Aibu in being shocked at this school newsletter?

[whensitmyturn]

Aibu in being pretty appalled at this school news letter or am i being naive?

Children attend a catholic primary school- dh is Catholic I am not. Never had an issue with the school, children are in the last couple of years there.

Had a newsletter home tonight saying that a new ‘children and social work act of 2017’ has been passed and that parents will no longer be able to remove their children for PSHE lessons but that the government are still deciding what content the lessons should have. There is a public questionnaire on gov.uk to write your ideas.

The newsletter then goes on to say that we need to ensure that things that are age suited to children get suggested and I quote ‘to avoid respect for alternative lifestyles being allowed to undermine Christian principles of marriage and family life’.

It then goes on to link ‘coalition for marriage’ for help with us filling in this questionnaire.

Coalition 4 marriage is a group that promotes a traditional family set up and states that children should be taught that ‘marriage between a man and a woman as the gold standard of adult relationships’ Also that ‘they believe there is no age-appropriate way to teach primary school children about same sex marriages or transgenderism’. In blinding hypocrisy it then goes on to say ‘we should be teaching children broad values of tolerance and respect’.

!? I thought that in this day and age in the uk even if you attend a faith school inclusivity was seen as important/ the norm.
Would you be angry at this or just see it as an unavoidable downside of attending a catholic school?

To be fair I don't know the teachings throughout the UK. I'm basing my comment on my own experience, my children's experiences, the teaching at the school my mother teaches at and information from my MIL who is involved in preparing children from local schools for first holy communion in a massive UK cathedral. We had a very similar discussion over xmas with my atheist BIL.

milliemolliemou, that's all just fine and dandy - as long as we STOP using tax payers' money to fund faith schools, and treating them as though they were normal local schools with normal local catchment areas. Let them fund their own classes for those who choose to attend them, at their own expense and independent of the state sector - then they can peddle their damaging, backward mythology to their hearts' content.

Helllooo... i think the issie is that many parents dont have choice. In my area you can send your children to the Catholic school or one 4 miles away. Faith schools should definitely exist but not as a substitute for non denominational schools.

Op it is wrong but I think unavoidable

Your kids will listen to you mOre than school. Explain your views to them and encourage them to form their own beliefs.

I’m not catholic my oh is too. I say To them ‘some people believe x’ about various catholic views and then we talk about other views.

"f people want to send their kids to religious schools they should be allowed the choice. Why is it right to forcibly take away someone’s faith and teachings of their faith? "

I am perfectly happy for people to practice their faith and educate their children in it. I am not happy to pay for it.

Massive argument fail there @Helloooo.

The very existence of faith schools is quite like forcing everyone to be vegan.

Or, like saying that schools can operate and be funded on the grounds of their veganism, hardcore vegans will be given first-choice places leaving meat-eaters at the bottom of the entrance-categories, and that veganism can be promoted as much as they bloody want thank you very much because it was made very clear it was a vegan school.

All schools will be pushed into academys taking up less of the publics funding

Academies tend to cost as much as LEA schools as so few are funded by businesses.

You chose to send her to a Catholic school and in doing so signed up to the ethos, which judging by the newsletter , is right on message.

I am Catholic and went to a catholic school. I sent my eldest to a Catholic school for one term. I then made the rational choice and pulled him out (at the time the district school was oversubscribed) and homeschooled until he could get a place at the local school. You chose that school, you either suck it up or take them out.

My DS goes to a catholic school and there has never been any derogatory comments about same sex marriage. However, the parish priest is pretty forward thinking. The arch bishop wrote some bullshit homophonic letter that got published in some church handout and he was sure to make it extremely clear that that does not reflect his or all catholic priests views on gay marriage.

If you are so against religious schools then you make the one 4 miles away work, or you move.

Using veganism again.

It would be like forcing McDonald’s to go vegan because the nearest vegan restaurant is 4 miles away.

Who moves to an area without checking the local schools first?

@Helllllooooooo I believe it's a parents job to teach them about their faith, like i will with my son.
Faith schools continue to cause massive divides between catholics and Protestants in Scotland which is something we could really do without here.

Again, huge argument fail.

It’s not remotely possible to move where you want, when you want! What a ludicrous assumption.

I'm not surprised at them teaching this, but I'm surprised that they'd get involved with a political group like this one, it was started by Evangelicals. They're being sued.

Yes, that seems reasonable. You should move house, because your local catchment area tax-funded primary school is controlled by a religious group that teaches homophobic, socially unacceptable and divisive mythology. That's fair.

2018. Bloody hell.

Some of the opinions on here towards religion are far more divisive than anything I've ever learnt from being part of the Catholic church.

Hating on religion is bigotry. You can’t say we should all be tolerant, respectful and accepting and then say all religions are wrong etc etc

Just like you believe religion should not be in school, I believe there should be religious schools.

I don’t at all believe all schools should be religious, I believe there should be choice.

@Helllllooooooo nobody is stopping anybody from practising their faith at home or in a house of worship whenever they like. It is, however, completely ridiculous that people who don't want their children indoctrinated to believe in imaginary sky pixies struggle to find somewhere to live where the local school isn't linked to the church. It's a fecking nightmare and shouldn't be.

Helpful @Empire

It's threads like these that help me understand why DH (raised Catholic) was so utterly adamant that we would never, ever send our dc to a Catholic school.

@Helllllooooooo

I don't hate on religion, I am a church attending Christian.

Do you believe all recognised religions should have schools in the uk funded by the tax payer?

This is what church/chapel/mosque and Sunday school etc are for.

"I don’t at all believe all schools should be religious, I believe there should be choice."

Fair enough. Then how about if you want state funded faith schools you are only allowed to apply to a faith school. Because as things are now people of faith have the choice of a third more schools than people without faith do. Which hardly seems fair......

Supply sufficient non faith school places then Empire, and ensure there are sufficient unfilled places in all schools to make it easy for parents to swap schools .

Basically what @Greensleeves said 😀