Luke\’s RMPS Blog

After teaching the Intermediate2 Free Standing Unit ‘Justice in the World’ for several years we are piloting a new S5 core RMPS course this year at Knox Academy called ‘A Matrix of Meanings’. I was inspired to introduce this course after seeing North Berwick High School implement a similar course whilst I was a student there.
S5 core RMPS, as some readers may be aware of, has the potential to be a tricky business. Pupils have a heavy workload with certificated courses, which they have chosen to take, and often core RMPS is not, understandably, a priority for them. Therefore, the subject, I believe at this stage, must more than ever be engaging and inspiring. A Matrix of Meanings, from my experience of teaching it so far, is proving to be just that. Every teacher is taking a different approach and using a variety of film and media case studies. Some films we’ve looked at in my classes so far include:
o Saved! (directed by Brian Dannelly)
o Crash (directed by Paul Haggis)
o The Edukators (directed by Hans Weingartner)
Importantly, this course isn’t just about watching films. After every viewing at least one lesson is spent discussing the religious, moral and philosophical issues the film raises. Once we had watched Saved pupils’ discussed the dangers of fundamentalism, issues relating to sexuality and sexual freedom, as well as relationships. Crash stirred ups issues relating to race, human nature and conflict. Marxism and consumerism were debated (at length I might add) after viewing the Edukators.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas we are hoping to take these lessons even further by entering pupils into Philosophy Slam, a global essay based competition. The question which pupils have to answer this year is ‘Is global warming the greatest challenge facing humankind?’ Hopefully Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth will spark some discussion.
If any readers have suggestions of other titles we could look at in this course, please leave a comment.