by Julia Orwell 45 Replies latest jw friends
I don't know what that knee jerk uproar was about. what in the world do you think they teach in a religious school? Be it Catholic, new Christy Christians, Jewish, Buddhist etc. People want their children exposed to their religious values...you don't have to like it but we all have to live with it.
I think Julia and other non Muslim teachers will be a healthy counterweight for those kids.
It doesn't matter why but I've been a grumpy arse all weekend and I think it's showed in my posts. Although I pretty much stand by my comments I could've been a lot more gracious. Julia I hope you'll accept an old gits apology and my congratulations on your new position. Sorry.
Here in the Caribbean where I live, many of the high schools are church owned, operated and named - Catholic and Anglican. But some JWs work as teachers at those schools and many JW children attend those schools but that doesn't seem to raise eyebrows the slightest bit among JWs here. I think it's because those schools are still under the authority of the government (Ministry of Education) when it comes to things like the syllabus, and the law states that they can't try to impose their religious beliefs on the students (even though some of the teachers try to). It's kinda weird when I think of it.
Congratulations on your new job!
Not to be paranoid but... okay, maybe it is paranoid.
With the governments of the west trying to fine tune their ability to detect terrorism, it is not inconceivable that at some time in the future you are approached by men in black suits wearing sunglasses and asked to report to them. You may be given specific things to look for, comments your students may make, baiting statements you may utter in class to get responses from the students etc. All of these would be filed on government data bases for their reference.
ive had a complete freak out and decided to stay in my current job...i have anxiety issues thanks to the borg and other things. It's not because of the Islamic thing though that does compound it. I was on the verge of a tearful breakdown ( the sort I used to have all the time at the kingdom hall when i was a devout jw) so my husband said to not to sign the contract and call them up and say something urgent has come up.
I feel like a chicken for not pursuing this opportunity that has landed in my lap but my health will be better if i stay at my current schools in my current teaching role (i work across two state-run, non religious schools in a role which suits me well and the kids are great).
Teacher Julia... I think that sounds awesome! I'm sure you will really do well. I think you will enjoy teaching Muslim children.
Anyway, take care.
So what you are really saying Julia , is you had an opportunity to teach moderate muslim kids , which would be a challenging experience but for personal reasons best known to you , after second thoughts you declined to accept that invitation and stay in your present employment .
No shame in that , you need to do what is best for you . You also seem to have a loving husband who has your interests at heart .
All the best for your future
smiddy
You are NOT a chicken! Anxiety is our way of telling ourselves that something is wrong. As Smiddy said, you made the decision that was best for you.
True. After so many years in the jw cult where i made decisions that WEREN'T in my best interests I suppose I sometimes find it hard to identify decisions that are best for me. My gut tells me to keep doing what i'm doing even though the Islamic school would have been a solid opportunity for professional advancement. And while I have no problem with Muslims as all the Muslims I've met have been good people, I much prefer the government schools the students there are given religious freedom. As a teacher I have to respect diversity and be flexible for certain kids and respect their diverse viewpoints and cultures, it is different to having all one culture that is very different to mine. They would be better off with a Muslim teacher if they want to segregate the boys and girls, do prayers and ablutions and observe their traditions.
There are Muslim students in my current government schools of employment and they are free to do their prayers and eat halal. There are Mormons, Catholics and Buddhists too, and as a teacher I respect their views but the majority of students are not religous. Maybe 90% of kids don't care about religion in government schools. 80% probably don't care about it in Christian schools because like i said, Australians are not religious people. I prefer to be in an enviroment of religious freedom.
I feel less anxious now so I know it's the right decision. The last few years have been so topsy-turvy and I've not even been out of the cult two years. It's been only 19 months since my last jw meeting. I've also had many jobs in that time and I've finally gotten into the groove of my current one so I feel it's best to settle into it for now as I'm just not ready for another change.
