Over the last few weeks we have been doing lessons with year 10 at Hitchin Boys’ School looking at what Christians think about...

Over the last few weeks we have been doing lessons with year 10 at Hitchin Boys’ School looking at what Christians think about poverty. It’s a great opportunity to explore the bible with these students and look at some of the key things Jesus did and taught about, to try and unpack this topic.

The students find it a really engaging topic trying to apply the ideas from how they react to what they see happening in other countries, through to how they respond to the homeless person they walk past on their way home.

A great discussion was started by one student commenting that if he gives to someone else then that means he goes without. This started a class wide debate which had 2 main conclusions. Firstly that we should share around what we have got so it’s more even and secondly that we would want help if we were in their position. The student that started the conversation, having had a chance to hear other opinions from his class mates and reflect himself, commented at the end ‘I’ll have to treat people better, it’s not as simple as I thought’.

One teacher gave us this positive feedback: “Excellent lessons on poverty for the year 10’s to get their teeth into. The boys thought around the topic and were able to explore a religious response in relative depth. Thank you Paul for your efforts with the HBS RE Department.”