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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU or are the teachers? (very trivial thread)

50 replies

TheSockPuppet · 09/04/2012 14:38

When I was in primary school I was taught the days of the week from the order Sunday to Saturday, so Saturday was the end of the week iyswim. But since I left primary school Sunday has always been the end of the week and a new week started on a Monday.

DS has just learned his days of the week in school now too in the same way and if either me or dp say it in order from Monday to Sunday he corrects us.

Why are children (I am just assuming it is all children and not just me or ds) taught the days of the week this way and not from Monday to Sunday?

OP posts:
EllenParsons · 09/04/2012 14:42

YANBU

The week starts on Monday IMO and I also find it a bit annoying/weird when people use Sunday as the first day. No idea why your DS has been taught it that way!

SuePurblybiltFromChocolate · 09/04/2012 14:42

It starts on Monday, surely? DD is 5 and learned hers that way. But from me, so I'm not sure what the school does.
Is it a cultural thing? Ending with the Sabbath or something?

JustHecate · 09/04/2012 14:42

no idea.

info here

JustHecate · 09/04/2012 14:44

sorry. wrong bit it's here

so sunday is officially, internationally, the last day of the week. Apparently.

Original poster
TheSockPuppet · 09/04/2012 14:44

I'm not sure if it is to do with the sabbath but I went to a non-denominational primary school and so does DS.

OP posts:
SandStorm · 09/04/2012 14:45

I was taught Sunday is the first day of the week. I think the confusion arises because for the majority of people the first day of the working week is Monday.

DD2 however is adamant that the first day is Monday so maybe things have changed over the years.

EllenParsons · 09/04/2012 14:47

Now overthinking this a bit, but also surely from a bible point of view, Sunday is the 7th day when God rested and marvelled at what he had made from Monday to Saturday so it is the last day of the week.

McHappyPants2012 · 09/04/2012 14:49

Sunday is the 1st day of the week the clue is in the name weekends are the week ends lol

jenfraggle · 09/04/2012 14:54

Monday is the first day of the week, how can the week start at the weekend? Confused

EllenParsons · 09/04/2012 14:56

McHappy, Confused but Sunday is a weekend day so your point doesn't make sense.

fivegomadindorset · 09/04/2012 14:57

Sunday is a day of rest after 6 days of work so the week starts on MOnday.

JustHecate · 09/04/2012 14:58

I don't understand week end = first and last day of the week. surely it would be weekend/weekstart?

balia · 09/04/2012 15:02

Isn't it more to do with Sunday and Monday rhyming so it helps very little children remember the order using songs ect?

Tiggles · 09/04/2012 15:05

Saturday is the 7th day of the week when God rested aka the Jewish Sabbath.
The weekend is Maybe the beginning end and the finishing end of the week.

SandStorm · 09/04/2012 15:06

End could be the front end and the back end?

Madforfootball · 09/04/2012 15:07

Ellen - you're thinking of the Sabbath, which in Judaism is the Saturday. So God worked Sun - Fri and rested on the 7th day.

Sunday came in with Easter IIRC, and Jesus rising on the third day. The early church tried to both keep the old sabbath (Saturday) and the new (Sunday) but eventually just kept with the new.

I also remember hearing that Christians were given their rest day before the working week as a present, not as a reward at the end (but no idea where I heard this).

Not that this helps the OP, and may, actually, be a load of rubbish based on half-memories, but never mind!

HSMM · 09/04/2012 15:10

Sunday is the first day of the week. That's why 7th Day Adventists meet on Saturdays.

McHappyPants2012 · 09/04/2012 15:14

Like sand storm said

Originalplurker · 09/04/2012 15:14

Arrggghhhhhhhh

KatieMiddleton · 09/04/2012 15:17

Erm, if the weekend theory posted by McHappy were correct it would be the weekends with an 'S' on the end. Like bookends.

The weekend is a fairly modern construct and is the end of the week. ie Saturday and Sunday. Hence the concept of The Weekend.

However, it really doesn't matter when you start - until we reach the end of time the days will continue to recur in order but with no start or end date.

I start from Monday btw Wink

Kladdkaka · 09/04/2012 15:18

Saturday is the last day of the week. Sunday is the first day of the week. That's what the bible says and that's good enough for me. :o

Original poster
TheSockPuppet · 09/04/2012 15:24

Thanks everyone, ok I'm going to go with the religious reasons then and that the teachers were right, Grin although it wont stop DS from telling me every day that his reward chart is wrong and silly because it starts with Monday and ends with Sunday.

OP posts:
desertgirl · 09/04/2012 15:29

I wish more calendars took the primary school approach and started on Sunday... though only from the selfish pov that then our school/work week would all fit into one 'week' (Fri - Sat weekends, here in the sandpit)

BackforGood · 09/04/2012 15:30

Sunday is the first day or it doesn't fit in the song I used to teach children at school
"Sunday, Monday, Tuesday Wednesday
Thursday Friday, Saturday too,
1,2,3,4,5,6,7 day, each day different and every day new" Grin

Monday is the first day of the working week.

ImperialBlether · 09/04/2012 15:44

Sunday is the first day of the week! How can it be Monday, just because that's the first day you go to work or school?