Religious Beliefs – extract from Farther from the Sun.

Posted on by Opher

I don’t believe in doing good, in the hope of heavenly rewards in some what I consider fictitious after-life.

18.9.01

 

My Dad was certainly not a church-goer. I don’t think he believed in religion, but I think he may have had some vague spiritual beliefs but he certainly would not talk about them. I know he had been quite shocked by my Mum’s belief in spiritualism.

When he first met her family they had invited him to a séance. He’d treated it as a joke. He’d had a close friend who was a submariner who had been reported missing in action during the war and took along a cap-band of his friends. During the séance he offered the cap-band and was given a set of numbers. He followed it up and discovered that they were coordinates. The MOD enquired where he had got them from. The coordinates were fifty miles from the last known position of the submarine.

Dad never went to another séance and did not want to know about it. Anything to do with religion, death or spirituality was off the table; he did not want to give it headroom.

I don’t know how true any of that was.

11.8.2020

 

I taught a section on evolution. California State law stated that equal time had to be given to Creation. I had parents sitting in with stopwatches, and one with an egg-timer, to check that I kept to the law. That was a new experience for me. It is quite difficult to generate enthusiasm and involvement with a group of sullen adults staring at you as if you were Satan.

So, what, as a non-believer, do you tell anybody about creation theory that can possibly take as long as explaining the intricacies of Darwinian evolution through natural selection?

Easy. I sent the whole thing up. To start with I put on my best, over the top, Monty Python voice. I made expansive arm movements. I got them to close their eyes and imagine nothing. We spent ten minutes trying to hold that concept. I then got them to picture God. I asked them what they thought he looked like. It is astounding to me how many eighteen-year-old students and forty-something -year-old parents actually believed that God was this old geezer with long robes, long hair and a great straggly white beard.

I find that absurd. If someone proved to me that there was a god and asked me to picture what god was like, I would automatically think more in line with the forces released in the centre of a hydrogen bomb, or the energy that holds atoms together.

But they all did as they were asked and took it very seriously. They closed their eyes and tried to make everything black and empty. Then this old geezer comes in stage right and does some hocus pocus, mumbo jumbo complete with hand movements and there is a great flash of light. Then he makes this plasticine stuff and spends six days rolling zillions of stars and planets and spinning them around and painting oceans and mountains. Then he made living stuff and breathed into them to give them life and last of all, the crown of creation, he made man – little models in his own image. Then he took a bit out of one of his models and made woman. I have always thought that this story was a bit demeaning towards women. It was straight out of the Abrahamic tradition of pandering to some mediaeval theory of women being lesser beings, subservient and not really made in God’s image. But there you go. You give the folks what they want to hear. That’s entertainment!

What it isn’t is education.

My lesson on creation worked a treat! They were well pleased. All the Monty Python, over the top Magnus Pyke presentation, was British eccentricity and passionate theatre. After all, they were used to it with all those evangelist preachers. I was in good company. They loved the ranting, visualisations and role-play. They could visualise the old man rolling up balls of plasticine. That made sense to them. Two of the parents actually commended me on my lesson.

Liz castigated me for making a mockery of peoples’ beliefs. I protested. That wasn’t really the case. I’m a tolerant person. I just do not believe that religion has a place in education. For me to teach it as if it was factual made a mockery of education.

Liz said that I should not have ridiculed their faith in such a manner.

Perhaps she was right.

See. Liz says I’m arrogant. I acknowledge that at times I can certainly come across that way. I sometimes think that I have good reason to be. Many people are simple and stupid. They don’t delve below the surface. How long does it take to roll up a few zillion balls even if one takes point zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero one of a second? Can you do it in six days?

Why does God, who is infinite, get knackered and have to have a rest on the seventh day?

How big was this dude?

No. They were more than happy with the old bloke rolling up balls, breathing life into stuff, modelling mountains and spitting out oceans. Especially as I took longer over the creation theory than I did with the evolution bit plus I was far less animated and theatrical with evolution. I did that in my normal voice.

It seemed to me that half my class were born again Christians and half the class were stoners. The strange thing was that half of the born againers were stoners. I found this bemusing and asked one of them.

“Where’s it say in the bible that you can’t smoke dope, man?”

Well he had a point.

19.9.01

 

I do believe in infinity, mystery, wonder and awesome beauty.

18.9.01

How much do you know about the Human Population? Are you pessimistic or optimistic about our future?

Posted on by Opher

This is a fascinating little quiz that is extremely informative. Is progress being made? Should we feel pessimistic or optimistic about the future?

 How much do you know about the achievements of the WHO? Try taking the little quiz and finding out a lot more!

https://factfulnessquiz.com/

A great way to create more integration! I know – Faith Schools!

Posted on by Opher

A great way to create more integration! I know – Faith Schools!

The major problems occur in society when people live apart and become suspicious of each other. To mingle and talk is great; it breaks down barriers so that people discover they are all intrinsically similar. We humans are one people.

Religion, race and culture separate people. When people get together in multicultural ways they can benefit from the richness of different cultures. It cross-fertilises. It brings colour, vitality and joy. Out of it comes hybrids that invigorate.

It is when people become segregated from each other and alienated that trouble occurs.

We used to have a great fear of black culture from Jamaica, Pakistanis, Indians and Sikhs. But most of the people who arrived in the fifties and sixties have been integrated, taken on British values and fit in.

I know it is not perfect. A lot of work still needs doing. We need more cohesion and equality, more respect and sharing.

These days we have major problems with our Muslim community and radicalisation.

So what about a great way to bring people from different religions, cultures and races together – why not segregate them in Faith Schools!!!

Who the hell thought up such a stupid idea?

Let’s set up Jihadi colleges and Creationist schools! Why not? I mean it isn’t as if we haven’t already had problems with radicalisation in Birmingham schools; it isn’t as if there are thousands of unregistered schools indoctrinating kids with who knows what; it isn’t as if we haven’t had the Christian Catholic school indoctrinating kids.

What madness is this?

Is this a means of getting religion to fund schools?

Are GCSE results the only thing that count? Have we totally lost sight of the big picture?

There are all sorts of extreme religious fanatics who would like nothing better than to get their hands on our kids!

Segregation is not the answer to integration!a-passion-for-education-cover This is how it should be done!

Why is a good education important?

Posted on by Opher

Why is a good education important?

Education is truly the most powerful weapon in human armoury.
Education is about relationship. A good relationship is one that enables students to think and evaluate. A bad education is one based on ‘facts’ and indoctrination.
Every child should receive a good education that stimulates their minds and enables them to soar.

I think, therefore I exist.

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Is it really important to go to school? To read endless theoretical dull texts? How often do we get the feeling we don’t need to know what we are learning and immediately forget it after the tests?

Does learning things make me happier? 

Yes. But not immediately.

It may seem, at first sight, rather contradictory: knowledge is so many times the cause of great distress, yet an ignorant life appeals to no one. It is true that knowledge comes with a disturbing counterpart: our mind, once carefree and lax is progressively filled with complicated concerns and questions. To be disturbed is not necessarily a negative thing, though, as these concerns and questions are what will guide our choices and actions and turn us into more conscious, independent individuals. Before a change has to be a moment of rupture and therefore before our growth a lot of these…

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Unregistered Schools – Should not be lawful! Shut them down!

Posted on by Opher

Unregistered Schools – Should not be lawful! Shut them down!

stop

Integration is the name of the game!

If people want all the benefits of living in a free, tolerant Western country they should be prepared to buy into the ethos.

Education should not be indoctrination.

As an ex secondary headteacher my school had to abide by the laws of the land and the national curriculum. These ‘unregistered schools’ are spreading propaganda, racism, homophobia and creationism. They cannot be allowed. All schools should be under the jurisdiction of the government (no matter how stupid some of their policies are). We cannot tolerate people pedalling religious or political dogma and indoctrinating our kids even if that is what parents want.

All schools should be registered and their premises deemed safe and up to standard.

We cannot have Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Jews, Hindus or any other religion seeking to isolate their children from mainstream culture. That leads to segregation, misunderstanding and terrorism.

Hasn’t Northern Ireland and ISIS taught us anything?

The teaching of politics in schools.

Posted on by Opher

The teaching of politics in schools.

A passion for education cover

Schools run scared of teaching politics because they might be accused of being partisan. That is ridiculous. It never stops them when it comes to religion.

We have generations of adults who have limited understanding of what political parties stand for, how they were founded, who they represent, the history of the social struggles that took place and the value of democracy.

I believe this is wrong.

The teaching of politics is fundamental to the education of all adults. If you do not understand what philosophy lies behind a political view you are not in a position to understand the glib propaganda put out by the political parties to get you to vote for them.

In a democracy it is essential that people are well informed, educated and knowledgeable. Otherwise they become cynically manipulated.

For this reason I would have a clear and unbiased syllabus that clarifies the philosophy of the parties, their formation, history and raison d’etre. I would ensure every child leaves school knowing what the parties represent and able to see which fits with their own philosophy.

They should be fully aware of all the major events that have led to our one person/one vote democracy and the major events in our struggle for social equality, rights, freedoms and justice.

I have a good grasp on all that.

My overriding philosophy has always been freedom, justice and equality. I believe in fairness.

That is why I vote Labour. It is also why I will vote for Jeremy Corbyn and not for the psuedoTories who have taken over the Labour Party. I do not want watered down toryism.

Anecdote – Education – A tale of parents and me

Posted on by Opher

Anecdote – Education – A tale of parents and me

 

Education – A tale of parents and me

I am the first person in my family, from either side, to have gained a University Degree.

It seems to me that keeping a population ignorant makes them easier to control.

I come from working class stock. One of my grandfathers was a meat porter in Smithfield market. The other was a meter reader for the water board.

My father was very clever. He passed his exams to go to the Grammar School. His parents refused to allow him. They could not afford his uniform. He left school at fourteen to go to work and bring his pay packet home. He joined up in the army to fight in Italy in the Second World War. As an adult he took courses and became an ace typist that enabled him to gain a career in Fleet Street on the newspapers. He achieved a middle management post in charge of a telephone reporters’ office.

My mother’s education effectively ended at the age of eleven when she became ill and was sent off to the seaside for a long convalescence. On returning she was deemed to have missed too much and placed in the ‘Remove’ class. This was effectively a class for those with extreme learning difficulties. As soon as the teacher found my mother could read and write she set her to work helping the other students. In those days the class sizes were fifty five plus. My mum became a teacher’s aide. She took a group of students and taught them. She never escaped from that Remove class. She was too useful. Her own education was brought to a halt.

Like my father my mother later took courses and achieved a high level of expertise in typing and short-hand that enabled her to have a career up until she had babies.

My parents believed in education. They knew it was a passport to a better way of life. To be educated gave you the qualifications, skills and outlook to gain a superior way of life. You had a choice of more fulfilling careers, greater earning power and social mobility. More importantly it opens your mind to more options and greater horizons. It gives you confidence and your life more colour.

I believe education is the long term answer to ignorance such as religious fundamentalism. An educated mind questions. An ignorant mind accepts.

My life has been transformed by the education my family afforded me. I gained the qualifications to go into teaching and become a Headteacher – a career that put me in contact with lively idealistic young minds and proved extremely fulfilling. It opened my mind to question the world, appreciate its beauty, to write, read, travel and meet extraordinary people.

I am grateful for my upbringing. They gave me love, freedom and education. The never tried to indoctrinate me with their politics or religion.

I am who I am because of it.

I often wonder how far my gifted parents would have gone if they had education behind them? They were victims of poverty and the class system that prevented them achieving what they were capable of.

Education – we don’t want choice – we simply want excellence for everyone!

Posted on by Opher

Education – we don’t want choice – we simply want excellence for everyone!

 

We do not need gimmicky Free Schools, Business-run Academies or Grammar Schools for the rich – we simply want quality education and a fair system for all.

Hear what a highly successful ex secondary Headteacher has to say on education. The real story! The inside battles.

P1120115 (2)A passion for education cover

https://www.amazon.co.uk/passion-Education-story-Headteacher/dp/1502984687/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473336393&sr=1-6&keywords=Christopher+goodwin

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsYou need to read this book!

By Mystic blueport on 19 Oct. 2014

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

In this autobiographical account of his life as Head Teacher of Beverley Grammar School, Chris takes us through many of the failings of the post-war education system to the much superior, more flexible teaching of the twenty-first century. Along the way, he enthuses about rock music, leadership vs management, and – particularly – the kids. If you can make every lesson fun, every child feel cared for, and every staff member nurtured, attendance and results will pretty much look after themselves. You can pass every Ofsted inspection with flying colours, and your school can become best in class (no pun intended).I was at college with Chris, and it didn’t seem to me then that he was destined to be a head teacher of a secondary school – a music critic, more like. He has done education a great service by showing you can be a rebel and get results too. I hadn’t expected to enjoy this book as much as I did; it has extraordinary energy and a lust for achievement. Every teacher should read it! 8/10 (October 2014)

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5.0 out of 5 starsEmpathic approach to education

By Pete 2 Sheds on 5 July 2015

Format: Paperback

If you have any interest in the education of your child this book is essential reading. Having studied and worked in education myself I find Mr Goodwins insights and experiences very thought provoking. It deserves a place on the shelves of every educational establishment and needless to say a few people at the ministries and especially the minister for education should read this and maybe, just maybe, we could move forward and improve the educational standards of our children where they have been slipping on a global level.
Mr Goodwin shows, his Ofsted scores prove the point, that civility and empathy rather than antiquated regimented regimes can be extremely effective.

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5.0 out of 5 starsCrusade for True Education

By Amazon Customer on 10 April 2016

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

As an retired teacher and Head of Department I found this book a joy to read. It is many things – personal biography, passionate polemic, practical handbook, education history, inspirational text, you name it – woven together in a natural, organic way which really gives you the feel of school life. The author knows whereof he speaks and in friendly fashion takes you, the reader, by the hand on a headlong and often exciting journey through the maze of modern education. His vision is clear and compelling, he knows what works and what doesn’t, he wants you to share his profound sense of the human potential which we can unlock if only we get our schools right. He articulates a philosophy which puts the whole child at its centre and explores the relationships underlying the magic of educational development. The book is written in a direct, heartfelt, jargon-free style and is packed with amusing anecdotes which illuminate his principles, unlike many dry books on the subject. Passionate and humorous and unafraid of controversy, it certainly gets you thinking. I found it a real page-turner and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in good education, whether outside or inside the teaching profession. For anyone connected with school management, in any capacity, it is essential reading. A unique and valuable voice.

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5.0 out of 5 starsAn excellent and informative book

By Alexander on 24 Oct. 2015

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

An excellent and informative book of Mr Goodwin’s time at the Beverley Grammar School. As a former pupil, it is hard to believe what was going on behind the scenes, however he kept it together and carried on securing the school an outstanding rating from Ofsted in both 2008 and 2010.

Free Schools – what a Tory Farce!!!

Posted on by Opher

‘I say,’ said Marmaduke SnudgelyCarruthers-Smythe, ‘these schools are terribly expensive things, what?’

‘They certainly are Marmaduke,’ the PM replied feeling a little weary of the interruptions

‘Why don’t we sell the bally things?’ Marmaduke SnudgelyCarruthers-Smythe suggested. ‘That would solve it!’ He beamed around at the cabinet.

The PM stared at him. Slowly a frown worked his way over his forehead as the idea gradually embedded itself. Finally he shook his head. ‘No Marmaduke. Nobody would buy them. They wouldn’t be able to make a profit.’ He turned his attention to his notes.

Marmaduke SnudgelyCarruthers-Smythe looked deflated and then suddenly beamed round at everyone. ‘But I say – we could tell them that they don’t have to employ real teachers. That would cut the bally costs!’

The PM looked back up with a look of shock. The lad had come up with something. There were hundreds of businesses that would give it a go if they could turn a healthy profit.

Marmaduke SnudgelyCarruthers-Smythe somehow noticed he had the PMs attention and warmed to the theme.  ‘I know a lot of those Muslim Wallahs who’d like to run schools,’ he waited while the PM mulled it over. ‘And I just had a call from the Ku Klux Klan. They’d like a few. And the creationists. They’d jolly well like to take them off our hands.’

‘You know Marmaduke I think you’re on to something.’

See what Opher Goodwin has to say about education. He should know. He was a successful Headteacher. Probably THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK ON EDUCATION SINCE SUMMERHILL!!

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Anecdote – A favourite teacher – someone who changes your life.

Posted on by Opher

Anecdote – A favourite teacher – someone who changes your life.

 

A favourite teacher

They say that everyone has a favourite teacher, someone who they had a special relationship with who changed their life. I’m lucky (or greedy). I have a number of them.

My really special teacher was a certain Mr Tranter. He’d never know the impact he had on me. I must have only spoken to him a few times and he rarely actually taught me, but I watched him, listened to him and was greatly affected by him.

Mr Tranter was an individual. He came to our school when I was seventeen, taught Rural Science, and left fairly quickly. He was ridiculed by most of my friends who could not handle his eccentricity. I loved it.

Our Rural Science department had sheds, animals and vegetable gardens. The animals included a pig, some chickens and a sheep. The vegetable gardens had a range of vegetables. They were tended by the students under the supervision of Mr Tranter.

Mr Tranter appeared with his casual clothes and a bike. The first thing he did was to declare that his bike was common property, anybody could borrow. This created such a stir among the students who immediately pounced on this as weakness, took to riding it about the school and dumping it in obscure places. Mr Tranter didn’t seem fazed. He calmly retrieved it and carried on.

The rumour was that he lived in the shed with the chickens. I don’t think that was true. Later there was a rumour that he was responsible for the early return of the French Assistant who was no longer menstruating. That might have been true.

That might have been it. He might never have really reached me if it had not been for a rainy Wednesday afternoon.

I was seventeen. I was full of Kerouac, angst, hormones and Rock Music. I was the long-haired rebel. In the 6th Form all the sixth formers were prefects except me. They had duties to perform. They had a Prefect’s Room to play around in. I was not deemed suitable to be a Prefect. That suited me fine. I was banned from the Prefect’s Room so I had no place to go. I had time, because of the lack of duties, so I hung around chatting up the girls. Seemed a good deal to me.

On Wednesday afternoons the Headteacher organised a series of talks from outside speakers. On that rainy day it had obviously gone wrong. Perhaps the speaker had not turned up?

I had just watched a documentary about Donovan the night before. It had made an impression on me. It was an attempt to show his life before fame. He was rambling around the Scottish islands with Gypsy Davey and revisiting those days. I had been enraptured. It seemed to knit in with Kerouac. This was closer to my vision for the future. Rambling round seemed to have far more attraction than a boring career.

So I was ripe.

For some reason the Headteacher had thought that Mr Tranter might like a platform to express his views. We were his audience. I’m still not sure that the Head knew what he was opening us up to.

Mr Tranter bewitched me. He started by telling us he was only working at the school for a short time. He was working in order to earn money. That money was being used to build a boat. He and his friend were attending a course on boat building and another on navigation. They were building their own boat with the intention of heading off around the world. They were planning to work bars, take any casual job they could, and drift around the planet.

I was enthralled.

He then proceeded to tell us about his life prior to arriving at our school.

Mr Tranter had left school with a bunch of qualifications. That should have propelled him to university and a career. It didn’t. He chose a different route.

Back then in 1965/66 people didn’t drop out. The whole antiestablishment view was nascent and confined to a tiny minority. Everyone was heavily in to Rock/Pop music and the fashions that went with it but few were sold on an alternative lifestyle.

Mr Tranter told us about his years of freedom.

He had rented a hut on Box Hill in Surrey. To pay the rent he had taken a paper round. Every morning he got up with the sun and delivered newspapers. The rest of the day was his. He cultivated vegetables that he ate and bartered for other needs. When he needed something more he did odd jobs.

He had time to think, to read and socialise.

It sounded idyllic to me.

I think that hour had more impact on me than anything else.

All my friends came out thinking he was a nutter. But for me I could see the beauty of it all. Life was an adventure. You had to seize it and make the most of it. It made me question what the purpose of my life was.

Mr Tranter opened up my mind to all possibility. That’s real education.

What a teacher! He certainly affected me.