To email school AGAIN re religious assemblies

[pineapplepenthouse]

I have twins in year 4 both in different classes. I have expressed my feelings about not letting them be involved in religious assemblies or having anything to do with religion. My children are in different classes. Today for the third time my DDs has come home saying he has been included in the religious assembly.
I have strong feelings on this but other mums just say 'it's not a big deal' and 'it didn't do us any harm'.

AIBU?

I find it more shocking that Scotland has sectarianism reinforced by separate Catholic and non secular Church of Scotland schools. The Church of Scotland is dying on its feet.

“Excluding your kids from every religious teaching or ceremony is you forcing your views on them”

But the OP isn’t doing that. She just wants to withdraw her children from the bit where they are expected to pray to a God neither she or they believe in.

How miserable for them. All their friends are preparing for an assembly and they're in a seperate room reading a book
Lol, I'd have loved to have been excluded from assemblies when I was at school. They were boring and pointless. The kids who were excluded seemed to be perfectly happy about it.

I think we’d have less intolerance if people didn’t run away from alternative beliefs. I suspect parents withdraw their kids because they’re uncomfortable with answering difficult questions.

But the point is that in state funded schools assemblies aren't offered in alternative beliefs, @Believeitornot. OP doesn't suggest that she wants to withdraw her child from RE lessons, which is the proper forum for studying alternative beliefs.

My child struggled in secondary school re lessons because the questions were not structured correctly and assumed that the student believed in God. For instance, why does God forgive our sins? Why is God good? As he did not believe in God and has autistic tendencies, this became hard to answer. As, in his mind, God did not exist so how could he answer a question about God's forgiveness or goodness when God was not real but the question assumed belief in his existence? The teacher was a devout Christian and felt that everyone should believe in God. Teach religion by all means but as a third party looking in.

How miserable for them. All their friends are preparing for an assembly and they're in a seperate room reading a book

I used to skive assembly specifically for this purpose. It was bliss!
It is irrelevant whether we do or don't agree with the OP. She has the right to withdraw her children, has done so and one teacher is not respecting this right.

It's a shame the only way your child can avoid religious worship at school involves them feeling singled out, so they attend to just not feel different. Our kids are taught to say nothing, bury their feelings, accept these ideas being pushed on them - it's weird, the whole religious worship thing in schools is weird...we wouldn't be too happy if it were forced on adults in the work place would we?

www.google.com/amp/s/chivomengro.com/2016/10/28/a-beginners-guide-to-satanism/amp/

For those who asked me about the satanism! It’s the complete opposite to what people think it is!

I've bought my children up to be sceptical and neither believe now as young adults. This is the more healthy approach rather than banning them them from joining in. It will appear more mystical and exciting to them, rather than the silly story it is.

However the school should support you in your wishes.

Any opportunity I had to sit in the library and read a book, I took it. I would hobble around with a 'bad ankle' before every pe lesson in the hope I'd get 30 mins to read in peace.

As other people have said, surely you knew what the school was like before you sent your children there.

Why would OP know before she sent her child to the school that one member of staff would choose to disobey the law, @wafflethewonderdog?

Excluding your kids from every religious teaching or ceremony is you forcing your views on them

cushioncuddle, where has OP said she wants to exclude her child from every religious teaching? Why do people have so much difficulty understanding the difference between an act of worship and a lesson?

Does he want to be excluded from the assembly? Does he share your strong views? I’m wondering why he can’t be involved and form his own opinion?

The school I teach at celebrates Eid, Hanukkah, Divali, Chinese New Year, Christmas, Easter.. possibly more. It is very multicultural. Obviously none of the children belong to all the relevant religions/backgrounds- but the head’s point is that we should celebrate each other’s cultural backgrounds and beliefs. I’m an atheist and have never felt uncomfortable. It’s rare for parents to try to exclude their children from things to do with religions at school, I think only JW from Christmas related things (eg they couldn’t make Christmas cards, which all the other kids were merrily making as Santa is a a popular folklore figure for all religions now I think!).
Teacher in the wrong at your school, but I do wonder why you feel they can’t decide for themselves if they want t9 observe what happens at school. Seems very unlikely they would decide to take up religion and they may learn something about philosophy and ethics- or at least important cultural stories? I imagine by p4 they should be able to choose and you could have open talks with them about why you are an atheist and why you would prefer schools had no religious content.

@SaturdayNext

Not that old chestnut. Both Christmas and Easter eggs have origins that have nothing to do with Christianity.

How do you work that one out?

It will appear more mystical and exciting to them, rather than the silly story it is.
If only! It was closer to death by boredom!

Home educate and then you'll have complete and utter control over what enters your kids minds, and oh yes, turn off the internet.

As a teacher I suspect staff would fall over themselves to supervise a child not allowed into collective worship. They can read a book, we can read emails - bliss. My school (private) has little to no religious content in assembly but has a formal church service once a term. Students can take that day off if they like. As a factual point, I understand the Scottish admissions system means you do not express a preference for a school but are given your catchment one unless you opt out. The current 'don't ask, don't tell' English system does none of us any favours and is open to be abused by those with strong beliefs, as appears to be happening here. It is very telling that you do not have to pay lip service to Christianity in order to receive other state services, as Bertrand I think, said. Stick to your guns, OP.

That's incredibly disingenuous Master. The op wants to withdraw her children from worship, as she has a legal right to, but has not said that she doesn't want her children not to learn about all religions.

It's a very simple distinction, I'm sure that you can grasp it.

In practice I suspect one of the teachers or TAs is absolutely delighted to have an excuse not to sit through their millionth assembly trying to look interested.

In our school the two children whose parents are Jehovah’s Witnesses sit outside the school office and are kept an eye on by the office staff, because the teaching staff are in assembly, supervising the other 29 children, or in class preparing for the first lesson.

Waffle the Christian celebrations of Christmas and Easter were superimposed on existing pagan celebrations. Surely you've heard of Yule, if not Eostre.

The op quite clearly states in the very first post that she doesn't want her children to have 'anything to do with religion '. Why are people denying that ??

I'd hope the school doesn't spend lots of time on Christmas or Easter, I can see them using it as a theme for teaching other subjects but just focusing on the religious aspect isn't common is it? I thought schools around here pretty much focused on the non-religious aspects and let's be honest that's most of it!

I don't want my children to have anything to do with fighting in a war or hard drugs or [any shitty thing in life] pootle but they can still learn about it.

Surely a year 4 student can make his own mind up whether or not he wants to be part of religious assemblies?

"I find it more shocking that Scotland has sectarianism reinforced by separate Catholic and non secular Church of Scotland schools."

Agreed. It's a shock for me because I thought no one could be as religious as Americans. It seems Scotland edges them out. In Australia all state govt schools are secular by law. No prayers at all are allowed in school, in fact, I never even stopped to think that was a possibility. Christmas is just secular stuff, no nativity or anything like that. Just making paper chains and decorations in primary school, in high school Christmas really isn't acknowledged, all the talk is about summer (Christmas is in the summer hols here). They have RE classes, but they are opt in. It would be against govt policy for any religious material outside of that to be distributed in class. Parents who want their children to have a religious education send their children to private schools. We don't even raise the flag or ever sing the anthem. Unless it is ANZAC Day or Remembrance Day.
Govt schools are strictly secular and non-religious. Any assemblies are just for announcements by the Principal such as so and so area is out of bounds until such and such, we will be having a pie charity drive, sports sign-ups, we've noticed some students coming to school late - refresher on getting late notes from the office, etc etc. Just general stuff. If religion was ever mentioned at assembly the school district Director would be chewing the Principal out as it violates state govt school policy. Same as politics. That is also not allowed on school grounds. Even say, Young Labor and Young Liberal are not allowed to hand out leaflets to people on school grounds. Religion should be treated the same as politics: kept OUT of school grounds. They are both private matters, and kids can learn about them when they get older and are able to understand the issues.