Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/248536
10 News maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 JANUARY 2014 Christ in the classroom Does religious education prepare children to faces ethical challenges in the contemporary world? And does the syllabus cater for all children equally? RAPHAEL VASSALLO on the changing face of religious studies FACING awkward or uncomfort- able questions by small children is not exactly an uncommon experience among young parents. But when children as young as five come home from Kindergarten asking questions about complex religious issues, some parents may well question what sort of ethical foundation the present curriculum is currently providing for their children. Other questions also have to be asked in the light of recent demographic changes, as well as the emergence of different religious faiths and non-religious life-stances in Malta. At present Religious Studies (RS) is the only equivalent of an ethics-based option provided in both Church and state schools; unless one counts individual aspects of the Personal and Social Development Syllabus, which may involve ethical issues. The RS syllabus focuses exclusively on the Catholic faith; and while students are free to opt out, to date no alternative subject has been provided to cater for a growing number of children – both local and foreign – whose parents do not want them brought up as Catholics. While different schools address this problem in different ways, it remains a fact that children brought up in other religions outside of Catholicism – or no religion at all – are often left with nothing to do during that school hour. Is our education system failing these children? What options exist for non-religious parents, or parents who adhere to minority faiths, when it comes to preparing their children for the ethical challenges of the contemporary world? It was in part to address this lacuna that the Education Ministry published a consultation document for a new National Curriculum Framework policy in 2011, proposing to introduce an ethics programme specifically for children who opt out of RS. But the syllabus has yet to be finalised, and the subject is not yet offered in local schools. A child's choice Andreana Dibben, an assistant lecturer in social policy at the Uni- versity of Malta, is arguably better paced than most to comment about the situation facing children of different religious backgrounds. Herself a non-believer, she left her own two children – a 15-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son – to decide for themselves whether or not to attend religion classes. The former took up the RS option, and the latter chose not to. Both attend State schools. "My son's rebellion started in Kinder 1, when he was three years old," Dibben explains. "They were doing a craft in class of 'Our Lady of Sorrows'. Apparently they had to stick a 'santa' [holy picture], which was really macabre, and colour in some flowers. I think my son, not being used to the sight of crucifixes, felt quite squeamish about the whole thing and told the teacher that he didn't want to do it. When she asked him why, he said 'Because my mummy doesn't let me'." Dibben was sent for and asked me if this was true. "I told the teacher that we didn't practice religion at home but that it's up to my son to decide whether or not to participate. From then on, he nearly always chose not to participate in religious activities and when he went on to formal schooling, each year I ask him if he wants to opt out or not." Opting out is by no means unusual in government schools. Each year, parents receive a note asking them if we want they want their children to participate in religious activities. "I always write 'Up to him to decide'," Dibben adds. Paradoxically, Andreana Dibben encountered more issues with her daughter's teachers than with her son's, mainly because of the 'controversial' discussions her daughter would sometimes initiate in class by questioning the subject matter. "I will never forget one particular teacher who was a very conservative Catholic. She simply told her, 'What you discuss at home, leave at home'. And then, when my daughter got 98 in the RS exam and came first in class, the teacher said in front of the class: 'Just because someone does well in an "When my daughter got 98 in the RS exam and came first in class, the teacher said in front of the class: 'Just because someone does well in an exam, doesn't make them a good Christian. It's themselves they are fooling, just like the devil tried to fool Jesus'." – Andreana Dibben