THE BIBLE

See also: Bible background; Old Testament Literature; New Testament Literature; Looking at Biblical Literature; a selection of Bible stories

THE BIBLE IN THE CURRICULUM

Scripture Knowledge

Traditionally the Bible has been the main element of Religious Education. In Agreed Syllabuses which were drawn up following the 1944 Education Act we find lists of Bible passages to be studied at certain points during a child's school life, and little other material is suggested. Examinations in the subject were for many years entitled "Scripture Knowledge", and this was an accurate description of the subject at the time.

Approaches:

Knowledge or Understanding

The work of Ronald Goldman and others in the early 1960's demonstrated that "scripture knowledge" was not in itself a totally worthwhile educational activity. The change in thinking about education as a whole has made the acquisition of facts less important than the development of skills and concepts which enable children to deal with the vast amount of knowledge now available. As far as the Bible is concerned, knowing the stories about, for example, Joseph or Daniel, without any understanding of the type of stories they are, their historical setting, or their religious significance, makes at best only a minimal contribution to religious education.

Biblical Image Themes

Goldman's work suggested that the Bible was difficult for children, the concepts with which it dealt were abstract and so should wait until children could handle abstract thought. It was important however that they should learn about the background to the ideas which are found in the Bible, and so Biblical image themes were advocated. An example of this might be a topic about shepherds devised so that children would be able to understand the full significance of Biblical material such as Psalm 23 and Jesus' saying "I am the Good Shepherd" and the many other uses of that image.

This approach has also been criticised and a "middle way" is apparently being reached, and this has much to commend it.

Cultural Heritage

Children should not be denied access to the Bible and its stories. It is part of their cultural heritage, and the many allusions to it in English literature and society in general make it an important element of their general knowledge. English society is based on Christian principles, and much of its evolution took place within a Christian framework; the "secular society" talked about today is a relatively recent development. The strong Biblical elements in the old Agreed Syllabuses was due to the Protestant denominations who "agreed" the syllabuses.

Playing with the Bible

If children are to develop a vocabulary with which to think and talk about religious ideas they must be introduced to it somehow, and it would seem that this would come through handling the sacred stories of the Bible. Children need to experiment with ideas, and talking and discussing ideas about God using Bible stories will enable them to do this. We must allow them to experiment, however, and not impose adult ideas on them. Interpretations and meanings are not right or wrong, they are individual, and often change for each person as they acquire new experiences and insights. The teacher's role is to offer learning experiences appropriate to the age of the children and enable them to see how new insights can be gained from Biblical and other religious material in relation to their experience.*

A Sacred Text

Children also need to appreciate what sort of book the Bible is and the place it holds for Christians as their sacred writings. Included in this would be some understanding of the variety of interpretations which Christians themselves put on it. They will learn this by looking at the Bible itself, its history, its use in public worship and private devotion, and studying appropriate elements of its content.

Translations

Teachers should also be aware of the variety of translations available for use, as well as the books of Bible stories for children. All should be used with care, so that the language is appropriate for the children, and particularly with the Bible story book approach, that they are accurate.

Using the Bible

The Bible can be used in two ways within the curriculum, both are important and both methods should be used.

Firstly, it is appropriate that the Bible is studied for itself and figures as the central pivot of a topic or project plan.

Secondly, the Bible can contribute to work in other areas of the curriculum, but the teacher must be careful not to marginalise the RE element of a topic  by simply tacking on a loosely associated Bible story to a theme. In general, if the selection of a Biblical passage (or other R.E. element) cannot be educationally justified in a particular context, then it is better that it is omitted altogether.

Appropriate Stories

Teachers will gradually build up the specialist body of knowledge necessary for good RE teaching - just as they do with all other subjects. However, with the Bible there is often a temptation to simply isolate and use a limited repertoire of "good stories". One should remember that the events and lifestyle portrayed in the Bible are from cultures remote from our children. Without some knowledge of the background to the stories and their writing the Bible can be trivialised and the children totally fail to grasp the real significance of the narrative. Certain questions need to be asked by the teacher before a story is used; whether the children are able to grasp the theological meaning of the story, whether the story gives a false or primitive view of God, and whether there is anything within the story that children may reject or need to unlearn at a later stage in their development. An obvious example of this problem is the use of the story of Noah's Ark with KS1 pupils. This story is a great favourite with its animals, exciting flood and wonderful rainbow; but its theological message is one of sin, divine judgement, a fresh chance for mankind and a new covenant. Yet to dwell on such theological elements at KS1 may present the children with an unbalanced and terrifying picture of God, to fail to do so may mean that the story is rejected at a later stage along with the Noah's Ark toys. Is this really such an appropriate story for KS1?