To speak to the school?

[Orchwoid]

I've just been to collect my son from his school and he's told me that he won't be cast in his school Christmas play but all the other children will.

I am fumming. I am going to go and speak to his teacher first thing tomorrow morning but I am so angry that I can't work out whether I'm being reasonable or not.

I so want this to be real, but surely no-one, just no-one....

my religion which is atheistical

The thread that just keeps on giving.

'Spoken to' OMG What would you say 'we just wanted to check you are still JW's/ antheist and just checking you don't want them have a little part in our little religious play?'

There is no reason why the winter celebration needs to be religious.
Hundreds, thousands of years of culture, maybe?

The school should cater for all their pupils. Okay, this I agree with in principle, but in reality the majority should be catered to. Should the OP's school change from having a Nativity to one about a pudding, a snowflake and a snowman because of one mother?

Filee, are you the mysterious 'Louise', or the genius at Birmingham City Council who tried to rename Christmas 'Winterval'? Just wonderin'...

Please, whatever you do, stop fumming.

No you'd say 'as you know we are having a big Christmas play, the children will all be talking about their involvement in it and we want to let you know so that we can all help 'child' to understand why he won't be a part of it.' Or something.

It's not rocket science, is it? Really...

Most people in this country are not Christian. Most people in this country celebrate Christmas. It's a cultural festival, not a religious one. It was a festival long before the days of Christianity, there is no reason for 'us and them' we can all celebrate whatever the hell we want. Schools should accommodate that.

I am sure that this thread is a goodie but I need one of those summaries. Is it basically:

• atheist sends child to church school.
• church school has various religious ceremonies
• parent says kid shouldn't take part in them.
• Christmas show jolly good fun and kid hasn't been given part.

Much annoyance and fumming.

Well we don't know what the OP wrote in her original letter and how it came across to the staff, so maybe they felt she wasn't approachable to discuss it with, maybe even more so after the meeting with the head today.

There was a group of Brethen children when dd started school who were all related and they used to go with a learning assistant and play some games while anything religious went on. The school accommodated their need to not be involved in anything religious and their parents kept them home when there was a visit to the church when they did a buildings project.

I'm not sure whether we ever cleared up whether it was a church school or not.

Christmas like Easter is still a religious holiday whether you are a practicing christian or not so a Christmas play is by this virtue a religious play.

Whoever ^^ said it - I think we've found Louise!!!

What would you do for all the practicing christian parents - do their views/ beliefs not count or is it only 'gobby, unreasonable, contradictory atheist mums'?

Well we don't know what the OP wrote in her original letter and how it came across to the staff

I think we can be confident that it wasn't the perfect prose of a young Martin Amis.

The school should accommodate each and every family's individual preference? Please tell me how they are going to do that.

The core of British Christmas culture is Christian.

Easter is certainly not a religious festival!

Some more live and let live is needed!

So I can't celebrate spring because I don't believe in zombies? Nonsense.

Yes it is a church school, which is part of some people's annoyance. The thread has also added "how dare church schools celebrate Christmas and do a nativity because lots of families that attend the school aren't Christian".

Easter is certainly not a religious festival!

Oh FFS.

You can celebrate spring. It just might not be what the majority believe to be Easter though.

Easter is not a religious festival?

Jesus died on the cross and was buried and the stone had rolled away and easter eggs signify the stone. And what do zombies have to do with spring? They're fucking halloween!

What is Easter then? A celebration of chocolate?!

The origins of the time of year used to celebrate the Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter may have roots in the pagan past, but in recorded history they do have Christian links.

head wall repeat

What is Easter then? A celebration of chocolate?!

You can have cute bunny Hop who poo's jelly beans or the scary looking thing from Rise of the Guardians, take your pick...

I feel exactly the same filee777, but I still don't agree with you.

filee777. It is not relevent whether christians own christmas(which they do it is christmas not winter solstice!!) the clue is in the title CHRIST MASS
The point is OP has wanted her child not to take part in religion whether paganism, judasim etc etc. School was being very reasonable obeying her instructions which they had in writing.