Would this make you uncomfortable?

[GoneAndDoneItAgainAgain]

Dc1’s attend a C of E school. It’s the only school in town so no real choice about it. We’re not a religious family, 8yo dc1 has said he doesn’t believe in God, 4yo dc2 hasn’t really thought about it. I’m happy for them to attend to the religion based assemblies, if dc have any questions about it I don’t say it’s untrue or anything, just ‘what do you think?’

Anyway, yesterday dc2 had a class assembly as they’re not currently doing while school assemblies. They were talking about prayers and how to talk to God. They were told to shut their eyes, hold their hands together and think about God and all the wonderful things he did for them. Then the lights came on even though the teacher was no nowhere near the light switch. Teacher told them the lights came on because God had heard them praying and wanted them to know he loved them. Children all amazed and coming home super excited about proof that God exists and listens to them.

Now, obviously I don’t know if this is exactly what happened. There have been messages between the parents on our WhatsApp group where we’re all just thinking WTF and that it’s really inappropriate. But, it could have been a power cut or something, or lights randomly just came on and reached on the spot decided to say it was God. Or maybe she didn’t say it was God at all and the kids just decided that’s what it was.

If it was as DC report though is that unreasonable behaviour by the teacher? It a religious school so obviously they will learn about God, I just wasn’t expecting the teacher to be faking his existence!

Crap, just realised I put it was dc2’s class assembly. It wasn’t, it was dc1 so 8yo’s, year4.

I think that if it was a school following any kind of faith, that you don’t believe in, there will be conflict of belief. Is your child in reception? I think that’s quite a creative way to teach about God.
If you don’t agree, raise it as a concern. I would not complain personally.

I wouldnt be happy with that. Reminds me of when I had a fight with my best friend in my super religious primary school - a thunderstorm started just after and the teacher told us we'd made god angry. Scared the bejeezus out of us. I would tell DC the teacher made it up and I would complain to the board of governors.

Religion and schools should be banned. Teach theories of religion by all means but kids shouldn't be indoctrinated via schools

Your child's teacher lied to everyone in the hope that they'd 'believe' - honestly, completely unacceptable

Next time perhaps she'll talk to the devil and set the school on fire to make her lie a truth?!

It would make me uncomfortable tbh

I'm happy fir my kids to learn that some people believe in God and heres why etc

Wouldn't be happy having my kids gaslighted with displays like that.

I would find this odd as I'm not religious at all. But I wouldn't send my DC to a faith based school. I understand it's the only one in the area so you don't have much choice.

I think you need to accept the majority of teachers will be religious and they will say 'god is real' rather than 'Christians believe'

I guess it's your job to teach your child about all religious and non religious beliefs and let em make their own minds up.

@Whatwouldscullydo

It would make me uncomfortable tbh

I'm happy fir my kids to learn that some people believe in God and heres why etc

Wouldn't be happy having my kids gaslighted with displays like that.

This is completely true. The problem is the children are at a religious school where god is real is the running theme.

My head teacher at primary school was insistent about teaching us how amazing Christianity is, despite it being a regular school. Parents went mad!

I think it is outrageous that children should be forced to attend faith schools, and also that faith schools receive public money even though they can discriminate on the basis of faith.
In our area, two out of three of our primary schools are faith-based so I understand where you're coming from.
As a former teacher though (RE among other subjects), I wouldn't complain to managemet. I might have a quiet word directly with the teacher instead. Schools can be horrible places to work these days and I wouldn't want to get her into trouble.

I went to a c of e school. We sung hymns etc and yes God was spoken about.

But the priest who came to talk to us, was very down to earth, he told Bible stories in a way you could relate to even if you weren't a believer. He never ever ever went full on TV show faith heeler fraudster.

Kids are too Literal for that. Next time something bad happens they will think the devil is coming for them

I understand they talk about god but that seems too far as it’s essentially lying to them; not sure if I’m taking it too far but if they do something naughty then trip over would they be told that was the devil or that god was angry at them? Possibly not but that’s how kids minds work.

Talking about religion = fine. Cheap tricks = so not fine. Encouraging belief by deception is incredibly out of order and I would be complaining.

What Fenella said!

No worse than putting reindeer food out and it being eaten or the tooth fairy leaving 20p.
It’s a church school. They will teach the existence of God as a fact.

@CherryPavlova the difference is that when they get to an age of about 8/9 years old they start to be told it's just a magical story and gives children a bit of sparkle in their lives
Religion however is a way of control from birth to death and is the centre of all sorts of trouble such as wars, terrorism etc .... completely different

[quote custardbear]@CherryPavlova the difference is that when they get to an age of about 8/9 years old they start to be told it's just a magical story and gives children a bit of sparkle in their lives
Religion however is a way of control from birth to death and is the centre of all sorts of trouble such as wars, terrorism etc .... completely different [/quote]
Not my experience at all. I certainly never told mine - like most children of reasonable intelligence, they work out their own belief system. The biggest impact on religious belief is not the school.

I never understand why other people's beliefs causes so much anxiety in others. Nobody says Father Christmas is doing untold damage - except perhaps fundamental Christians, ironically.

If it were a regular state school- YANBU
But since it is a religious school- YABU

Religion however is a way of control from birth to death and is the centre of all sorts of trouble such as wars, terrorism etc .... completely different

No religion is an excuse used to justify human greed which is what actually causes wars. Other excuses include culture, race, anything that others another group of humans.

Are almost all state primary schools in the UK CoE?

The two things really should be kept seperate - religion has no place in schools outside of RE lessons

If there was a fraudulent act, it was a deliberate trick by the teacher, then YANBU. Otherwise YABU because it is logical that at a CofE school the teacher might believe in God and assume a chance occurrence was Him showing His presence.

It's something you have to accept if you send your kids to a religious school - they may very probably encounter some religion there. If you were a muslim would you send your offspring to a CofE school? Probably not, you'd demand an alternative.

I am not sure if I even believe this. Are you sure you got all the facts. (speaking as a practicing christian.).

It was probably just a throwaway comment that the teacher didn't think about before saying. I wouldn't complain to school over it.
But equally I wouldn't remain neutral regarding what the school say to my DC re religion. I have never hidden my own atheist pov from my own children, even when primary school was behaving as if the existence of God was an incontrovertible fact. That used to piss me off tbh because ours was just a normal school not a specific faith school. They had close links to the local church and I always strongly believed that education should be fact based and not about beliefs, beyond saying that people hold different ones but nobody knows for sure.
That was the line I took with my DC - I wouldn't, by my silence, endorse a pov I disagree with.

No worse than having santa at the school fete. Although I remember raging in primary school (P2) when the teacher decided for some reason to tell us that fairies were real and she’d seen one. Now that really pissed me off because I knew they weren’t real.

DS decided he wasn’t believing all this when he was quite little (definitely primary school age). He thought long and hard and decided that it didn’t add up.

He apologised to my boss (a vicar) and told him that he wasn’t sure about it at all - and he would give it some more thought.

He still has to go to (well pre-Covid) church services a couple of time’s a week and at first he was resistant but I told him that it was a great opportunity to sit in a beautiful architecturally interesting building, relax the mind and do some meditation.

One of many reasons why I won't be sending DD to faith school. I think it was very inappropriate of the teacher, pushing a belief onto children that God is real. It's down to them to make their own mind up. This would have left me very uncomfortable.

It does sound more like wishful Maybe one child piped up “ooh, that must’ve been God answering us” and the teacher said “mmmm, maybe...’ then moved on quickly!
It just seems so unlikely that teacher would pull a stunt like that about something she believed in.