accounts plus speculation over whether people would just throw something as valuable as a gold cauldron on a rubbish heap.) KS2.13: History of belief in the UK, Provenance Aim: to learn the importance of context Pupils will 19B Learn to formulate and refine questions about beliefs based on the study of artefacts 20B SEN 22B 21B Gifted 23B Possible activities Suggested resources Starter: Show class a picture of a statue of Isis (i.e without a typically Egyptian headdress) and Horus as a child (see background information) Ask the class to imagine that they work in a museum and that they were sent this object Split into pairs or groups of three to come up with questions they would use as starting points for an investigation Write these questions on the IWB, noting the most common and also the most original What question does the class think would give them the most useful information about the object? Activity 1: (NB: Be sure and point out that this activity is a thinking exercise, and that if anyone finds an abandoned pack IRL they should report it to their parent/guardian or to the police.) Remind pupils about the time capsule exercise Ask pupils to imagine that they had found a backpack near their school What items would they expect to find in the backpack if it belonged to one of their classmates? What items might they expect to find if it belonged to an adult, e.g someone who was in a rush, then set the backpack down and forgot about it? What does where the pack is found tell them, e.g whether it is found at the bus stop, near the school, on the playground, in a nearby shop? Open the pack, look through the items and discuss how you might decide who lost the pack What the items say about the individual to whom the pack belongs? Do any of the items give clues to the person’s ideas, values or beliefs? (For example, the library card could indicate that they value reading, but they could also use it to rent DVDs A cross on a chain could indicate that the person was Christian, but it could also be an item that they had found and were hoping to return to the owner.) Backpack containing a variety of items, e.g pencil case, books, money purse, bus pass, cinema tickets, library card and something of religious significance Activity 2: Discuss the importance of provenance (i.e exact location of a find) Explain that, to an archaeologist, unearthing a find in an actual dig site gives much better evidence than buying one in the market (which could have come from anywhere, in spite of what the seller might say) For instance, the layer that the object is found in can tell you something about its age, whereas the location (e.g in a temple precinct, or a shrine corner in a home) can tell you something about what the object was used for But also point out that evidence from layers is not always straightforward Get them to imagine that the top floor of a house collapses, and things like the bathtub, beds etc end up all the way down in the basement, and that this particular house gets buried under layers of further construction Someone looking at the layers in a future dig might think that people at that time had their bathrooms in the basement Remind them again about the archaeological study of ‘layers’, i.e stratigraphy KS2.13: History of belief in the UK, Activity 3: Show the tomb painting of Horus and Isis Does it remind the class of anything (e.g statues or pictures of Mary and the baby Jesus)? As an open question ask: why might images of Mary and Jesus resemble images of Isis and Horus? Could the ideas and images of the earlier Egyptian civilisation influence the later ideas/imagery of Christianity? Show image of the Mother and Child statue from Serbia dating from the Stone Age Could figures like this have influenced the later Egyptian iconography of Isis and Horus and the Christian iconography of Mary and Jesus? Could this be an example of an idea/image that spans across several ages? Ask how many pupils have pictures of themselves as a baby being held by their mother Could this just be a common human image, rather than one that is specifically religious? Plenary: If you have already taught unit KS2.12 (Seeds of unity, 1) remind class of the lesson “Food for thought”, which looks at how the same food consumed on different occasions and in different contexts can change both the meaning and the experience (If you haven’t done this unit, give the example of bread used in a sandwich compared to bread consumed during the rite of communion, or sweets eaten after a meal compared to prasad received in a Hindu temple.) Now, ask class to suggest what an archaeologist might conclude about the following:  A clay lamp found in the ruins of a house or on a village dump, as compared to the same lamp found in a temple precinct  A gold platter found in the ruins of a wealthy British-Roman villa and one found near a structure that might be an altar Without further definitive evidence (e.g inscriptions on the items) would they be able to say for sure how these objects were used? Ask class to give examples from modern traditions of practices that might use candles/lamps (e.g the everlasting light on altars, the lighting of lamps on Divali, the lighting of candles during Hannukah, secular monuments such as eternal flames as memorials) as well as special platters (e.g puja trays or special platters for roasts used on special family meals) in both religious and non-religious contexts KS2.13: History of belief in the UK, Layers of belief 24B Aim: to begin to understand how beliefs from the past can affect ideas of the present Possible activities Pupils will 25B Learn that archaeology can show how different groups of people bring new ideas to a country; also that old ideas can persist alongside new ones 26B SEN 27B 28B Gifted 29B Suggested resources Starter: Ask if any of the class has seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy Do they remember the bit where Frodo, Bilbo and Gandalf travel to Grey Havens to leave on the ship with the Elves? Show the YT clip of this scene (Departure to Grey Havens http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrNFjgCVeBo) Tell class that Tolkien, the man who wrote LOTR, was a professor of Anglo Saxon at Oxford, so he would have taught the Old English classic Beowulf That the departure of the ship from Grey Havens is reminiscent of the final lines of the ship burial in Beowulf, when the men depart the ship in sorrow, leaving their king to make the final journey “to who knows where.” Alternatively play a video of “Into the West”, e.g http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=shdiTRxTJb4 Activity 1: Show YT video that describes the discovery of the Sutton Hoo ship burial Pause the video when it comes to the timeline and remind the class where this fits into the timeline you created for the first lesson Explain that you are going to look at some of the evidence that archaeologists have used to: 1) identify the person in the grave in Mound and 2) make statements about that person’s beliefs and the changing beliefs of the time Sutton Hoo ship burial http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=RjxXQif6VMI Activity 2: Explain that you’re going to look at three types of evidence: 1) literary evidence 2) artefacts from the burial and 3) historical account (evidence from Bede’s An ecclesiastical history of the English people, completed c731 CE) Map of Anglo-Saxon migration to Britain: http://www.thecobleinart.com /anglo-saxon_map.jpg Read the translation from Beowulf that describes the funeral at sea (see background information) Ask: can anyone spot the difference between this funeral and the Sutton Hoo burial? (In Beowulf, the ship is put out to sea, whereas at Sutton Hoo it is buried in the ground.) Perhaps the ship burial is a way of symbolising one final sea journey? What does a burial in a boat suggest (that the Anglo-Saxons were originally sea-faring people… Show map of the movements of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes into Britain in the 5th century CE: perhaps burial at sea or in a ship is meant to be symbolic of journey back to the ancestral lands?) Activity 3: Briefly look at the British Museum power-point of the artefacts from the Sutton Hoo ship burial Focus on the following: Slide 3: Shoulder clasps with entwined boars, symbol of the god Ing’s protection Slide 6: coins and gold ingots The coins would be payment to the crew who rowed the ship to the otherworld, and the gold ingots would be paid to the steersmen, so these are evidence of non-Christian beliefs about the afterlife Slide 12: silver spoons engraved with the Greek names “Saulos” and “Paulos”, which would have been baptismal gifts (representing the conversion of Saul to Paul) Discuss how these artefacts are representative of two different belief traditions, the older pagan beliefs that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them and the Christianity that was spreading through Britain at the time KS2.13: History of belief in the UK, Power point presentation of finds: http://www.britishmuseum.or g/Docs/AS_Sutton_Hoo_slide show_KS2.ppt Teachers’ notes http://www.britishmuseum.or g/PDF/AS_SHoo_presnotes_K S2.pdf Plenary: Have an open discussion about the question of a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ response, starting with: is this even a straightforward question? Imagine the various people in the scenario of the lesson trying to answer that question And then imagine how the person concerned might change their response in hindsight (e.g a patient might really appreciate the nurse/relative holding their hand at the time of their injury, whereas in hindsight they might realise how vital a role the doctor was playing by remaining aloof in order to keep sight of the bigger picture If possible, show a clip from series episode 20, where the lead doctor (Des) manages to both Note that whereas this might be the ‘ideal’ (i.e managing all the details of the bigger picture while still being able to demonstrate compassion to the patient and their distressed relatives) this isn’t always possible KS3.13 Mixed metaphors explore the use of metaphoric language; reflect on their own differing responses to metaphoric and nonmetaphoric language; understand that science often employs metaphoric language to convey difficult concepts 22B Speaking metaphorically 20B Aim: to explore why metaphors are often used to convey difficult concepts or hard-to-describe experiences Students will 21B SEN 24B 23B Gifted 25B Possible activities Suggested resources Starter: What is a metaphor? Students to create a mind map of metaphors, e.g my heart is broken, plenty more fish in the sea, etc Activity 1: Look at examples of metaphors in poetry (e.g Shakespeare’s “All the world’s a stage…) Students identify the metaphors Question: Why we use metaphors? Activity 2: Look more closely at the metaphor “my heart is broken” Imagine what situations you might be in where you would use that metaphor Imagine you or a relative had something physically wrong with your/their heart Would you want your doctor or surgeon to say “your heart is broken”, or would you want them to use more scientific language? Would you want them to describe (possibly with diagrams) what was wrong and how they were going to fix it? What would you find more reassuring? Note that the doctor’s explanation might involve metaphors, for instance comparing the heart to a pump with a faulty intake valve Then, consider the colloquial sense of a broken heart Would you want a friend to present a plan (possibly with diagrams) as to how to fix your broken heart? Or might you want, at least initially, simple compassion, perhaps a hug, or even a friend to reassure you that indeed there are more fish in the sea Activity 3: Hand out biblical metaphors to pairs and ask students to interpret meanings Are these literal? Why use metaphors? Examples could include: “All flesh is grass” (Isa 40:6) “The Lord is my shepherd.” (Psalm 23:1) “I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11) “I am the vine; you are the branches.” (John 15:5) Activity 3: Read/listen to Psalm 23 Get class to identify the metaphors Ask: What you think the psalmist was trying to convey? KS3.13 Mixed metaphors Activity 4: Tell class that the mythologist Joseph Campbell believed that the most important thing about any spiritual or peak experience was the experience itself That the second most important thing is how the individual interprets the experience and how they fit it into their beliefs and past experiences, and that third most important thing is how we explain our spiritual experiences to others Do the class agree with this? Get the class to imagine/assume they have had some profound experience, religious or otherwise What language would they use to try and convey that experience to others? Would they use different approaches when speaking to different people, or even when recounting the story at different times (e.g immediately after the event or after several years)? Why? Activity 5: Write on the IWB: “The map is not the territory.” Brainstorm what this might mean Explain to class that this was a statement by the Polish American philosopher and scientist Alfred Korzybski Korzybski thought that people not have access to direct knowledge of reality; rather they have access to perceptions and to a set of beliefs which human society has confused with direct knowledge of reality, in other words what humans say about reality is just a map sketching certain dimensions/perceptions of reality Plenary: Summarise the discussion, including the following points:  Metaphors are often used to convey things that are difficult to describe in plain language  A metaphor can actually convey an emotional charge, which may or may not reflect the experience of the person using it  Scientists also use metaphors to convey concepts to the general public or to other scientists not familiar with their field  End the discussion with a consideration of why so much of religious literature contains metaphor Could it be because experiences described as ‘spiritual’ are so hard to put into words? Does the phrase “the map is not the territory” help us to understand why there might be so many different religious explanations for existence and human experience? KS3.13 Mixed metaphors Words for wonder 26B Aim: to look at the way poetry and prose can convey wonder Students will 27B explore the ways words are used to convey wonder; understand that people can experience wonder in a variety of contexts 28B SEN 30B 29B Gifted 31B Possible activities Suggested resources Starter: Watch a video showing human or animal foetal development e.g clip of a tadpole/frog from ‘Life on Earth’ Ask students to respond to the video in one word (excluding the word ‘baby’ or ‘frog’) Activity 1: Divide class into three One group is going to respond to the clip from a precise, scientific perspective, e.g factual description/list The second group will write from a scientific perspective, but employing prose that attempts to convey the wonder the scientist might experience Students assigned to the final group will write a poem, rap or song Have resources/ examples for each group as stimulus Discuss the key features to be covered by the descriptions/poems etc Encourage all groups to attempt to convey wonder using their assigned language mode (e.g precise data, scientific prose employing metaphors or poetic) Activity 2: Students to complete their description or poem/song or rap Activity 3: Peer assessment (www/ebi: what went well/even better if) Plenary: Open discussion on the following two statements   “Science is better at explaining nature than poems” “Poetry is better at conveying wonder than science.” KS3.13 Mixed metaphors 32B Mythic narrative Aim: to begin to explore the nature of religious narratives Students will 33B look at various ways of describing/responding to current events; explore the relevance of this to the study of ‘sacred’ history 34B SEN 36B 35B Gifted 37B Possible activities Suggested resources Starter: Mind map some key topical events from the news e.g a terrorist attack or natural disaster Activity 1: Choose one of the events to focus on Ask class how they imagine the following individuals might respond to the event: journalist, family member, victim/survivor, detached observer or forensic scientist Discuss the various means that might be used to convey the experience/reality of the event: e.g a newspaper report, investigation report, memorial piece, song or poem Activity 2: Discuss how it might be important for people immediately touched by a traumatic/life-changing event to use heightened language to convey/contain their feelings Have an open discussion about how such events become ‘markers’ in an individual or group’s life story (e.g anniversary programmes about the attack on 9/11) Can repetition/remembrance of this event shape identity? Activity 3: Explain that you are now going to employ some of the learning of this unit to examine a historical narrative that has relevance to the study of religions, in particular how some historical accounts become mythologised See extract in the background information from the article “Sacred history”, which looks at the way the conquest of the Aztecs by the Spanish became mythologised Whose account of the events surrounding the ‘conquest’ would be most valid? Why the students think that the events were perceived in ‘mythic’ terms by the participants? Plenary: Look briefly at the Jewish festival of Pesach (see background information) How has repetition of this ‘story’ helped to perpetuate the Jewish identity and forge familial/community bonds? Do students have any event in their own life story that has become a similar focal moment? KS3.13 Mixed metaphors Key words Metaphor, learning styles (VAK: visual/auditory/kinaesthetic) Points to note Students should be encouraged during this unit to have open-ended discussions Sample assessment activities 38B KS3.13 Mixed metaphors 10 Background information     www.engineeringbuddies.com poesdeadlydaughters.blogspot KS3.13 Mixed metaphors Right-handedness is most common Right-handed people are more dexterous with their right hands when performing tasks A variety of studies suggest that 70–90% of the world population is righthanded Left-handedness is less common than right-handedness Left-handed people are more dexterous with their left hands when performing tasks A variety of studies suggest that approximately 10% of the world population is left-handed Mixed-Handedness is the change of hand preference between different tasks This is common in the population with about a30% prevalence Ambidexterity is exceptionally rare, although it can be learned A truly ambidextrous person is able to any task equally well with either hand Those who learn it still tend to favor their originally dominant hand wikipedia www.huffingtonpost.com zenmindzenhorse 11 Brain-Based Labels Bunk? An fMRI study shows speculations that people are “left-brained” versus “right-brained” are not backed by evidence By Kate Yandell | August 19, 2013 Creative types have been commonly thought to rely on the right side of their brains, while analytical folk have been considered more “left-brained” thinkers But people don’t actually show such tendencies toward either left- or rightbrained activity, according to a study published last week (August 14) in PLOS ONE Brain MRI “It’s absolutely true that some brain functions occur in one or the other side of the brain Language tends to be on the left, attention more on the right,” explained study coauthor Jeff Anderson of the University of Utah in a press release “But people don’t tend to have a stronger left- or right-sided brain network It seems to be determined more connection by connection.” Anderson and his colleagues analyzed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from the brains of more than 1,000 resting subjects While the researchers found that various regions of the subjects’ brains were “lateralized,” with certain mental processes occurring on one side of the brain or the other, across whole brains, neither the left nor the right side seemed to dominate “It may be that personality types have nothing to with one hemisphere being more active, stronger, or more connected,” said coauthor Jared Nielsen, a graduate student in neuroscience at Utah, in the press release http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/37120/title/Brain-Based-Labels-Bunk-/ KS3.13 Mixed metaphors 12 The language used to talk about computers is uniquely colorful and sometimes extraordinarily difficult This paper examines ‘computer discourse’ and points out its highly metaphorical nature While the use of metaphor is unavoidable, it often leads, especially in informal settings, to the mannered use of words we call jargon Metaphor becomes jargon when it is used too literally in a self-conscious manner Experts often use their metaphors as though they were literally true Technical details fall away and the metaphor is taken for the reality it represents The less expert sometimes mimic the language they hear, in a self-conscious manner, without truly understanding it Abstract of “Talking about computers: From Metaphor to Jargon” by Gerald J Johnson PhD (From: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF02472798#page-1) 0B GlobalEnglish business language ad KS3.13 Mixed metaphors “Because metaphors suggest analogies, they can be dangerous The danger arises when we apply the analogy without thinking, in ways that really aren't supportable For example, even though we talk about ‘revving up’ people, motivating people requires much more than flipping a switch And once people are ‘revved up,’ they can become very creative — so creative that it sometimes happens that they see even better ways to what you might have wanted, or they might even find something wrong with the original idea Rotating machinery hardly ever does that kind of thing When we think about real people as if they were as simple as rotating machinery, we can go dangerously wrong — the metaphor ‘wags our minds’ like the metaphorical tail wagging the dog.” (From: http://www.chacocanyon.com/essays/metaphors.shtml) 13 The use of metaphors in science and technology by Rod Pitcher Metaphors are widely used in science and technology They allow explication of new research results by comparing them with old or existing knowledge, which may or may not be scientific The old knowledge might be something that is held by everyone The new knowledge is held by a few who must make it clear to any interested others so that it can be spread throughout the scientific or technological community Science communicators the same for the public Often the ideas are so new that without using metaphors it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to explain them How to explain a new invention A new technology, like a computer network, needs to be explained to people who have no knowledge of it In this case, one can talk about the ‘web’ of the network, comparing it to a spider’s web, either by drawing diagrams or showing the person a real spider’s web Thus the principal involved in how the points of the network are interconnected can be made clear to anyone who has ever seen a spider’s web (Continued on next page.) KS3.13 Mixed metaphors 14 Using metaphors in teaching science and technology There is the need then for compelling and accurate metaphors to communicate the new knowledge to students The use of metaphors makes it easier for an audience to grasp the principal of the thing Metaphors not only allow the knowledge to be passed on but also help in developing the vocabulary of the discipline, since many of the words used in science and technology are directly derived from the metaphors used to illustrate the concepts For instance, in talking about electricity we can describe electrons passing along a wire and make the comparison to water flowing through a pipe The words ‘flow’ and ‘current’ used to describe moving water help us to describe electrons moving through a conductive metal Thus in learning this metaphor the student has also learnt some scientific words In the case of ‘current’ there will be more for students to learn and of course many ways in which the uses of ‘flow’ and ‘current’ differ depending on the discipline This process is not unique to the sciences We can see how other fields use scientific processes as metaphors for human or social phenomena When we talk about a ‘groundswell’ of public support, a candidate’s ‘momentum’, or a particular issue as a ‘lightning rod’, we are using images from the scientifically described world as a kind of descriptive shorthand What about bad metaphors? The provisional nature of knowledge means that that we should also be careful about how we use metaphors; reminding students that ‘the map is not the territory’ Bohr’s model of the atom and Copernicus’ model of the Solar System were better metaphors than what had come before, but they remain provisional representations — they are now used for beginners in the field, steps along the way to more complex analogies Why so many metaphors in science and technology? Science and technology, then, are prolific users of metaphors It’s difficult to imagine any part of science or technology that doesn’t use them somewhere in its explanations of what is going on You can imagine a number of metaphors that might apply in a description of luminescence Depending on the audience’s existing knowledge of chemical reactions and electronic states, a teacher or lecturer could convey the processes at work here in a number of ways Describing Bohr’s ‘planetary model’ of the atom would be a useful first step Metaphors allow explanations to be constructed that can be understood by anyone with a little effort If all teaching of science or technology, or spreading of information about their results, was done using only non-metaphorical scientific words there would be a lot less people who had any knowledge of what it all means, including many scientists and technologists! http://theteachingtomtom.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/the-use-of-metaphors-in-science-and-technology/ KS3.13 Mixed metaphors 15 The Return of Quetzalcoatl (From Sacred history) “Huitzilopochtli commands us to look for this place When we discover it we shall be fortunate, for there we shall find our rest, our comfort and our grandeur ” Historia de la Indias de la Nueva España, Fray Diego Duran, 1581 Quetzalcoatl Huitzilopochtli It is often in retrospect that we see something extraordinary in the unfolding of events; the perception of history as divinely appointed occurs again and again It also has to be admitted that the favour of a god has been used to legitimize the standing of a people already in power; this is not to question all religious affiliation, but rather to state that allegiance to a supreme being is not without its mundane use The earliest Aztecs—or Mexica—did not keep written records, passing on their traditions by word of mouth from one generation to the next until the 16th century when Spanish friars wrote down much of their history In addition, the story of their migration from the legendary northern homeland of Aztlán (‘place of the heron’) under the guidance of the god Huitzilopochti (above right) appears in several post-conquest works that use the traditional Toltec writing that is both pictographic and ideographic For instance the Boturini codex (right): here Huitzilopochtli is shown wrapped in a medicine bundle, and carried on the back of one of the priests (The image depicts, with ‘speech glyphs’, the god giving directions; the ‘footprints’ in the codex, often believed to indicate direction, have also been interpreted as an indication of the god’s invisible presence.) According to tradition, Huitzilopochtli told the Mexica to search for a sign—an eagle perched on a cactus devouring a snake—an epiphany that they subsequently observed on an island in Lake Texcoco The humble settlement subsequently established there grew into Tenochtitlan (‘place of the fruit of the cactus, tenochtli’)—now Mexico City It was after their rise to power that the Aztecs declared Huitzilopochtli to be the supreme god of war and their own particular patron The divine ‘sign’ from Codex Mendoza KS3.13 Mixed metaphors In 1519 CE* the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes landed on the Mexican coast, thus initiating an encounter that would be entered into history—on both sides—in frankly mythic terms Bernal Diaz, one of the soldiers accompanying Cortes, describes his first impressions of the great Aztec empire: “And when we saw all those cities and villages built in the water, and other great towns on dry land, and that straight and level causeway leading to Mexico [i.e Tenochtitlan], we were astounded [It] seemed like an enchanted vision from the tale of Amadis Indeed some of our soldiers asked whether it was not all a dream It was all so wonderful that I not know how to describe this first glimpse of things never heard of, seen or dreamed of before.” (The Conquest of New Spain, c1570 CE.) Image of the eagle and the serpent on the Mexican flag 16 A people’s beliefs can condition both perception and expectation By an astounding coincidence, Cortes had landed in Mexico on the day in the Aztec sacred calendar prophesied for the return of another native deity, the god Quetzalcoatl When the Mexica ruler, Moctezuma Xocoyotzin, finally met Cortes on the outskirts of Tenochtitlan, he is quoted as saying: “Thou hast come to arrive on earth Thou hast come to govern the city of Mexico; thou hast come to descend on my mat which I have guarded for thee ” (Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España, Bernardino de Sahagun) The Aztecs had been aware of the presence of the Spanish almost from the moment they had beached their ships, and apprehension and apocalyptic fervour was rife Moctezuma himself was prone to experiencing visions, and it seems certain that he believed—at least initially—that he was walking out to an encounter with the divine At the same time, from Bernal Diaz’s account of events it is clear that the Spanish interpreted much of what happened (not to mention justifying the conquest itself) in terms of their own Christian doctrine and beliefs Just ten years after the conquest of Tenochtitlan, an Aztec baptised by Spanish friars had a vision of Mary, the mother of Jesus; this ‘Virgin of Guadalupe’ demanded that a church be built for her on Tepeyac Hill It is perhaps no small coincidence that the church was established on the very spot previously occupied by a temple dedicated to the earth goddess Tonatzin; nor that the bishop who was instructed to ensure the construction was the same man who had previously given the order to have Tonatzin’s temple razed In the centuries following the conquest, several people have tried to identify the god Quetzalcoatl with Christ, seeing in the conversion of the natives the ‘proof’ of his return The Spanish may have imposed their religion on the subjugated people, however willing their conversion But a people’s sacred history is not easily relinquished; the sign given to the Aztecs during their wanderings—the eagle devouring the serpent—now appears in the centre of the Mexican flag KS3.13 Mixed metaphors 17 A miraculous escape (from Sacred History) “Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing Miriam sang to them: Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.” Exodus 15: 20-21 The Jewish festival of Pesach, or Passover, is one of the three major festivals of Judaism with both historical and agricultural significance Agriculturally it represents the beginning of the harvest season in Israel However the primary observances of the festival are related to the narrative of the liberation from slavery and the flight from Egypt of the ancient Israelites, as told in the biblical book of Exodus ‘Pesach’ derives from a Hebrew root word meaning ‘to pass over, to spare’, hence the English name of the festival It is a reference to the belief that the god Yahweh passed over the Israelites when he was slaying the first born of Egypt This was the final of ten plagues affecting Egypt, sent— according to biblical view—by Yahweh to the Egyptian pharaoh as a punishment for keeping the Israelites in slavery The parting of the red sea Mark Chagall sites.stfx.ca According to the biblical account, in spite of initially allowing the Israelites to depart, the pharaoh changed his mind and went after them Through his prophet Moses, Yahweh led the Israelites to the Sea of Reeds (the original Hebrew is yam suph, which actually means ‘Reed Sea’, not the Red Sea featured in early English translations), and then gave Moses the power to divide the water Then, when the Israelites were safely across, the sea was allowed to close over again, engulfing the pursuing army There have been many efforts over the years to relate biblical places and events to their historical counterparts To this day there remains wide disagreement as to the precise identity of such basic landmarks as the Sea of Reeds and Mount Sinai One school of thought holds that Moses led the escaping Israelites across the Gulf of Suez at ebb tide, then watched as the water rose to its customary six and a half feet and drowned the pursuing Egyptians An alternative theory is that they crossed Lake Sirbonis, one of the lakes to the east of the Nile which is separated from the Mediterranean by a narrow isthmus; the surrounding land is swampy and treacherous and the isthmus itself is frequently submerged during storms The ten plagues described in the biblical account—lice, pestilence, locusts, boils, etc—are all commonplace features of life in Egypt The rising of the Nile in spring brings floating micro-organisms that colour the water red, perhaps accounting for the first of the plagues: the turning of the water into blood From this vantage point, it is probably impossible to discover the reality of what happened What does seem possible is that a group of slaves managed to escape while their overseers were preoccupied And that this escape felt ‘miraculous’, and for generations to come would be celebrated as such KS3.13 Mixed metaphors 18 Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand Eat nothing containing yeast.” Exodus 13: Jews have been celebrating Passover since about 1300 BCE, following the rules laid down in the second book of the Bible (Exodus, chapter 13) For example, in the passage quoted above, they are forbidden from eating anything containing yeast, and before Passover can begin, the house must be cleaned from top to bottom to remove any traces of leaven, commemoration of the fact that the Israelites did not have time to let their bread rise when they were ordered by Moses to flee Passover typically lasts from 6-8 days, the highlight occurring on one of the first two nights, when friends and family gather for the seder Seder means ‘order’ and the sequence of ritual and narrative to be followed during the meal can be found in special books known as Haggadah Each item in the meal is replete with symbolic significance, for example bitter herbs (most often horseradish) representing the bitterness of slavery, the karpas (greens such as parsley dipped in salt water) to represent tears, and charoset (a paste made of fruit, nuts and wine) which is meant to symbolise the mortar used by the slaves during their forced labour “Why is this night different from all other nights?” (Mah Nishtanah, the asking of the four questions, from the Maggid, or story portion of the seder) 15th century Passover Haggadah (haggadah, ‘narrative’) huc.edu The word ‘synchronicity’ is given to the perception of meaning in a random confluence of chance occurrences This is not to suggest that life isn’t intrinsically meaningful, but rather that the ability to experience events as fated or divinely orchestrated is one of the mysteries of human existence Even if the escape from slavery was nothing more than a lucky break, it remains a defining moment in the forging of the Jewish identity Through the remembrance of these events during Passover, Jews reaffirm their relationship with the power they believe responsible for their liberation; in the seder barech—the grace after meals—a cup of wine is poured and a door opened for the arrival of the prophet Elijah, symbolising their desire to keep the channels of revelation alive It is all too easy, when reading a ‘sacred history’ such as recorded in the book of Exodus, to either dismiss it as ‘myth’ or the product of a superstitious mind Or, if we are determined to maintain belief, to think that events were different in ancient times, that somehow the supernatural was more visible However I believe it is important to realise that the material world hasn’t changed, that both physical and psychic reality remain much the same as ever And that what people experienced ‘back then’, we, too, are capable of experiencing To believe or not to believe, perhaps that is the question Yet for all of us, whatever the answer, the festival of Passover can remind us of how the taste of tears and the experience of good fortune are both part and parcel of life And to recollect those moments in our own personal experience that we would set apart as ‘miraculous’, worthy of remembering as “different from all other times ” KS3.13 Mixed metaphors 19 ... unity (1) KS3.10: Seeds of unity (2) KS2. 13: History of belief in the UK (1) KS3. 13: Mixed metaphors Ealing SACRE briefing Nora Leonard SACRE consultant September 20 13 18 September 20 13 Guidelines... community (Living churchyards project: http://www.caringforgodsacre.org.uk/index.php/national-info/churchyard-projects-from-around-the-country) An unusual example of a green ark is found at Kingston... case of an emergency  offers feedback Ealing SACRE briefing 18 September 20 13 Please return to: Nora Leonard, SACRE consultant, Perceval House P2: NE, 1 4-1 6 Uxbridge Road, London W5 2HL SUGGESTED