Education matters -- 5 November 2006 meeting
On a mild and sunny day in November, the CC Education Committee met in the Parish Centre at Wellesbourne. It would have been a full house, with all eleven members present, but a last minute e-mail advised us that the gremlins had got at Ernie Runciman's car. As we were just half way through the triennium (the three-year period between committee re-elections) we began by taking stock of what we had done so far. Generally we felt we were making good progress, but with one exception, see below.
Top | Publications | Framework | NRT conference | Teaching teachers | Other needs
Our publications in the pipeline are progressing. Both Teaching Unravelled and the pilot copies of The New Ringer's Book should be out in spring 2007. The latter will be a very visual book, and the main effort now is to capture all action pictures needed. The 'Tower Captain's Resource' (which might be called a 'Teacher's Toolkit') sits somewhere between a 'product' and a 'publication'. As well as book-like material it includes worksheets, posters and 'gadgets'. For the latter, we are considering a combination of self-build instructions, and small scale production.
Top | Publications | Framework | NRT conference | Teaching teachers | Other needs
We discussed the promotion of the new Framework for training ringers. This needs to be widely promoted, and we will shortly be seeking help from local ringing societies to do this. One key issue is ready accessibility of the source material, up to date copies of which can be downloaded from our website. We debated the relative merits of paper and electronic delivery (not just for this, but also for example, information about NRT and our courses). Paper leaflets are good for spreading awareness, but many people prefer to download information themselves. We need a mix of both, but there are some complications, for example double sided, three-fold leaflets don't work too well when downloaded and printed as single sided sheets.
Top | Publications | Framework | NRT conference | Teaching teachers | Other needs
We decided to hold the third conference for members of the Network for Ringing Training (NRT) in autumn 2007, and we will be consulting with NRT members about the form and scope of this event. One suggested workshop item (though it might merit a separate seminar) is a comparison of different approaches to teaching bell handling.
Top | Publications | Framework | NRT conference | Teaching teachers | Other needs
Teaching teachers (not just handling but change ringing) and tower management are the subject of our main course. Since its introduction ten years ago, we have delivered nearly forty of these courses, almost all in partnership with local ringing societies. In the last year or two, the demand has reduced and we have delivered very few. Some societies run their own courses, but in many cases, we suspect there is still a need, which is not being met. We plan to run a national course in spring 2007, and also to encourage more local societies to take advantage of this important course. We are talking to the North American Guild about transferring the know-how for them to run their own course. We are also revising and upgrading the course material.
Top | Publications | Framework | NRT conference | Teaching teachers | Other needs
We occasionally receive requests for other types of course, and are always happy to consider them, especially if it entails breaking new ground, or provides something that the many standard courses already available elsewhere do not provide.