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Dear Colleagues,
With talk of testing children on their times tables and the discussion about the place for rote learning and recall, I was thinking about some of the mnemonics I was taught at school to help me remember things. Whether it be the points of a compass, the colours of rainbow, the planets of the solar system or the functions in trigonometry, we all have our favourite method to remember. ‘Signs of happiness come after having tankards of ale’ was my favourite for the latter, and it still works 40+ years later. But remembrance is more than recall.
This year is a year of significant anniversaries. We will be contacting you next term about commemorating one hundred years since the 1918 Armistice, with national events being planned for the 9th November leading through to services for Remembrance Sunday on the 11th. But remembrance in the Bible is not a question of whether you can recall something, it involves active remembrance, a remembrance that leads to change and action, a life lived in the light of the thing you are remembering. It should make an active difference.
This month saw the marking of 100 year anniversary of some (not all, at that stage) women winning the right to vote, but are we really remembering properly? So far this year the news seems to have been dominated by stories of sexual harassment and abuse of women across a range of sectors which shows that there is still a long way to go in promoting gender equality and stamping out gender stereotyping. It isn’t enough to simply remember and celebrate, but we need to act – and education has a vital role to play.
We are involved in helping people to properly remember – not just their times tables, but highlighting the need to take action in the light of past events and do so in a way that promotes the dignity and respect of all those we serve and come in to contact with. As we do that, we will ensure that remembrance is not simply a question of memory, but of action and of will.
With all good wishes,
Rev’d Nigel Genders
Chief Education Officer
Church of England Education Office
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