Ethos Education

Paddington in Peru: What does the Bible say about Christian responsibility for fostering and adoption?

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Learning Objectives:            

  • Students will consider the breadth of fostering and adoption, by analysing the difference between fictional orphans and real-life families.
  • Examine a biblical view of care for the widows and orphans and analyse what this reveals about the character of God as a father.
  • Understand how Christians can impact society and individuals by offering welcome to children in need.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Consider real life examples of Christian belief in action with reference to a contemporary account of fostering and adoption and to the history of Barnardos.
  • Analyse Bible passages to understand Christian teaching on care for the vulnerable and the character of God.
  • Consolidate learning by researching a Christian fostering and adoption charity and writing a social media post to encourage care for the vulnerable.

Supporting Values Education:

  • The value of individual liberty asserts that children and young people have choices and rights. This lesson invites students to consider how society can respond to need for safe homes for children who, for whatever reason, cannot stay with their birth parents. The lesson allows students to explore a Christian perspective on adoption.

STARTER:

Give each student a copy of the So Many Orphans worksheet. Begin by asking students to connect the names of the characters to their descriptions (they could do this in pairs) then answer the questions at the bottom of the page. If necessary, explain that an orphan is a person whose parents are no longer alive. The correct answers are in the table below:

Batman Wealthy citizen of Gotham City who lives with his butler
Wolverine AKA Logan, a mutant with metal claws
Harry Potter Boy wizard with a scar on his forehead
Paddington A bear from Peru who likes marmalade sandwiches
Oliver Twist Pickpocket in a gang run by a man called Fagin
Tarzan Boy who grew up in a jungle with apes
Peter Parker Web-slinging building-climber bitten by a spider
Frodo Baggins Hairy toed hobbit hero
Annie Red-haired resident of New York who sings about Tomorrow
Jane Eyre Heroine of a Charlotte Bronte novel
Sophie Brave friend of the BFG
Lyra Belacqua Lives in Oxford, has a daemon called Pantalaimon
Cinderella Wears glass slippers and travels in a pumpkin
Anna and Elsa Sisters who are friends with a singing snowman
Peter Pan Hangs around with a crew of lost boys and has a friend called Tinkerbell
Snow White Fed a poisoned apple by her stepmother
Luke Skywalker Fighter for the Rebel Alliance who trains as a Jedi Knight
James Bond Known by three numbers and takes his drink ‘shaken not stirred’
Superman Adopted by earthly parents but comes from the planet Krypton

Question:

Why do you think there are so many orphans in books and films?

If you know the names of any friends or family members of these characters, write them beside their names.

Tease out the answers to the two questions, making the point that many stories include fictional orphans. Writers and film-makers often create characters who are orphans because they have to face the world alone, and, because they don’t have parents to guide them, they don’t have obvious sources of wisdom and support.

Most of the characters on the list have friends, family members or older mentors to help them (e.g. Harry Potter has Hermione, Ron, Hagrid  and Dumbledore; Peter Parker has his Aunt May etc).

You may find that some students also spot that not all the characters truly are orphans (e.g. Luke Skywalker discovers that Darth Vader is his father).

Discuss how films and books can give us a false impression of being alone. Fictional orphans are often courageous and feisty, able to survive in the world with the help of their friends. In real life, families are more complicated. When someone loses one or both parents, or if their birth parents are not able to take care of them, they may be looked after by another family member, and there should be people around to check they are well – teachers, social workers, youth workers and so on. But there are also people who live with other families on a short term basis, or longer term. This is referred to as fostering and adoption.

Explain that in today’s lesson you are going to be learning about how Christians view fostering and adoption.

MAIN ACTIVITIES:

One of the characters on the list of orphans was Paddington Bear. Paddington has an aunt in Peru, but he lives with a family in London called the Browns.

Show the clip from Paddington in Peru (StudioCanal 2024, PG). Click here to buy the DVD online.

Explain that Paddington and the Brown family have travelled to his homeland, Peru, and have gone in search of his Aunt Lucy who is missing from her retirement home. After a series of adventures, Paddington now realises that he is about to discover the hidden land of El Dorado.

  • Start time: 01.20.07
  • End time: 01.29.37
  • Clip length: 9 minutes 30 seconds.

The clip begins with Paddington (Ben Whishaw) inserting a coin into a slot in a rock to unlock the door to El Dorado. After an unsuccessful first attempt, the rock splits and the door opens. As the dust settles, Paddington and the Brown family see four trees moving towards them. One of the trees makes a growling sound and the family steps back in fear. Mr Brown (Hugh Bonneville) remarks that they don’t sound friendly, but Paddington responds by saying, ‘Quite the opposite, Mr Brown, that was my bear name.’ The trees usher Paddington and the family through the doorway into a beautiful orange grove. They walk through the trees, admiring the perfect oranges. Mr Brown asks about the gold – treasure rumoured to be hidden in El Dorado, and Mrs Brown (Emily Mortimer) tells him that the ‘gold’ is the oranges. El Dorado, she says, is an orange grove. Paddington runs to greet his Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) who had been kidnapped from her retirement home. The pair embrace and the family introduces themselves to her. She explains that she was rescued by the bears of El Dorado who are the secret guardians of the El Dorado oranges. Paddington wonders why they know his bear name, and tells Aunt Lucy he has been dreaming about a statue that sits in the village. Aunt Lucy reveals that when she found Paddington as a lost young cub, he had a bracelet that matched the ones worn by cubs in El Dorado, and that this is his tribe. Paddington then remembers being lost as a young bear. The tribe of bears welcome Paddington as one of their own as the Browns look on. Paddington proceeds to teach the bears how to make marmalade. Mrs Brown remarks that he looks so happy. She realises that Paddington belongs in El Dorado with his clan. She remembers meeting him for the first time and is overwhelmed by sadness. Paddington gives Mrs Brown a jar of marmalade and thanks her for all she has done. He tells her he wants to ask something. Everyone assumes he wants to stay in El Dorado, but he asks if he can stay with them. Mrs Brown is delighted. He tells her, ‘They are my tribe, but you are my family. This is where I’m from but you’re where I belong.’

Discuss the clip with the students. On discovering El Dorado and finding his missing Aunt Lucy, Paddington was faced with a choice. He could have chosen to stay in Peru with his tribe, or to return to London with the Browns. The Browns fully expected him to stay in Peru.

Why do students think the Browns assumed he’d stay? Why do they think he chose to go back with the Browns?

Do they think Paddington made the right choice? Why/why not?

Paddington described the bears of El Dorado as his ‘tribe’ but the Browns as his ‘family’. ‘Family’ can be our birth relatives, but ‘family’ can also mean a group that we become part of when our birth families cannot take care of us. Fostering means making someone part of a family for a short or long time when their own family can’t look after them. Adoption is when a person legally becomes part of someone else’s family.

Often people talk about ‘Fostering and Adoption’ together, as sometimes Fostering can lead to Adoption, and both words describe a person becoming part of another family, either temporarily or permanently.

Krish Kandiah is a Christian campaigner for Fostering and Adoption. He and his family have fostered and adopted children and teenagers. Krish set up a charity called ‘Home for Good’ that encourages Christians to foster and adopt children who need help. There are many reasons why Krish thinks it’s important that Christians get involved in Fostering and Adoption.

Show the video:

Open Doors Youth – Krish Kandiah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qre_esuEPAE

Discuss the video. How many reasons for fostering and adoption did students notice?

  • The Bible talks about church as a family
  • God describes himself as a father to the fatherless
  • Family is about hospitality, as well as biology
  • Family is about unconditional love
  • It’s tough and messy but it’s the best thing his family has done
  • Lots of Christian brothers and sisters around the world need help
  • People need family

In order to investigate this idea further, explain that the class is now going to look at some verses from the Bible and work out what they say about God and about fostering and adoption.

Give each student a copy of the My Tribe, My Family worksheet and ask them to complete it.

Once students have completed the worksheet, talk about their answers to the final two questions. Draw out the fact that God is described as a father who welcomes orphans and widows, and who expects his followers to do the same.

Not every Christian can foster or adopt a child, but many churches offer a welcome to people who need help. Some Christians, like Krish Kandiah and his family, feel that fostering and adopting is something they should do to demonstrate the love of God to those whose families are not able to.

Throughout history, Christians have been involved in looking after orphans. One example of this is Dr Thomas John Barnardo (https://www.barnardos.org.uk/who-we-are/our-history). Born in 1845, Barnardo was a doctor, and a Christian, who wanted to help the poor. Whilst he was training to be a doctor and living in London, there was a terrible cholera epidemic in the East End of the city which killed 3,000 people and left many children orphaned. Barnardo decided to open a school where poor children could be educated. One of his pupils – Jim Jarvis – showed him how many children were living in poverty, and Barnardo decided to open a home for boys. There was a limit to the number of boys who could stay in the home, and after an 11-year-old boy was turned away, and later found dead on the streets, Barnardo vowed that he would never again turn another child away. Barnardo’s charity still exists today, working to support children, young people and families who need help. All because one man – Thomas John Barnardo – decided to do something to help orphans and families.

Further KS2 resources on the story of Barnardo can be found here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/articles/zky7pg8

SUMMARY AND ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING:

Give out copies of the Tell Me More worksheet. Explain that students have been tasked with helping a Christian Fostering and Adoption charity persuade and inform Christians about the topic. Their task is to write a social media post for which must include some information about fostering and adoption, and must include a picture and a description of how people can get involved. There is a link on the worksheet to the Christian charity Home for Good, established by Krish Kandiah.

https://homeforgood.org.uk/

https://safefamilies.uk/

YOU WILL NEED:

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