Barnes, Jonathan M

Author

b Sidmouth, Devon 1951. Sir Walter St John’s Grammar Sch, Battersea, SW London; Christ Church (teacher training) College, Canterbury, Kent. In his youth he belonged to St Barnabas Ch, Clapham Common, where he was prepared for Confirmation by David G Wilson (qv). After training as a geography teacher he lived and taught at Eldoret in western Kenya for 3 years, returning to the UK for the next 7 for secondary teaching of history and geography. By then married with 2 children, he went next to Malaysia to teach English for two and half years, coming back (with a 3rd child) to primary school teaching, ‘developing my love for art and music as well as history, geography and RE’. 6 years on he was appointed head teacher of a Methodist Primary Sch, and after 8 more there (and child no.4), he moved in 1999 to Canterbury Christ Church Univ, where he had first studied, as Senior Lecturer in Primary Education. Their family church is Canterbury Cathedral. As well as the subjects already listed, his work has involved the psychology and neurology of learning, specialising also in cross-curricular studies. His international role includes caring for European students, lecturing in Germany, and annual visits with student groups to a religious orphanage in Tamil Nadu State, S India; he and his wife (potter, musician and ex-teacher) have lived happily alongside members of other faiths for much of their professional lives. He contributed 6 paraphrases (one with joint authorship) to the 1973 Psalm Praise, more than any other writer outside the editorial team. These are non-rhyming versions of Pss 15, 51, 84, 116, 130 and 146, all set to music by David Wilson. Like Timothy Dudley-Smith but unlike most of the contributors, he did not go on to become a ‘Jubilate’ member or associate, but his work does appear in other Jubilate books and elsewhere. He has not written further texts, but says ‘I still feel they hold a precious part of the truth for me and my family’. No.116.