A Five Component approach to studying Religious and Values Education at Canberra Grammar School.

In Religious and Values Education, young people may be helped to express their own ideas without fear of censure or ridicule. A key assumption underlying the Fi e !omponent approach is that under no circumstances should ideas or beliefs be imposed upon children. Rather, students should be taught to alue the search for truth and meaning and should be tolerant of alternati e iewpoints and willing to listen to opinions markedly different to their own. Religious faith, in this sense then, is seen as a result of a personal "uest where the #ourney itself is central and there should be room for ambiguity and doubt. At !anberra $rammar %chool, we see the need for a curriculum base in Religious and Values Education that is composed of fi e components. &hese components may be seen as different slices of the same pie, i'( they ha e a common outer edge that can be iewed as the extent of the curriculum ) while all components also meet in the middle demonstrating the centred nature of our #ourney as teachers and learners. In a practical sense, this means that e en within the context of one lesson, a teacher and class may tra el through two or three components outlined below in coming to terms with a particular issue. #1 iblical Component! Australia*s foundation lies in the !hristian tradition. At !anberra $rammar %chool, we therefore consider it important for students to posses a good knowledge of the principle text in this tradition. As such, we choose to focus on specific +ew &estament information at ,ear - and .ld &estament material in ,ear /. &his work attempts to build upon earlier work completed in the 0rimary school. !ertain biblical indi iduals and their stories will be reconsidered in a spiral fashion as students progress through the school. &o think that the 1ook of 2onah is a story about a whale is to miss out on the profound theological and contemporary rele ance of the story. #" Ethical Component! &here are many contentious ethical issues that are emerging in modern society 3 genetic engineering and en ironmental concerns to name #ust two. At !anberra $rammar %chool we consider it ital that students ha e not only been exposed to a range of ethical dilemmas but also that they are able to engage with these problems using a theoretical base. 4At year 56, for instance, this would mean knowing the difference between a 7+atural 8aw* position on Euthanasia and a 7%ituational* position on the same area.9 At the older year le els 4,rs. :;569 these con ersations are o ertly part of the curriculum. ## $hilosophical Component! If the Ethical component asks students to think about where they stand on an issue, the 0hilosophy component asks them <=hy>?) in e ery sense of the word. @uestions such as <=hy is that true>? and <=hy are we here>? are fundamental to a students life and we are determined to create an open climate in class where such "uestions can be considered, e aluated and then reconsidered. .ne crucial part will be an in estigation of the relationship between Faith and Reason. &his work begins in the school at the earliest ages and is re isited as appropriate through the year le els. #% Comparative Religions Component! Australia is now a multi)cultural society situated within the broader context of %outh)East Asia 3 and as such it possesses a wide ariety of religious traditions. A real appreciation and understanding of different faith perspecti es is ital for our students as this may be a necessary pre)cursor to the acceptance and celebration of the position of others. &his strand should pro ide students with an understanding of the beliefs of many of the world*s religious traditions and engender empathy for what it means to belong to these traditions. A sound curriculum, sensiti ely expressed, should seek to minimise pre#udice and de elop a depth of knowledge in the sub#ect area. #& A''ective Component! &his area of the curriculum studies the way in which all students can be brought to an appreciation of the alue of 7stillness*. &he Affecti e !omponent seeks to redress the imbalance when education solely stresses the cogniti e. &o a certain extent, some of this de elopment will happen in !hapel times or at other times of personal reflection 3 but some reflecti e practices can, and should, be properly made o ert by the classroom teacher. E en beginning the lesson without rushing into the topic area for that lesson is a aluable process to model 3 it is occasionally powerful to pri'e 7reflection* o er 7acti ity*. A BCDCD66: