Shap Journal 2001/2002

Living Community

The Yin and Yang of RE and
Special Needs:
teaching RE to pupils with special needs 
within a multi-faith community

Anne Krisman

What do pupils with learning difficulties
bring to the study of RE? How do they
bring their culture and understanding
into the classroom? And how do they
respond to religion and human experience within their
faith communities beyond school?

Satnam is Sikh with ADHT and learning difficulties. He
dashes around the classroom, doesn't keep his mind on
his work and comes out with ideas that run through his
head, that might not be what the class is talking about.
He is hard work to teach.

But in his gurdwara, Satnam's energy is an asset. One
minute he is directing cars into the car park, the next he
is following a procession with the Guru Granth Sahib,
then he is singing devotional songs, then he is helping
with langar. When visitors come in, he welcomes them
and introduces himself. The gurdwara offers hundreds
of activities that make sense to him. He feels part of it.
And within that context, no-one would know Satnam
had learning problems. He fits it like a glove. To see
Satnam in action is to understand the meaning of the
word 'sewa' (devotional service).

I go to Gurjeet's house, a 17 year old former special
school pupil who is a Sikh and a Hindu. In a converted
downstairs bathroom is a beautiful mandir, covered with
religious images from her faith. Inside, Gurjeet speaks
honestly of her knowledge of being a pupil with special
needs. "I think disability people have a lot of problems,
so they look to God more. RE can help you because it
gives you peace of mind, you accept what you are."

My RE teaching is inspired by pupils like Satnam and
Gurjeet. As one of my Hindu pupils says "I am a devotee
of you and you are a devotee of me".

My belief is that the metaphor 'barrier to learning'
which is now used to explain special needs, does not
work for RE. My pupils are drawn into the subject
because of the links with their own personal stories of
loss, difficulty and struggle. RE is no barrier, but more
like a mirror that reflects their life experience, or steps
which takes them into a higher level of understanding.

This philosophy is reflected within my classroom. I
explored the 99 Names of Allah with a Y9 class. A small
class of ten pupils brainstormed a list of their own
names for God, which included The Life Saver, The
Brave Heart, The Hope and The Door. They tried
desperately to get to 99, keeping their sense of integrity
with each name they mentioned...The Judge...The Sky
King...The Everywhere... the names kept coming.

I then asked them to write and decorate the name they
liked best. I was moved to see that pupils were drawn to
the one that linked with their own personality, whether
it was The Helper, The Rule Maker or The Loving. Here
was a lesson where children with special needs moved
into the metaphorical and revealed self-insight and
spirituality.

While explaining to a class about Jewish rituals, I
realised that one less able 16+ pupil had misunderstood,
thinking that Shabbat was a person and not a special
day. "I wish I could be Shabbat," he said, "I would be
calm and peaceful". It then struck me that one of our
most mystical songs from the Sabbath is about
welcoming the 'Shabbat Bride' into the house, and that
Ranjit's instinct completely matched the authentic
perception of Jewish people.

My belief is that there is a Yin and Yang of RE and
special needs. From difficulty comes awareness, out of
loss comes gain. Let me explore this idea more closely.

•   The experience of regular visits to doctors, drug
treatment and illness could lead to an
understanding of the importance of ritual in people's
lives. The pupils I work with who take Ritalin for
hyperactivity are very aware of how their life is
shaped by the drug and what would happen if they
missed their treatment. Their daily routine could
give them an insight into the way in which
religious people's lives are bound in by their own
rituals.

•   A history of constant failure and difficulty with
school work could lead to an empathy with the lives
of people who have suffered. Within my RE lessons,
we find there are certain heroes whose stories seem
to speak to my pupils. These figures include
Bernadette, who could not learn her catechism
because of her asthma and learning problems,
Bilal, the slave who was tortured because of his
beliefs in one God and who became the first
muezzin, and of course, Jesus, who suffered on the
cross.

Listening to the story of the First Revelation of the
Qur'an, Jagjot jumped in recognition when the
Prophet Muhammad exclaimed, "I cannot read!"
Wherever possible, I try to bring out these
affinities, building a bridge that links our pupils
with the lives of religious people.

•   Pupils' slow, small steps of progress could lead to
an awareness of purpose in life. One boy described
learning to read as the key rite of passage in our
school. The slow progress in key aspects of the
curriculum leads some pupils to reflect on what life
is about. As one 16+ girl said, "I might not be able
to read and write, but at least I know how to be
kind to people".

•   The experience of waiting, for help or for the going
home mini-bus, could lead to more time to look at
people and what they do. Pupils with special needs
are fascinated by the way people look and how
they behave, and this sense of curiosity can be used
positively within RE lessons. A Sikh boy who cut
his hair created a great deal of interest with the
pupils and led to a discussion about aspects of our
identity that we keep on the outside and within us.

•   Working alongside other children with a variety of
difficulties can lead to a sense of compassion. Pupils
are quick to explain if someone in the class is
'having a bad day' and how that person can be
helped to feel better.

•   Difficulties with remembering facts about religion
can lead to a greater instinctive response to the
world around them. One pupil kept describing Guru
Nanak as living 'millions of years ago' but engaged
with the essence of his teachings by describing how
the words 'Love All, Help All', attributed to the
guru, could be linked to caring for animals.

•   Dependence on people for help, including parents.
carers, teachers and support assistants, can lead to
an understanding of what God means. The special
school stresses that no-one is alone, and that there
is always someone there to help. This may lead to
an engagement with the role of God in their lives.
I notice that my pupils talk honestly about their
beliefs and uncertainties. "Is God real," asked one
Y8 boy, "because if someone came up to me in the
street and asked me if I believed, I don't know what
I would say."

•   A difficulty in understanding written textbooks can
lead to a different emphasis in RE, to authentic
music, tapes of prayers, videos, pictures, websites
and towards visitors from the faiths. A liberation
from text books means a more vital, lively form of
RE. A Christian girl brings in a Pentecostal Church
music tape. a Sikh boy brings in some photographs
of the Golden Temple, a Muslim girl shows her
necklace from her Saudi Arabia pilgrimage, and
some boys who do not have a faith bring in music
that inspire them - including Beethoven's
Moonlight Sonata and R .Kelly's ‘I Believe I can
Fly’.

Let me return to my observations of Satnam in his
temple. My hope is to look more deeply into the role of
faith communities for pupils with special needs, and this
will involve visiting places of worship and speaking to
parents and carers about their children's responses to
religion and human experience.

On visiting the group Sathya Sai Baba, I noticed that
one of my pupils, who had co-ordination and
communication difficulties, was given the role of taking
around the Thoughts for the Week, little rolled up scrolls
in a basket. The way in which he was entrusted with
something important and difficult and the look of pride
on his face as he offered around the scrolls, taught me
a lesson about the way in which religious communities
can develop young people with special needs.