TeachingRE Issue 4.pdf - the Second Level Support Service

YOU AND YOUR ANCESTORSBy Paul BehanEver thought of cross curricular links between RE and Maths? Well Paul Behan, former co ordinator ofMaths with Second Level Support Service, has provided us with this intriguing example of such a link.The concept outlined below may be familiar to your LC students from their Maths class. See if theycan make a link between this and their LCRE course, particularly Section A (The Search for Meaningand Values) and Section J (Religion and Science).The concept basically outlines how mathematicallythe world should have been over populated as far back as we can count, but evolution seems to havehad a hand in the arrival of each of us.This concept also reminds us about the inter-relatedness andconnection among human beings and with all of created life.While Maths and Science go a long waytowards explaining the verifiable causes of these great events – the ‘How’ question, R.E., particularlyLCRE Sections A and J explore the ‘Why’ question which underpins it all, and how religion and scienceare actually complementary fields in furthering our understanding of human origins.Thanks to Paul forallowing us some insight into the Maths classroom.Why not try this out with your students andexplore the fascinating’Why’ question in the process?In a world in which nobodymates with a relative, andwith the births of parentsand children separated bytwenty to thirty years, eachreader of these pagescould have had, at the timeof Charles Darwin’s birthseven generations ago in1809, a hundred andtwenty-eight differentancestors – two multipliedby itself seven times. Foralmost everyone that figureis too high.- from ‘DARWIN’S ISLAND‘by Steve JonesSYLLABUS LINKLEAVING CERTIFICATESECTION Athe Search for Meaning andValuesSECTION JReligion and ScienceJUNIOR CERTIFICATESECTION DPART 5Challenges to FaithA highly thought-provoking way to introduce geometric progression for any class from 1st to 6thYear, but particularlyTransition Years, is to calculate the number of people that needed to be alive x number of years ago in order foryou to be alive today. In his wonderful book exploring Charles Darwin’s less publicised work, Steve Jones used 20to 30 years for an average inter-generational period.We’ll go with 40 years, which will ensure our final numbers areonly slightly less mind boggling.It Takes This Many Ancestors to Make Yoǔ 2 people had to be born in the previous generation.Your parents.̌ For your parents to be born, their parents had to be born in the previous generation. So 2 Generations Ago(GA) or 80 years ago, 4 people had to be alive, to ensure that you are around today.They are your Grandparents.And so on.̌ 3 GA, or 120 Years Ago (YA), 8 people had to be born. 4 GA, you needed 16 ancestors.(NumberYA, Number GA)(40,1)(40,1)(40,1)☺☺YOU(☺)☺☺ ☺ ☺ ☺☺☺ ☺☺☺Number of AncestorsRequired☺ ☺(400,10) 2 10 = 1024(800,20) 2 20 = 1048576(2000,50) 2 50 = 11258999068426242 1 = 22 2 = 42 3 = 8400 YA (Years Ago), you had to have 1024 ancestors alive. Let’s round that off to 1000.800 YA, the year 1209, you had to have 2 20 ancestors alive.That is 2 10 by 2 10 = 1000 by 1000 = 1 million people,just to ensure you are sitting here today.Go back to the time of Jesus’ birth, 2000 YA, you needed 2 50 ancestors, or 1000 trillion people needed to be bornaround that time.These figures put credit crunch numbers in the ha’penny place.48TEACHING RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ISSUE FOUR SEPTEMBER 2009