How to End a Pandemic by

Cautionary Tales by Tim Harford

REth1nk — 2022-10-04 08:25:54 UTC

The information in this resource is taken from an episode of Tim Harford's podcast, 'Cautionary Tales'.
The podcast series presents mistakes and what we can learn from them. It is worth a listen!
Tim Harford is an economic journalist and broadcaster.

How to End a Pandemic

REth1nk — 2022-10-04 08:29:00 UTC

The episode opens in Boston Massachusetts where smallpox pandemics ravaged the population every 10 or 15 years between the 1600s and early 1700s.

We are introduced to Cotton Mather, a priest and amateur scientist. Mather is also a slave owner, who once received a slave from his church congregation as a gift. He named this man, originally from West Africa, Onesimus.

Mather was very aware of the constant smallpox threat. He asked Onesimus if he had ever had smallpox in Africa. Onesimus described a strange procedure; a person with smallpox had a blister cut open; the skin of a healthy person was cut and some blister fluid was rubbed into the wound. The recipient fell ill after some days, but not fatally so. When they recovered they never contracted smallpox. Mather began to interview many other Africans in Boston and found that this practice was widespread in West Africa.

Great, the listener thinks, problem solved. But as the episode then explores, things are not that straightforward...

Suggested Teaching Ideas: KS2- 3

REth1nk — 2022-10-06 17:20:21 UTC

- The link above takes you to the Royal Society website and some research on West African innoculation. As you can see, this predates innoculation practiced in the Western world. A copy of a letter from Cotton Mather is shown, display to the class.
- Keywords for this episode: inoculation, vaccine, slavery, enslaved, slave owner, epidemic.
- Let the class listen to the 20 minute episode. At key moments pause and conduct 'think, pair, share' activities so pupils can discuss what they have heard.
- Talk about why the white people in Boston could not hear what Onesimus was saying. Why could they not take his advice? Make a class mindmap of reasons why.
- Look at a map of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. 'Onesimus' came from West Africa. Trace his journey across the Atlantic to Boston. Most slave ships left from the coast of Benin, adjacent to Nigeria.
- Read the description Onesimus gives of the innoculation procedure. Do students understand the science behind this? Talk about what it must have been like for parents to let their children have the procedure- would they have been worried? Would they trust the person performing the procedure?
- Write a paragraph from one parent to another, to explain why it is safe to allow their children to be innoculated.
- 'Onesimus' is a name given to this man from West Africa by his slave owner. In his diary, Mather described Onesimus's ethnicity as 'Guaramantee', which could be Mather's way of writing 'Coromantee'. The Coromantee are also known as the Akan people and they are from the Gold Coast of Ghana. However it is not known what Onesimus's original ethnicity is.
- Find out about the Akan languages and cultures in Ghana. Look at images and compare this land to Boston. What would have been different for Onesimus?
- Onesimus's birth name is not known. Talk about how it must feel to lose your own name and be given a new name from an alien culture.

Two Teacher's Reactions

REth1nk — 2022-10-06 17:24:55 UTC

Read this blog, published on RE:Online, where two teachers consider their reactions to this podacst and how they might bring some of the ideas to their classrooms.

One teacher is in a Primary school and one in a Secondary school.

Christian Arguments about Slavery

REth1nk — 2022-10-06 18:48:52 UTC

- Pupils might be surprised or shocked that a priest was a slave owner. This BBC article sets out the complex relationship between the Church and slavery. As you can see, some used the bible to justify slavery, others argued that slaves should be treated well but kept as slaves, while others argued that slavery was un-Christian and must be stopped. Make a table and separate the different views held towards slavery from a Christian perspective.
- Once the broad arguments have been established, consider which rest on Christian theology or biblical teachings, and which rest on economic or other non-religious factors.
- Are some arguments generally moral but not specifically Christian?

Should the Church Make Reparation?

REth1nk — 2022-10-07 09:38:31 UTC

This BBC article presents arguments within the Church of England about reparation for slavery. We learn lots of surprising facts:
- the Church owned plantations in the Caribbean
- the slaves owned by the church were freed 26 yars after slavery was abolished
- The Church was compensated by the British government for the loss of slave labour

Discuss whether the Church should find a way to make reparation. Some arguments are given in the article:
- who would recieve reparation payments?
- could reparation be made in the form of aid?
- the Church should make a formal apoloigy at least
- reparation would symbolise the church's acceptance that huge wrongs were done