to think that if primary age children are using an inappropriate term that they clearly don't understand they should be stopped?

[sausagesandwich34]

DCs were picking team names yesterday and wanted to be called the '...... zens'

the wanted another word that started with Z and someone came up with xenophobic (they clearly can't spell)

the teacher let them call themselves the xenophobic zens!!!

surely he should have told them it was inappropriate?

seems daft letting the children use words they don't understand, is this an example of the so-called progressive education that we hear about nowadays?

Not sure on this one. Think the teacher could have tried to 'encourage' them to pick something else but if they were insistent then it seems like it was easier to just let them have it rather than spending an hour choosing a name. Are they old enough to know what xenophobic means? I'm assuming so. Also, had they picked 'The Zany Zens' for example, that could have been interpreted as offensive to people with mental health issues. So it's all a bit subjective really. No real advice here, just my perspective on it.

they could have been using alliteration?

Just to point out... I don't think there's anything subjective about xenophobia, it's definitely wrong. But just showing how anything could have sparked a reaction.

they are yr5 so old enough to have heard the term but not understand it

dd does now and was horrified that she had been called that

Did your DD not say anything to the teacher?

she didn't know what the word meant until this morning

she didn't have the same teacher today as she has 1 teacher mon-wed and a different 1 thurs & fri

not sure they wrote it down -it was a PE lesson

surely the teacher would know what it means???

I think the children thought it was spelt with a Z but I'm not sure

I do wonder sometimes -and I'm not one of those 'teacher bashing' parents lol

maybe they are Zenophobic... afraid of enlightened meditation!?

Because if you say that's inappropriate you get "Why Miss?" and that's your PE lesson out the window

Errorerror

Startailoforangeandgold I appreciate that but surely somethings are more important?

I'd just teach them what the word meant and let them decide.
There seem to be a lot of MNetters who are xenophobic.

((I just had to look it up ))

But other than that, YANBU. I don't think it was appropriate (now i know what it means .....)

Are you sure that's what they were called? Could dd have it got it wrong?

Dd will repeated a word to me and she has the pronunciation wrong or got confused and gives me a different word.

YANBU, I think it's downright strange.

kim147 Shocked that some teachers might now know what the word means.

Then again, a couple of people I went to school went on to become teachers and one of the girls wasn't the sharpest tool in the box. I don't think getting a degree = intelligence I'm afraid, only the ability to follow through. Although that is very important in life.

Think yabu, there's nothing offensive about word itself. . Plus your dd and maybe others now know what it means... Just part of learning, someone heard word, didn't understand it, few days later some more have heard it and some of them understand it ...

[sits on hands to stop herself typing anything about PE teachers and level of intellect]