A Level Digest December 2022

A good book: Phoebe a story by Paula Gooder
I truly loved reading this book. I read it in one sitting. There are two sections to the book- the story itself and then part two which contains notes to go with the story. The book is a fictional account of an early convert to Christianity in the Roman Empire who was acting on behalf of Paul to help spread and support the church in its infancy. Phoebe is the central character and the reader learns a lot about Paul and the early church through her eyes and what happens to her. It does not necessarily fit a specific aspect of the A level course but it is really useful background reading that is written in a style that is easy to engage with but is incredibly informative. I cannot wait for her next book about Lydia. It is suitable for teachers and pupils and I highly recommend this book.

Interesting research: RExChange 2022
I was going to recommend one session from the conference that would be useful for A level teachers to enable them to engage with research but there were so many good recordings that I found this impossible. Therefore, I would recommend that you have a look at all of it! There is such a vast array on there that you will definitely find something that is helpful and applicable to your course and setting. Some of my favourites that I have found useful include the keynote panel discussion on Developing religion, belief and worldview literacy research perspectives as well as Applications of Queer Theology in the secondary classroom and using dead sea scrolls research in the teaching about Jesus. All of the sessions are free to access and watch. The link is here: RExChange 2022 Resources – RE:ONLINE (reonline.org.uk)

A good watch: The problem of Evil, wireless philosophy
Are you teaching the Problem of Evil? If so, this is a really good watch for you and the students. I really like the work of Wireless Philosophy and it is always my go to place for good clips to share with the students, with this one being no exception. In this clip Professor Sally Haslanger discusses the problem of evil in an easy manner which will help your students to further grapple with this topic area. You could set it as a homework to discuss in the following lesson or use it as part of your teaching. I have done both of these and they have worked equally well. The link to the clip is: The Problem of Evil – Wi-Phi

A good listen: The Moral Maze
The Moral Maze series on Radio Four is back again and I would really recommend this both for yourself and students. The format of these discussions is to focus on one topic a week. Various people are invited in to discuss this area who have relevant experience or expertise. There is also a panel who remain the same in each episode and they question the guests in order to help you have a better understanding of their position. So many of the topics that feature on this programme link to our specification so it is well worth looking at the previous episodes as well as the current ones.  For example, there are good ones on Abortion and Euthanasia and the most recent one that I only listened to only yesterday looked at the concept of human rights. I found this episode really made me think further about the idea of rights and what the implications might be of using this terminology when considering the topics we focus on in both the A level and GCSE. The link to the site which contains all of the episodes is: BBC Radio 4 – Moral Maze – Available now

Rachael Jackson-Royal is head of department of RE and is the exams and higher education officer on the NATRE executive.