Transcript Promoting gender equality: what teachers need to know (1)

Webinar Series 2016
Religious Literacy
Judaism and gender equality
The prominence of women
within the Jewish faith tradition
4.00pm - 4.45pm
Tuesday 8th March 2016
http://www.interfaithexplorers.com/webinars
www.interfaithexplorers.com
• Supported by UNESCO
• Helps pupils understand the world around them & respect
cultural and religious diversity
• Offers high quality cross-curricula resources to use with
pupils at Key Stage 2 and those embarking on their Key
Stage 3 transition
• Supports core personal and social skills development as
well as self-directed, exploratory learning
• Promotes universal core values & the development of
ethical thinking
• Designed to compliment RE and PSHE teaching, alongside
citizenship education
Webinars
• Support teachers in their work around
interfaith dialogue and RE; as well as PSHE
and Citizenship learning in schools
• Offers a space for teachers to come
together and think about issues arising from
classroom practice in these areas
Webinar Presenter
• Claire Clinton
o An experienced teacher within EYFS, Primary and Secondary
education
o She has over 20 years of classroom experience, and 16 years of
advisory work at a national and local level
o For the past 10 years has been the Religious Education Advisor for
the London Borough of Newham
•
Miriam Lorie
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Supporter of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance
Public Education manager, Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme
Founder, Borehamwood Partnership Minyan
BA in Theology and Religious Studies; graduate of the Susi Bradfield
Educators Fellowship at the London School of Jewish Studies and
the Adam Science Leadership Programme.
Session objectives
• To consider:
o How gender equality is promoted within the framework of
halakha (Jewish Law)
o the implications of social change around gender issues
which are occurring in the Orthodox Jewish community;
o how teachers can use this knowledge to enhance the
religious literacy of their pupils about contemporary faith
practice in the Jewish community;
o how to promote gender equality issues when teaching
religious education.
• Offer practical activities that teachers can use in the
classroom
What is religious literacy?
• Religious literacy is the knowledge of, and ability to,
understand religion
• In the British context: more people profess a postChristian spirituality, humanism or atheism belief &
other faith communities have become prominent
• The Commission on Religion and Belief in Public Life
on religious literacy:
‘the potential for misunderstanding, stereotyping and
oversimplification based on ignorance is huge –
and schools have a big part to play in putting this
right’
Judaism: some facts
• The 2011 Census shows that Britain’s Jewish population
represents 0.5 per cent of the population:
o some 263,346 compared with 259,927 in the previous 2001
count
• In some local areas, the Jewish population rises to 40%:
o 56.9% of Britain’s Jewish population live in London
(representing 1.8% of Londoners);
o The London Borough of Barnet has the largest Jewish
population in the country, with some 1 in 5 people being
Jewish
o The neighbourhood of Golders Green in Barnet is the most
populous Jewish neighbourhood in the country.
Judaism: denominations (1)
Judaism: denominations (2)
In 2013 a study by Jewish Policy Research highlighted
that of Britain’s Jewish community :
o A quarter (26%) of respondents describe themselves as
being ‘Traditional’;
o A similar proportion (24%) as ‘Secular/Cultural’;
o A minority (16%) as ‘Orthodox’ or ‘Haredi’.
o Some 18% describe themselves as ‘Reform/Progressive’.
Orthodox Judaism & halakha
• One defining feature of Orthodox Judaism is its
adherence to halakha (Jewish Law)
• Halakha in a nutshell:
o Halacha is the code of Jewish law. It affects not only religious
belief but many aspects of life
o The root of the word is HLK, a root shared with Holekh “to walk”.
So one translation would be “the way of walking” but this also
signifies something very important about halakha – it is flexible
and can move depending on time and situation
o It was written as early as the first century CE and codified in the
late Middle Ages… but it continues to move
o Halakha is built on a Jewish study tradition of conversation – many
different Rabbi’s voices are quoted and different opinions can be
brought out in different cases
Gender opportunities in Judaism
• How gender equality is promoted within the
framework of halakha (Jewish Law)
o Halakha was first written down nearly 2000 years ago, and so needs
to be contextualised. However the flexibility of the system should
allow for movement if the call of contemporary times requires. But
there’s a tension between re-interpreting a rulebook to suit what we
want… and responding to genuinely changes circumstances;
o Gender equality was not a concept in the times when halakha was
being developed. Protecting women’s rights was a key halakhic
concern, but men and women had radically different religious and
societal roles;
o Gender equality is promoted within the framework of halakha
because its flexibility allows it to move with the times;
o Examples: batmitzvah, women learning and teaching Torah, women
having roles in lay leadership
Gender challenges in Judaism
• There are many areas in halakha where it is hard to
imagine men and women ever being equal
• An example
o Three key terms in Halakha: obligated (chayyav), exempt (patur),
permitted (mutar)
o General rule: Women are not obligated in time-bound
commandments. For example, doing the full prayers in the
morning (the Rabbis’ version of flexible working?!) They are, of
course, permitted to pray if they can
o Being ‘obligated’ trumps being ‘permitted’, so men will always be
the ones to lead certain prayers within the halakhic system
o If you go to an Orthodox synagogue, women tend to be
observers, often high up in a gallery
Challenges and opportunities (1)
Traditionally in orthodox Judaism,
women simply do not take on public
religious roles. Their role in Judaism
has tended to revolve around the
home,
with
responsibilities
like
keeping a kosher home, preparing
for Shabbat, educating young
children, and keeping the laws
surrounding menstrual cycles
Sadly, Judaism for some
women, is limited to
preparing kosher food and
choosing a good hat for
Synagogue… for me this isn’t
good enough
Challenges & opportunities (2)
o The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance sees its role as “to
expand spiritual, ritual, intellectual and political
opportunities for women within the framework of halakha”
o It does this through:
o Advocacy on key issues (like women in leadership)
o Education (resources, journal, school curriculum
o Creating a community of likeminded women – and men – who
believe in its principles
Implications
•
The implications of social change around gender issues which are
occurring in the Orthodox Jewish community and wider society
are complex
o They are controversial. Not everyone agrees with decisions. Fears
that increased gender equality moves towards a different
denomination (Reform in particular) are powerful. Splits and
schisms have already happened and will continue to happen
o As women take on more roles, the roles of men will inevitably
need to change too to support women who have, for example,
childcare responsibilities
•
An example – Kehillat Nashira, the community I founded
Promoting gender equality: what
teachers need to know (1)
• Equalities Act 2010 applies to all maintained and independent
schools, including Academies, and maintained and nonmaintained special schools;
• As far as schools are concerned, for the most part, the effect of
the current law is the same as it has been in the past – meaning
that schools cannot unlawfully discriminate against pupils
because of their sex, race, disability, religion or belief or sexual
orientation;
• Protection against discrimination is now extended to pupils who
are pregnant or have recently given birth, or who are
undergoing gender reassignment.
Promoting gender equality: what
teachers need to know (2)
• The Act makes it unlawful for the responsible
body of a school to discriminate against,
harass or victimise a pupil or potential pupil:
o in relation to admissions
o in the way it provides education for pupils
o in the way it provides pupils access to any
benefit, facility or service
o or by excluding a pupil or subjecting them to any
other detriment
Promoting gender equality: what
teachers need to know (3)
The Act deals with the way in which schools treat their
pupils and prospective pupils:
o the relationship between one pupil and another is not
within its scope;
o It does not therefore bear directly on such issues as racist or
homophobic bullying by pupils;
o However, if a school treats bullying which relates to a
protected ground less seriously than other forms of bullying
– for example dismissing complaints of homophobic
bullying or failing to protect a transgender pupil against
bullying by classmates – then it may be guilty of unlawful
discrimination.
Promoting gender equality: what
teachers need to know (4)
•The content of the school curriculum has never been caught by
discrimination law, and this Act now states explicitly that it is
excluded;
•However the way in which a school provides education – the
delivery of the curriculum – is explicitly included.
•So excluding the content of the curriculum ensures that schools
are free to include a full range of issues, ideas and materials in
their syllabus, and to expose pupils to thoughts and ideas of all
kinds, however challenging or controversial, without fear of legal
challenge based on a protected characteristic;
•But schools will need to ensure that the way in which issues are
taught does not subject individual pupils to discrimination.
Promoting gender equality: what
teachers need to know (5)
•Some examples can best explain the distinction between
content and delivery of the curriculum as the Act applies:
o A boy complains that it is sex discrimination for him to be required to do a
module on feminist thought.
o A girl complains that putting The Taming of the Shrew on the syllabus is
discriminatory; or a Jewish pupil objects to having to study The Merchant
of Venice.
o A fundamentalist Christian objects to the teaching of evolution in science
lessons unbalanced by the teaching of “intelligent design”.
o A school does a project to mark Gay Pride Week. A heterosexual pupil
claims that he finds this embarrassing and that it discriminates against him
on grounds of his sexual orientation; a Christian or a Muslim pupil objects
to it on religious grounds.
o A Muslim pupil objects to the works of Salman Rushdie being included on
a reading list.
RE & promoting gender equality
• Ensure you are aware of the cultural
expectations for boys and girls in your
community;
• Recognise these, and work to challenge
and question why things are this way;
• Ensure discussions in your classroom are
balanced between who is speaking;
• Don’t let discussions build up stereotypes.
Practical activities
• Avoid questions that result in recall or
comprehension answers
• Ask questions that demand analysis,
application, evaluation and synthesis;
• Deploy games that build up confidence in
using religious terminology, e.g. ‘Don’t say
that…’
• Use classroom activities
that develop
thinking skills
And finally…
‘Religious literacy helps you move from
tolerance to respect’
Prof Adam Dinham
•What teacher’s need to do differs depending on
school and community context;
•Regular conversations in our classrooms helps
pupils build up their ability to discuss religion with
respect and curiosity
•Ensure we as educators keep up with current
developments within any religion
Wrap up
Any questions?
Contact us
For further information about the webinar series and
how Interfaith Explorers can support you visit:
www.interfaithexplorers.com
or contact
Rokhsana Fiaz OBE
Chief Executive
Maimonides Interfaith Foundation
[email protected]