ravens - to be honest I stopped reading your posts as you 3 seemed to be having a conversation amongst yourselves and I was looking for genuine advice
I've made an appointment to see the head teacher about God and creation
by not bitter 76 Replies latest jw friends
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unstopableravens
i did my first post, i was being honest
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not bitter
My meeting is next Wed morning. I will be sure to update you all then.
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not bitter
ravens - just re-read your first post. Very funny but I think not
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PSacramento
Outside of schools that are faith based, schools are not suppose to teach religion outside of religious classes ( if they have them).
IF, and that is a big IF, the teacher said that, you need to find out the context of the conversation.
I doubt it was part of teaching for a 6 year old ( grade 1, yes?).
My kids go to a Catholic school ( it was the closest to us and it is small and a great teacher to student ratio).
They teach about God of course in religion class, they pray of course, say the golden rule everyday, zero tolerance policy for bullying and violence in school AND they teach evolution in science class.
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nugget
Go on the school website and look at their policy on collective worship, curriculum and teaching of religious education most schools in UK provide a link to this information. Uk schools usually confine Bible stories to RE or assembly times and the story should be presented as a story. Ask the Head teacher to clarify how this topic was being approached in school and what was the aim of the lesson. It may be that your child misunderstood the lesson and the purpose behind it. Also if you are armed with the policy information then you have the tools to challenge anything that is incorrect. Use the meeting to get clarity rather than confrontation. Explain that you are exploring other myths and faiths at home and ask if the school also will be covering other faiths and religions during the year.
Children can also be very literal at that age and have difficulty understanding the difference between reality and fiction. However they grow and develop and change their beliefs and ideas. Many young children believe in Santa but they grow to realise that he is a myth and presents come from mum and dad often God is also viewed differently as they grow older. In a faith school where religion is presented as a way to view the world young children will mimic this too. However as they grow up and move into the more secular world of secondary education they challenge this. What is important is to give them the tools and approval to use education wisely and learn how to take ideas and look at them critically.
Our children attended a Cof E school in Hampshire and have been taught about many religions not just the traditional Christian paradigm. My son now 10 still believes in God and has formed his own opinion of what his faith means to him. My daughter is not religious at all. She is older and once we left the religion she transitioned easily to a more secular viewpoint. My son will develop his ideas in his own time and I am happy to let him make his own discoveries what is important is that he knows that his viewpoint is not the only one and that there are many ways to look at the world. He also knows it is ok to question what you believe and not to accept things on face value. I wouldn't worry too much at this stage but just make sure that the teacher isn't presenting religion as science.
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james_woods
Well, I re-read this thread and picked up on something I missed the first time:
The kid in question is ONLY SIX YEARS OLD!!!
A six year old kid is in what - kindergarten? They should be learning the alphabet, simple numbers, how to color and make clay models, and such -
NOT THEOLOGY OR RELIGION.
THAT is what I would tell this teacher.
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not bitter
To top it all, she came home from school Thursday and told me they have been learing all about Christenings and baptisms. She is asking why she wasn't Christened and can she be please.
Fortunately she hasn't mentioned it since so I'm hoping thats the end of it. But I don't see the relevance of teaching this stuff.
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cofty
It sounds like her teacher is abusing her position of influence. She needs a reminder of what her job is and what it isn't.
Is it a CofE funded school?
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xchange
Here's an article pertaining to an incident in New York state that you will find interesting.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
It's required by law," Rebecca Markert said. "Public school employees, including teachers, are prohibited from professing religious beliefs and imposing them on students."