Sharing/conflict resolution at nursery school?

notanewuser

mountainofdebt wrote: »

I was baptised, confirmed and married in a CoE (well Church in Wales Church if I'm completely honest)

But I love thought for the day when the Lord Rabbi Sachs presents it and I had made me a candlestick that isn't a menorah but is in the style of a menorah .......to which Junior asked if we were now Jewish.

For me I'm not religious but I have observed Lent for the last couple of years. Does that make me religious I don't know - I know it doesn't make me superior to anyone though.

Having said that though it did upset me when a former work colleague talked about 'all this giving up stuff in Lent rubbish' - don't ask me why it just did

I have absolutely no problem with whatever you want to observe on your own home, whether I understand it or not.

My issue is when someone else's views are used to influence children!

notanewuser

peachyprice wrote: »

You would be influencing her if you asked for her to be removed from all religous worship, What would you tell her if she asked why she was the only child removed from the class at that time?

Yes, I know you are talking about Welsh schools, but I can only relay my experience in English schools (you should have said if you only wanted people with knowledge of Welsh schools to respond to your thread). I still don't think that children can become indoctrinated from religion in school unless the same were being enforced at home and your child still has the right to choose for herself regardless of whether she is in Wales or England.

Sorry, it wasn't clear whether you had or not.

We'd be removing the direct influence, which I suppose is influencing. It's the religious practice that's the issue.

Spendless

notanewuser wrote: »

I never said we'd remove her from anything related to religion - just the stuff where it is presented as fact rather than "some people believe, i.e. assembly, grace, end of day prayer. School have confirmed she would be "taken elsewhere" while that was happening, which appears designed to discourage.

I suspect that most schools have few if any kids that don't take part. At junior school I was friendly with 2 girls (cousins) who I now know were Plymouth Berethen, they and their cousins never took part in asemblies. Instead they and their siblings used to have to stand outside the doors of the hall. It marked them out as 'different' even if you didn't know much about them. I should imagine that most schools wouldn't do this now, but they'd have to be with another adult during assemblies depending on who out of the staff attends them, so maybe your child would be in her class with a teaching assistant or sat in Reception with the clerical staff doing work. I don't know how end of day would work if a 'going home prayer' is said (it's not a practise I'm familiar with) as presumably your dd would have to be moved before it took place.

peachyprice

notanewuser wrote: »

Sorry, it wasn't clear whether you had or not.

We'd be removing the direct influence, which I suppose is influencing. It's the religious practice that's the issue.

But replacing it with your own athesit views is no different.

Would you also have her removed from lessons when they spent a term studying hinduism, sikhism, judaism, islam? Or is it just the christianity you object to?

notanewuser

peachyprice wrote: »

But replacing it with your own athesit views is no different.

Would you also have her removed from lessons when they spent a term studying hinduism, sikhism, judaism, islam? Or is it just the christianity you object to?

I'm not sure why this is so hard for people to understand.

We want DD to learn about ALL religions, through RE lessons or life experiences (funerals etc). We don't want DD PRACTISING a religion of someone else's choosing when she's to young to be able to make up her own mind.

I align it with food. I'm vegetarian. DH isn't. DD is exposed to all foods so that she, in time, can make her own mind up. She knows "mummy doesn't eat meat" and will no doubt ask why at some point. If she chooses to agree with me, that's fine. If she wants to eat meat that's fine too. But I'm not making the choice for her. Does that make sense? We want to lay out all belief systems so that she can choose what she wants to believe for herself. Teaching her prayers and religious songs from the age of 3 goes against that.

peachyprice

notanewuser wrote: »

Teaching her prayers and religious songs from the age of 3 goes against that.

Unless the words mean anything to her already it won't make a difference whether they say the lords prayer or twinkle, twinkle little star at the end of the day, they're all just poems, same as hymns are just songs. Without enforced teaching they have no particular meaning.

Do you really think your daughter is so weak willed that she will be lead by some rhymes and songs? No, I didn't think so.

thorsoak

notanewuser wrote: »

I'm not sure why this is so hard for people to understand.

We want DD to learn about ALL religions, through RE lessons or life experiences (funerals etc). We don't want DD PRACTISING a religion of someone else's choosing when she's to young to be able to make up her own mind.

I align it with food. I'm vegetarian. DH isn't. DD is exposed to all foods so that she, in time, can make her own mind up. She knows "mummy doesn't eat meat" and will no doubt ask why at some point. If she chooses to agree with me, that's fine. If she wants to eat meat that's fine too. But I'm not making the choice for her. Does that make sense? We want to lay out all belief systems so that she can choose what she wants to believe for herself. Teaching her prayers and religious songs from the age of 3 goes against that.

From your posts it would appear that because you wish DD not to be taught prayers and religious songs that no other child should be taught them in schools. You do have a choice: you withdraw her from all such religious contacts that might "contaminate" her.

As I have said, if you wish to overturn the status quo, you should seek a referendum with other parents attending the same school - if your views are those of the majority, then you have the right to seek change.

balletshoes

peachyprice wrote: »

Unless the words mean anything to her already it won't make a difference whether they say the lords prayer or twinkle, twinkle little star at the end of the day, they're all just poems, same as hymns are just songs. Without enforced teaching they have no particular meaning.

Do you really think your daughter is so weak willed that she will be lead by some rhymes and songs? No, I didn't think so.

i do agree with the bit in bold - i remember my DD taking part in the nativity in reception year (so she would have been 4) and learning the words to "away in a manger" which she sang (with all the other kids, even the ones who came from practising religious families of non-Christian beliefs). It was just another song to them, no more important in their lives than singing "rudolph the red-nosed reindeer" was.

notanewuser

peachyprice wrote: »

Unless the words mean anything to her already it won't make a difference whether they say the lords prayer or twinkle, twinkle little star at the end of the day, they're all just poems, same as hymns are just songs. Without enforced teaching they have no particular meaning.

Do you really think your daughter is so weak willed that she will be lead by some rhymes and songs? No, I didn't think so.

So I ask again, what's the point?

notanewuser

thorsoak wrote: »

From your posts it would appear that because you wish DD not to be taught prayers and religious songs that no other child should be taught them in schools. You do have a choice: you withdraw her from all such religious contacts that might "contaminate" her.

This thread has proved I'm not alone in that.

What's the point of them?