KS3 RE – Sacrifice and Sikhism
0001 10:00:03:08 10:00:06:19
(narrator) This programme looks at
how one RE teacher deals with
0002 10:00:06:19 10:00:12:10
the concept of sacrifice and
martyrdom with a year-seven class.
0003 10:00:12:10 10:00:16:21
This lesson is part of a six-lesson
series devised by Kathryn Kane,
0004 10:00:16:21 10:00:20:22
which looks at sacrifice
across different religions.
0005 10:00:20:22 10:00:24:17
So far, the class has discussed
the concept of sacrifice generally,
0006 10:00:24:17 10:00:27:22
and has explored a Muslim story.
0007 10:00:27:22 10:00:31:20
Today's lesson is about the
martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur,
0008 10:00:31:20 10:00:34:23
and the aim is to get the pupils
not only knowing the story,
0009 10:00:34:23 10:00:38:14
but developing the skills of
insight and empathy.
0010 10:00:41:11 10:00:44:15
Teachers of religious education
need to answer the question:
0011 10:00:44:15 10:00:48:03
"How am I to going to handle the
awkward, sometimes shocking, stories
0012 10:00:48:03 10:00:50:03
that each religion contains?"
0013 10:00:50:03 10:00:53:20
You could avoid those, but
it's better to tackle them head-on.
0014 10:00:53:20 10:00:56:02
Pupils will learn about the religion
0015 10:00:56:02 10:00:58:24
by learning a story
of foundations or origins,
0016 10:00:58:24 10:01:03:05
but they can also learn from the
religion if, as in these lessons,
0017 10:01:03:05 10:01:05:10
the concept of commitment
is illustrated
0018 10:01:05:10 10:01:07:09
with reference to sacrifice.
0019 10:01:07:09 10:01:11:18
OK. Last lesson we were talking
about the Muslim story of sacrifice
0020 10:01:11:18 10:01:14:09
of Ibrahim and Isma'il.
0021 10:01:14:09 10:01:16:13
Isma'il didn't have to be sacrificed
0022 10:01:16:13 10:01:19:09
and Ibrahim didn't have
to sacrifice his son.
0023 10:01:19:09 10:01:22:17
But today, we're looking at
a story from Sikhism
0024 10:01:22:17 10:01:26:00
and we're looking at somebody
who really did give up their life.
0025 10:01:26:00 10:01:30:20
His name is Guru Tegh Bahadur. So
I'll give you an information sheet,
0026 10:01:30:20 10:01:33:07
and we're gonna read about
what happened to him.
0027 10:01:33:07 10:01:35:17
(Kathryn) In the lesson
about Guru Tegh Bahadur
0028 10:01:35:17 10:01:39:09
the story if often unfamiliar to the
children that I've been teaching,
0029 10:01:39:09 10:01:41:24
so I make sure that
at the beginning of the lesson
0030 10:01:41:24 10:01:45:02
they really understand
what the story is all about
0031 10:01:45:02 10:01:47:24
and really engage with
the characters in the story.
0032 10:01:47:24 10:01:51:22
And I do that by having his story
written out on a worksheet,
0033 10:01:51:22 10:01:55:12
but I make sure that the children
read the story out loud as a class.
0034 10:01:55:12 10:01:59:05
Sarah, do you want to start for us?
Yeah, Guru Tegh Bahadur.
0035 10:01:59:05 10:02:02:10
Guru Tegh Bahadur was
the ninth of the ten Sikh gurus.
0036 10:02:02:10 10:02:05:24
(Kathryn) I stop them frequently
through the telling of the story,
0037 10:02:05:24 10:02:09:07
just to check that they're
understanding what they've read,
0038 10:02:09:07 10:02:12:11
and to push them in their
understanding of what is happening.
0039 10:02:12:11 10:02:17:12
..he was persecuting followers
of the Sikh and Hindu religions.
0040 10:02:17:12 10:02:21:12
(Kathryn) OK. Thank you. Who knows
what the word "persecuting" means?
0041 10:02:21:12 10:02:23:16
Does it mean kill?
0042 10:02:23:16 10:02:25:21
It can involve killing, yeah.
0043 10:02:25:21 10:02:28:01
Punishing. Punishing someone.
0044 10:02:28:01 10:02:30:23
Punishing someone, yeah.
We're getting more of the idea.
0045 10:02:30:23 10:02:34:00
So it maybe involved killing,
it maybe involved punishing.
0046 10:02:34:00 10:02:37:11
What does it mean to persecute
somebody? What do you think?
0047 10:02:37:11 10:02:39:24
Does it mean, like,
to put them in jail?
0048 10:02:39:24 10:02:42:23
It might involve
putting them in jail, yeah.
0049 10:02:42:23 10:02:45:05
Because of what they believe.
0050 10:02:45:05 10:02:48:22
Excellent, yes.
So persecution is hurting people
0051 10:02:48:22 10:02:51:07
because of what they believe
or who they are.
0052 10:02:51:07 10:02:53:22
Jennifer, could you read
next for us, please?
0053 10:02:53:22 10:02:56:03
Both Sikhs and Hindus
were being asked...
0054 10:02:56:03 10:02:58:05
(Kathryn) When they read the story,
0055 10:02:58:05 10:03:01:04
I want to get them to empathise
with the main characters
0056 10:03:01:04 10:03:03:24
and put themselves
into that situation,
0057 10:03:03:24 10:03:06:19
and so I include
information about the characters,
0058 10:03:06:19 10:03:10:10
small things, like maybe
what the guru's nickname was.
0059 10:03:10:10 10:03:14:15
So his name means "brave sword",
Tegh Bahadur,
0060 10:03:14:15 10:03:17:21
but he liked to be called
"Degh Bahadur", which means...
0061 10:03:17:21 10:03:19:21
- What does it mean?
- Cooking pot.
0062 10:03:19:21 10:03:23:24
Brave cooking pot. OK. What do
you think that tells us about him?
0063 10:03:23:24 10:03:28:00
- Martin, you haven't said anything.
- Was he, like, a family person?
0064 10:03:28:00 10:03:31:02
I think his family was
very important to him, yeah.
0065 10:03:31:02 10:03:32:24
OK. Anyone else? Callum?
0066 10:03:32:24 10:03:36:00
- He might have liked cooking.
- Yeah.
0067 10:03:36:00 10:03:40:18
Maybe he was the Jamie Oliver
of his day, or something. Yeah. OK.
0068 10:03:40:18 10:03:43:03
It may have meant
he doesn't like fighting.
0069 10:03:43:03 10:03:47:20
I think that's true. He was very
good at fighting and very brave,
0070 10:03:47:20 10:03:51:18
but maybe fighting wasn't the thing
that he thought was most important,
0071 10:03:51:18 10:03:54:14
but family and looking after others
0072 10:03:54:14 10:03:57:23
and cooking for others
was the most important thing. OK.
0073 10:03:57:23 10:04:01:02
We've got to the point in the
story where the emperor has said:
0074 10:04:01:02 10:04:05:16
"I will give you lots of presents
if you change your religion."
0075 10:04:05:16 10:04:09:10
If it was you, what do you think
you might have been offered?
0076 10:04:09:10 10:04:10:17
It if it was nowadays,
0077 10:04:10:17 10:04:13:19
what sort of things do you think
somebody would offer you?
0078 10:04:13:19 10:04:16:09
- A million pounds.
- OK. For a million pounds
0079 10:04:16:09 10:04:20:14
you might be tempted to give up
something that was important to you.
0080 10:04:20:14 10:04:24:22
But he thought that his religion
was far, far more important
0081 10:04:24:22 10:04:29:04
than to give up for lots of wealth
and all those sorts of things. OK.
0082 10:04:29:04 10:04:33:02
So instead of going with the bribes
and things, the emperor then says:
0083 10:04:33:02 10:04:37:05
"Right. I'm gonna chop off
the heads of three of your friends
0084 10:04:37:05 10:04:39:10
unless you give up your religion."
0085 10:04:39:10 10:04:41:22
And so the emperor came
and he chopped off
0086 10:04:41:22 10:04:46:03
the heads of three of his friends
right in front of him.
0087 10:04:46:03 10:04:48:17
How do you think he felt about that?
0088 10:04:48:17 10:04:50:16
- Harry.
- Upset and sick.
0089 10:04:50:16 10:04:54:08
Upset and sickened, yeah.
What do you think?
0090 10:04:54:08 10:04:57:06
- Guilty.
- Why would he have felt guilty?
0091 10:04:57:06 10:05:00:18
Because he's just basically killed
three of his friends.
0092 10:05:00:18 10:05:03:12
So he might have felt
responsible for their deaths,
0093 10:05:03:12 10:05:05:20
because if he'd have given up
his religion,
0094 10:05:05:20 10:05:08:13
his friends might have survived,
mightn't they?
0095 10:05:08:13 10:05:11:16
- Jennifer, what do you think?
- Angry.
0096 10:05:11:16 10:05:14:04
Angry. Who would he
have been angry with?
0097 10:05:14:04 10:05:17:01
The people who chopped
his friends' head off.
0098 10:05:17:01 10:05:19:24
The emperor and the friends
that he chopped the heads off.
0099 10:05:19:24 10:05:22:18
Now the emperor is saying,
"It's your life this time."
0100 10:05:22:18 10:05:28:15
"I'm gonna cut your head off unless
you actually give up your religion."
0101 10:05:28:15 10:05:32:21
- What do you reckon's gonna happen?
- He's not going to give it up.
0102 10:05:32:21 10:05:35:03
I don't think
he's gonna give up as well.
0103 10:05:35:03 10:05:38:05
So the emperor ordered that
the guru's head be cut off,
0104 10:05:38:05 10:05:41:23
and that is exactly what
the emperor had done. OK.
0105 10:05:42:17 10:05:45:11
(voice-over) I really want
children to feel empathy
0106 10:05:45:11 10:05:47:08
with the characters in the story.
0107 10:05:47:08 10:05:50:20
Just really think what it would
have been like to be there,
0108 10:05:50:20 10:05:54:15
how it would have felt to be some of
the characters that are involved.
0109 10:05:54:15 10:05:56:13
We do that through freeze-frames.
0110 10:05:56:13 10:05:59:09
You have to act out
a part of the story,
0111 10:05:59:09 10:06:03:18
and when you come to the important
bit, everybody has to freeze.
0112 10:06:03:18 10:06:06:24
So it's like somebody
would be taking a photograph
0113 10:06:06:24 10:06:10:23
of how everybody was looking
at that moment in time in the story.
0114 10:06:10:23 10:06:14:09
Now, because it's
a still moment in time, or whatever,
0115 10:06:14:09 10:06:16:09
you need to think about your body.
0116 10:06:16:09 10:06:19:09
Think about, "Do I need
my arms on my hips, like this?"
0117 10:06:19:09 10:06:23:03
"Or do I need to be scratching
my head? Or going...?"
0118 10:06:23:03 10:06:26:05
You need to think about
your face, as well.
0119 10:06:26:05 10:06:28:05
You need to think about
how you feel.
0120 10:06:28:05 10:06:32:08
So we're thinking about the people's
emotions in this story,
0121 10:06:32:08 10:06:35:02
and you really need
to show on your face
0122 10:06:35:02 10:06:38:03
how the people in these stories
are feeling.
0123 10:06:38:03 10:06:42:02
So we're gonna have a group of four,
there. A group of four, here.
0124 10:06:42:02 10:06:44:23
(voice-over) When the children
go into groups,
0125 10:06:44:23 10:06:48:13
they are given a card with just
one small aspect of the story on it,
0126 10:06:48:13 10:06:52:03
but what I consider to be
an important aspect.
0127 10:06:52:03 10:06:54:07
So it enables the children
to focus in,
0128 10:06:54:07 10:06:58:10
so that they get good understanding
of the characters that are involved.
0129 10:06:58:10 10:07:02:04
Your group are going to be doing a
freeze-frame about Guru Tegh Bahadur
0130 10:07:02:04 10:07:05:08
telling his family that
he's gonna go and see the emperor.
0131 10:07:05:08 10:07:08:02
His life is in danger,
and he's got to tell his family:
0132 10:07:08:02 10:07:10:14
"I'm gonna go off and
see that evil emperor."
0133 10:07:10:14 10:07:14:19
OK. You a group of three?
OK. Your scenario is:
0134 10:07:14:19 10:07:19:08
"The emperor tries to persuade
the guru to give up his faith."
0135 10:07:19:08 10:07:22:20
So you've got to think,
how will the emperor be feeling
0136 10:07:22:20 10:07:25:08
when he talks to Guru Tegh Bahadur?
0137 10:07:25:08 10:07:28:05
And, how will Guru Tegh Bahadur
be thinking as well?
0138 10:07:28:05 10:07:32:00
I'll be the Guru Tegh Bahadur.
You'll be the emperor.
0139 10:07:32:00 10:07:33:13
I'll be the executioner.
0140 10:07:33:13 10:07:37:07
You could be the Sikh who took
the guru's head back to the family.
0141 10:07:37:07 10:07:43:01
The executioner can be like that
and he'll be face down like that.
0142 10:07:43:01 10:07:48:13
So you're gonna actually do it
practically, standing up and stuff?
0143 10:07:48:13 10:07:51:06
(Kathryn) OK! Sh, sh, sh, sh.
0144 10:07:51:06 10:07:56:01
Right. We'll go with...
that group first, then. OK.
0145 10:07:56:01 10:07:59:19
So if you'd like to come into
the space in the middle
0146 10:07:59:19 10:08:04:01
and show us your little drama, and
then finish with the freeze-frame
0147 10:08:04:01 10:08:08:23
showing us the emotions
that everybody felt at this time.
0148 10:08:08:23 10:08:15:15
Please tell the evil emperor
to not sacrifice us. Please.
0149 10:08:15:15 10:08:17:15
Come, my people.
0150 10:08:21:01 10:08:23:02
(Kathryn) So we've got the freezing.
0151 10:08:23:02 10:08:27:20
How are you feeling in this
situation? You've just asked him.
0152 10:08:27:20 10:08:32:04
We're feeling happier because
he said that he'd look after us.
0153 10:08:32:04 10:08:35:11
So your feeling happier
that he said he'd look after you.
0154 10:08:35:11 10:08:38:20
How did you feel
when you asked him?
0155 10:08:38:20 10:08:42:03
I felt a bit scared because
he might say, "No, go away."
0156 10:08:42:03 10:08:44:09
OK. He might have said, "No, guru."
0157 10:08:44:09 10:08:47:12
How did you feel
when they asked you?
0158 10:08:47:12 10:08:50:03
Was it an easy decision?
0159 10:08:50:03 10:08:52:06
- No.
- No, not an easy decision.
0160 10:08:52:06 10:08:56:04
So it's gonna be a hard thing for
you. Well done, that was very good.
0161 10:08:56:04 10:08:59:09
- (applause)
- Number two, then.
0162 10:08:59:09 10:09:02:14
(voice-over) The task is good
for children of all abilities,
0163 10:09:02:14 10:09:05:22
because some students
may have great acting skills
0164 10:09:05:22 10:09:08:04
but wouldn't be able
to put onto paper
0165 10:09:08:04 10:09:11:18
those sort of things that
they are discussing and showing me.
0166 10:09:11:18 10:09:16:10
Now my father is dead, I am
the new guru. What am I going to do?
0167 10:09:16:10 10:09:19:12
(Kathryn) The freeze-frames
come out in different ways.
0168 10:09:19:12 10:09:22:15
Some of them have thought about
all the detail they want in,
0169 10:09:22:15 10:09:26:19
and they have really put loads
of stuff into their productions.
0170 10:09:26:19 10:09:28:17
But others can be quite simple.
0171 10:09:28:17 10:09:31:18
Right, I'm going to see the emperor.
0172 10:09:31:18 10:09:35:12
(Kathryn) But they all show that the
children have understood the story
0173 10:09:35:12 10:09:38:22
and that they've empathised with
the characters in that scenario.
0174 10:09:38:22 10:09:41:15
I'm gonna try and persuade you
to give up your beliefs.
0175 10:09:41:15 10:09:43:21
(Kathryn) I want the drama
to come from them.
0176 10:09:43:21 10:09:45:21
It's got to be them
that has thought out
0177 10:09:45:21 10:09:49:03
what it is that they are going
to say and do and how they react,