Inspired by…

As we start a new academic year RE:ONLINE are launching a new blog series called ‘Inspired by…’

Perhaps over the summer you have been inspired by a book? One of the books that has inspired me is Inspirational Leadership: Timeless lessons for leaders from Shakespeare’s Henry V by Richard Olivier. One of the key messages for me in the book is about the importance of stories as storehouses of wisdom (p.10); stories are ways in which we pass on wisdom, they teach us and fire the imagination.

Perhaps you have been inspired by a colleague? I have too many colleagues to name here who have both inspired and influenced me. However, Dr Bill Gent who sadly passed away earlier in the summer was a true inspiration to me as I started out in my teaching career. Bill encouraged me to engage with curriculum development, to read widely including research, and supported my Farmington Fellowship.

Perhaps you have been inspired by some recent professional development? In July, Culham St Gabriel’s hosted a seminar with Professor Rob Freathy. He unpacked his excellent joint paper Worldviews and Big ideas: A Way Forward for Religious Education. The four big ideas expounded by Rob helped me to understand and better articulate to others the object of knowing (the ‘what’), the knower as subject, (ourselves) the process of knowing (methods) and the why of knowing (aims/purpose). I have also really enjoyed our own blog series over the summer ‘Opening Up Conversations about religion and worldviews’.

Perhaps you have been inspired by visiting a new place? In 2017 we visited Borneo as a family. It was one of those ‘once in a lifetime’ trips. As part of our visit we wanted to engage with local life so we stayed with a family in a traditional longhouse. As a result of this I began to consider more deeply how we engage with the lived reality of different worldviews in RE. How do we engage with the insider perspective? How do we hear the voices from within religion and worldviews? I’m delighted to say that RE:ONLINE is launching a new set of resources on this theme.

Or maybe your inspiration is from your pupils? When I first started teaching I worked in a secondary school where inclusion was highly valued and an essential part of its vision. In light of this, the school welcomed pupils with complex additional needs. Pupil N, as I will call her, was autistic and unable to communicate verbally. She inspired me to think creatively, to consider non-verbal responses and to think very differently about outcomes.

I have shared very briefly five different ways in which I have been inspired. We hope our new blog series will open up endless possibilities for you to tell us about what you are inspired by whether it’s a book, blog, conference, colleague, the creative or visual arts, your pupils, a family member, a magazine or journal article, visiting somewhere new or a holiday destination, a TV programme or a YouTube influencer…..

If you would like to contribute a blog to our new series please email contact@reonline.org.uk

Olivier, R., 2013. Inspirational Leadership: Timeless lessons for leaders from Shakespeare’s Henry V.  London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing

NATRE statement about Dr Bill Gent: https://www.natre.org.uk/news/latest-news/dr-bill-gent/

Access to Rob Freathy and Helen John’s paper is available here: http://kau.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1386095/FULLTEXT01.pdf

https://www.reonline.org.uk/blog/