R.E. FOR 11 YEAR 8 TO OLDS

By a Special Correspondent
THE revolution in both the content and method of religious education now becoming part of established practice in Catholic schools, received no little inspiration from the works of Fr. Anthony Sullen of the Liverpool Catholic Education Centre. His hist series set tha, trend and helped to accelerate the move against segregated lessons relying upon memorisation as almost their sole criteria.
Now Fr. Bullen has revised the original edition for junior schools, The new religious programme, *Living and Believing, if properly followed, will ensure that the principles of religious education in schools, will be in accord with the best knowledge we now have of the child's view of the world and of morality and of his ability to conceptualise.
Fr. Bullen's comprehensive book is the result of sympathetic criticism and suggestions made by scores of teachers who have used its predecessor, "Growing in Christ" since its publication four years ago. It assumes that teachers will realise that the basis for learning is the child's own experience. If that experience is limited or deficient the teacher has either to extend it or make some provision because the teacher knows that the child can best be brought to an understanding of abstract ideas through concrete experiences which have those ideas set in them.
Fr. Bullen follows Michel Quoist's view that "everyday life is the raw material of prayer," and accordingly integrates religious with secular
education wherever possible,
hoping thereby to avoid the misconception that the human " and the religious arc separate or even opposed. Hence his themes cut across subject barriers and seek attitudes of thankfulness to God, respect for and practice of Christian vaLles. Class Masses are set as the highlight of the class's year, celebrated informally.
How much doCtrine will be learnt? A remarkable amount, not perhaps set out in strictly tabulated form but very extensive and appropriate to the child's growing ability to understand the abstract but couched in language intelligible to his age. Formalisation is left to the secondary school when his intellect is more ready for it.
The book is a mine of information. It deals with delayed first confessions where permitted, advocates much silent prayer but without ignoring vocal and memorised prayer, does not forget such traditional services as the Way of the Cross and shows how to make them meaningful for juniors. It provides teachers with information on resources appropriate to each stage of the syllabus which it sets out in systematic form.
Teachers will appreciate the way it is organised into three terms work, with deepening conceptualisation for each of the four years of the junior school.
a Living and Believing: A Religious Programme for 8 to 11 Year Old Children by Fr. Anthony Bullen (Geofirey Chapman 15s).