Opinion piece published Barking & Dagenham Post, Ilford Recorder and Docklands & East London Advertiser September 2024.
Parents, pupils and teachers are gearing up for the new school year. So too are volunteer Humanist school speakers like me. Visits are on the up now that Humanism features on the Barking and Dagenham agreed Religious Education syllabus. It would be great if every school recognised the benefits of this free service.
Children generally find our views fascinating, even if they don’t agree with them. Talks, assemblies and Q&A’s encourage their curiosity about different perspectives on the so-called ‘Big Questions,’ such as how the world began, what’s the purpose of life, if any, and what happens when we die.
One of the biggest questions is ‘How do we decide what is true?’ Its importance was spotlighted by the spate of misinformation on social media which helped sparked the recent riots.
Of course, there is nothing novel about having multiple information streams with different views and facts to choose from. I grew up in the last century. Like many, my understanding was informed by printed material, TV, radio and what I heard from my family and community. The telephone was used only to speak to other people. It sat on a table with an annoying wire that got tangled up. I wonder how many children born this century have even used one.
What we now call mobile phones are something else altogether. For many young people, talking is the last thing they do on them. Adults clearly find it hard enough to distinguish truth from untruth online. How on earth can we help children navigate the torrent of stuff they access through their phones, often for hours a day, on top of all the other sources. Its barely regulated, and often one-sided or deliberately misleading.
There is no easy answer. But a helpful start is to inculcate children with the importance of questioning and looking for evidence which can be weighed up and tested, and assessing the reliability of sources – the ‘scientific method’ which underpins a humanist world view.
Humanists UK school speakers are accredited and have a strict code of conduct. Its about explaining what we believe, not proselytising or knocking other beliefs. Around half the population of this country have no religious belief. It is fundamental to a rounded education that children with or without a faith understand the principles and the validity of our ethical non-religious outlook.
Paul Kaufman. Chairperson East London Humanists
