Only Christian kids given a prize

[IDontWantRealism]

Can someone help me see reason with this? My kids are atheist but Jewish by ancestry. They go to a non-denominational school but in a very traditional rural area with lots of Christian students. They ran a competition which involved making a profession of faith over Easter. Obviously my kids didn’t enter but many others did. We were told there would be a prize but today at school all children who entered were given a prize leaving out the few non-Christian children and the few other children who didn’t enter. That’s not ok is it? I need some help navigating this as the school have form. We’ve previously had to moan about them being taught other problematic views.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

I know. Its shocking

I think a lot of schools ignore it but that really isn't the point

A "non-denominational school" ran a competition which involved making a profession of faith over Easter.

It just beggars belief! So wrong on every level. Buy your boy a prize for being honest.

It was an Easter-related thing, Christian children (or their parents) did the thing, got a participation award. What’s the problem? What's the problem!!?? Can you really not see it? Children being taught that this one religion is real - children getting a prize if they "profess" the faith. What would you think if the children had got prizes for professing a belief in fascism for example?

Easter is about Jesus, the rest is commercial fun stuff. - Easter is bout the celebration of new life in the spring - the Christian church chose to nick it for their own ends!!

This isn't the norm in any Scottish school I've known or worked with. It probably fills a space in the timetable and the head is happy with it. There's no reason why it needs to be so frequent. By secondary this will happen far less, even though most secondaries have a CofS chaplain, they will not have a major role in the school - assemblies (the reflection one's) are about once a term not weekly.

Yes. I think there should have been provision for an alternative sign to colour that just said something like “Springtime”. Wouldn’t be hard for the school to provide something like that next time.

Ok YADNBU then OP. "If you don't conform to our religion, you get left out" is a horrific lesson to teach children.

If it had just been a Jesus Lives colour in sheet it'd be different.

This!! 👆
I can’t believe how many posters believe we have secular schools in the UK.

Sorry from the responses I assumed we were in AIBU

Yep - that feels really dodgy to me.

That's the thing with religions, you pick one and that's your faith, and with that faith the "God" of that faith rewards the followers

None of the 4+ schools I've worked in have had any Christian focus other than in the general celebration of Christmas which is more or less secular for most people these days. Christianity is taught in RE from the same perspective that we teach about Diwali etc. I'm not sure what a "Christian" (but not Catholic) school would involve?

Without knowing the wording, I think it is impossible judge. I wouldn't have any problem with "He is risen". "I Believe Jesus Lives" would be problematic.

That maybe, but that's how religion's are. Unless humans write a global standard religion, especially considering humanity wrote all the other religions.

That sounds horrific - I'd alert the Humanists: https://humanists.uk/ - it's very unfair. As another poster said, why not get the kids to make a poster celebrating spring? If you want to feature crucified men on it, then so be it. Others may wish to stick to eggs, lambs and bunnies, but all are equally valid.

This reminds me of having to "pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands" every morning as a German child in school there.

I was very uncomfortable doing it because I felt I was being either forced to lie (or alternatively to betray my native country). Childish feelings obviously, saying something doesn't make it true, I'd roll my eyes as an adult. But I remember the discomfort very clearly, having to publicly make such a seemingly solomn and binding statement that I did not acutally agree with.

(In reality, it may even have been possible to opt out, but that didn't really occur to me then)

Bottom Line: in no way should non-christian children be forced or encouraged (even by taking part in a contest) to lightly make statements of faith (or vice versa). For many, it may be nothing, but for some it will be a

... be a massive emotional burden.

I can't believe people see no problems with this. This is hugely exclusionary, particularly in a non faith school.

In class time, the children are told there is a competition with a prize for the best entry. They have to write down a phrase that says they believe in Jesus to take part in this competition.

Any children that are not willing to write down that they 'believe in Jesus' are given another task.

Then the prize awarding happens.

Every child who wrote that they believe in Jesus is given a prize. DESPITE being told in class, where the activity was done, that only the best would win.

Any child who was given the other task - because they follow another faith or no faith at all - and couldn't therefore be expected to write they believe in Jesus - is NOT given a prize for completing the other task that they were set.

So the problems are

1. To enter the competition you have to proclaim faith in Jesus
2. Every child who enters the competition is given a prize

>> This is in fact no competition at all. The only factor to getting a prize is a willingness to write down a phrase showing you believe in Jesus >> The very nature of the competition excludes children of any or no faith, unless they are unwilling to lie and proclaim they believe in Jesus

The way it should have been run is:
>> The "other task" should have allowed those children to enter the competition. Something Easter related but NOT proclaiming a belief in Jesus.
>> Failing this, at the point where it was decided to award a prize to all entrants, it should have been realised that this would very obviously exclude every child of a different or no faith. The prizes should have been given to these children too.

No child in a state run school should be excluded from entering a competition based on their religious beliefs. Particularly when this is actually run in school time.

@IDontWantRealism whilst in strict legislative terms reasonable adjustments only relate to disability, this competition could have been open to all.

A simple adjustment of having options for the wording such as Peace, Love, Strength, Charity etc. would have been inclusive for all faiths and for those with no faith etc.

You cannot change what happened but you would not be unreasonable to write to the Head along the lines of the competition was unintentionally discriminatory because it only permitting one phrase which meant children self- excluded because they are not Christian’s. This denied them the opportunity to win a prize. Given that all children who chose to take part received a prize this made it even more exclusionary to the children who self excluded.

Next time please consider making a simple reasonable adjustment of having several phrases, some of which are not based on Christianity/faith e.g….. to make the competition inclusive to all the children .

"I'd alert the humanists" must be my favourite post from this thread 😂😂

They have handled this very badly.
The children copy down a phrase from the board and decorate it. This is apparently some kind of profession of faith. This then excludes those who don't believe or who are of a different religion. It should have been presented in an inclusive way, "Christians believe" etc, or phrased in such a way that others could participate. Or the phrase could have been "In the Springtime I celebrate....." - to be completed by the child - eg. Passover, Eid, new life in nature, etc. Illustrate your phrase - leaving it open for each child to draw whatever symbols are relevant to them.

Then having made the children copy down a phrase which excluded quite a few children, it was turned into a competition.

Instead of one or two children winning a prize, every child who entered received something. The others were excluded. They really fucked up at this point. You get a prize for declaring a belief in Jesus but if you were not able to do that you got nowt.

Ridiculous.
OP, I would actually go in to school and point out that this whole thing was poorly handled. Maybe they didn't think about it and its implications carefully enough.

I never got an Olympic medal 😭

That maybe, but that's how religion's are.

And the children are at school, not at a church, synagogue, mosque or otherwise. Children shouldn't be segregated by religion (or compliance) in a non-religious school.

Good thing to teach your children, OP - be so entitled you should want a prize when you’ve made no effort. The people with that attitude are the most successful in the world tbf

I get the argument that DC who didn't enter the competition can't win a prize in it.

But I think that YANBU to speak to the school about it @IDontWantRealism. No school should be Othering children.

@SaySomethingMan The issue here is not that they didn’t get a prize. The issue is that they, and others, were excluded from taking part. They were then singled out whilst everyone else did go up. It’s hardly a prize if everyone gets one. It wasn’t rewarding anything other than saying “Jesus saved me” which is surely not ok to make kids say if they don’t believe in Jesus.