To think you should put your child in the required school

[Catvsworld]

Today at my little ones nursery they were getting the children ready for Easter and all the children were invited to make Easter bonnets for a parade they were having

Standing in reception waiting for the door to open one of the children was really crying my daugter asked why she was crying I replied I am not sure

The mum then said she wants a hat were jw and don't do Easter I was like oh right and just kept my self to my self

She then proceeded to give the staff a leftlet and ask that her child not be involved in any Easter activitys

Bit sad really all the tables were Easter bunnie themed

I think it's really sad and if your not happy with Easter, Christmas or birthdays, Dewli , can you not just find a religious school or your donomation for your child

It's just a bloody hat with a a few bunnies on and some bunnie themed activities ffs I am not Muslim but can see the good in allowing my little one get involved in eid activitys

By finding out more about a religion your not committing yourself or forsaking your god the way to stop people bombing the metro is to get the young educated in Diffrent ways a cultures surely

So, do atheists need to "get a grip" OP?

Or is this where you spout goady "Christian country" shite?

SylviaWrath, I've only skim read the thread (mainly the OP) and your recent comment made me lol

The saddest thing about this post is not that the child was opted out of celebrating a religious event that her family do not believe it. It's your obvious lack of education about other peoples' religions, cultures and beliefs and your horrendous spelling and grammar.

Imposing JW beliefs on a chikd is virtually emotional abuse.

All schools should be secular. Saves a lot of bother.

Jehovah Witness children have never participated in any Christian activities. It isn't a problem, they just do something else. I don't expect they do pagan things either- the ones that I knew wouldn't do a mummer's play, or make the costumes.

The saddest thing about this post is not that the child was opted out of celebrating a religious event that her family do not believe it.

I disagree.... I think the saddest thing is that this JW family are needlessly preventing their child from taking part in activities (bonnet parades etc) that aren't actually religious in nature apart from the their 'Easter' title, because of religious objections. It's a bit like objecting to the names of weekdays because you don't follow Norse religion!

shazzarooney who was your post aimed at?

Because if you were talking to the OP then you should know that JW children don't take part in Christmas celebrations at school either so not sure why 'they would't like that'.

If it's just bunnies and whatnot and nothing to do with Christianity then the nursery could have just called it a Spring hat and been done with it, as others have said.

But, flashbang they aren't allowed to participate because it's called an Easter celebration. If the school had called it a 'Bunny & Flowers' celebration, their faith would have allowed them to join in

LilacSpunkMonkey , it wasnt actually directed at the op,oddly enough its something i was talking to someone about before, who will not let theyre child say for instance a visit to the mosque or join re lessons, but will then let theyre children celebrate all the christmas activities.

I'm afraid my ignorance of most JW practices is appalling, but surely removing the name Easter or Christmas from the festivities is bringing them back to their pagan nature, which I cannot imagine makes them any more acceptable in the eyes of a JW

Atenco, LynnetteScavo's post above suggests that some JW at least are fine with finding alternatives. It doesn't have to be celebrating anything to decorate a hat and do a spring-themed quiz and eat a bit of chocolate.

very sad.

Another example of religion being shit.

I have taught JW children whose parents were happy for them to join in with Spring/Winter themed activities, but nothing overtly religious. It was tricky with things like the nativity rehearsals etc, can't send him to another class as they will all be doing Christmas stuff ELC. But ultimately not that difficult to work round in order to respect the family's beliefs and wishes.

I also taught an older child whose parents did not want him to take part of any RE lessons, regardless of the faith being taught/discussed. I was slightly less comfortable with that as I think it is part of the curriculum to learn about different faiths and cultures, and important for all of us. However it wasn't my call to make and the child would go and work at the back of the classroom on something else I'd prepared for him during those sessions.

Things like this are why, IMO, it should be possible to send your child to a state school that has no religious affiliation.

I have "withdrawn" my children from the standard RE in their school (3 have moved on to high school, 1 currently still there) and as result they have alternative lessons that are taught in a "Some people believe" fashion.

They are all taught "Hindu's believe X" or "Muslim's believe X" for every other religion, yet to not have them taught certain Christian beliefs as fact I have to withdraw them. At a so-called non-denominational school?! There's no such thing here, and there should be because the education they get from the teachers who take the "escapees" (as the kids who get to escape the assemblies hosted by the local vicar are called) is absolutely excellent.

I went to school with a girl who was JW. Apart from assembly and the Natvity she was allowed to do crafts etc. we knew she didn't celebrate birthday or Christmas etc, but can't remembe much else being an issue, but maybe they were just more liberal about their belief etc. not sure as primary is now around 30 years ago or more.

My DS is now in a school which is almost 100% Muslim. All the DCs made Easter bonnets and took part in craft activities, they were all given chocolate eggs (the important part to them!). Nobody opted out. The only tears were when there was a bit of controversy over who won the bonnet competition etc!

Could they not have found say a nature themed make and do fir the little girl? That as a teacher is what I'd have done. Make it about learning about spring etc. make a daffodil, a lamb etc. none if those are explicitly Easter. She would have had fun and not broken her parents beliefs etc.

FWIW I am not religious but making an egg shape or bonnet is neither here nor there. DS is learning about Easter/ Jesus at school but is still not completely sure what it's all about anyway.

I have mixed feelings about this.

While I think religion should totally be left out of school, Easter and indeed christmas is part of our culture.
Both pre date christianity, and both festivals are celebrated by the majority of the population in a secular way.
My family celebrate Easter, and christmas with no mention of jesus or god, like most families in the UK.
They are important cultural festivals primarily now and for schools to deny that is a bit silly.

Easter without without christian worship is fine by me. These jesus about torture and death have no place at a time which is all about life and light.

But, flashbang they aren't allowed to participate because it's called an Easter celebration.
That was my point though... Bonnets are no more to do with Jesus' death and ressurrcecton than Thursday is to do with sacrificing a goat on an altar to Thor, so whereas I can grasp that a JW may not want their child to be involved with the religious Easter festival, stretching that to 'Easter' bonnets seems absurd.

The last school I worked in had a JW as the headteacher. She sort of made it a JW friendly school, no religious celebrations and no Christmas decorations

FlashBang I think we're maybe talking at cross purposes... The fact that the school call it an Easter celebration prohibits them from joining in, even if it's not a tiny bit religious. If I offered a JW a chocolate out of a box that I bought "because I felt Christmassy", they wouldn't be allowed that chocolate. So calling the event an Easter event means there's no way at all that the JWs could join in according to their religion, because it doesn't matter what the event or the thing is, it matters if someone else is using it to celebrate God - so if the school had done the same thing but called it something else, they wouldn't have excluded anybody

Maybe the mum didn't handle it that well her DD was upset but yabu do you think all religions should be segregated or just JW kids have always been excluded from things it might just be a bunny to you but to others its a symbol of a religious festival that they don't take part in

JW kids in UK will have a lifetime of being apart on many cultural practices. They can learn to handle this well if handled sensitively and if it builds up in small steps. Mostly I think they do learn to handle it well. YABU.

I'm Muslim, my child has taken part in everything at school, but a friend's has not. I feel that unless the activities are acts of worship (which they aren't) then I don't have a problem. My friend feels her child will become confused. We agree to differ.I think something like pudcat suggested would be great.I hate the idea of a youngster feeling excluded.It's a big deal at that age.

My dd was friends with a jw at school. The jw girl is now home schooled.

I know a few Muslims who celebrate easter and christmas. There reason they give is that they celebrate it as a British tradition and not a religious one.