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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Would this make you uncomfortable?

118 replies

GoneAndDoneItAgainAgain · 10/09/2020 07:16

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!

OP posts:
Original poster
GoneAndDoneItAgainAgain · 10/09/2020 10:05

How can you doubt there’s only one school in the town? I wouldn’t say it was the only choice if it wasn’t Confused. Not everyone lives in a big city with plenty of choice. There is one school in the town which is a C of E school, as I said. There is a village a 20 minute drive away that also has a C of E school. The nearest ‘normal’ (as in no Church of England in the name) is a 30 minute drive away. However, we live in a very touristy area. Trying to get to this school anytime from Easter to late September regularly takes over an hour.

As I said I don’t know whether the teacher actually claimed it was God or whether the kids just decided it was God and the teacher didn’t correct them. I’m not bothered about it enough either way to actually bring it up with the teacher, it just made me feel a bit uncomfortable and I don’t think it was particularly appropriate.

OP posts:
Nottherealslimshady · 10/09/2020 10:11

I dont agree with faith based schools. Especially when it's the only one within your area. Churches/temples/mosques are for religion teaching. Schools are for academic education, RE can be involved in that but unbiased.

But I think this is terrible and kinda cultish, this kind of thing is how cults gain followers by faking evidence. Its creepy tbh. Surely if god is real they dont want children tricked into believing through false evidence? How does that count?

Elisheva · 10/09/2020 10:15

I am an card carrying, Bible bashing Christian and I would not be impressed by this. If my kids had come home saying this had happened I would have asked them if they thought it was actually God, or more likely to be a fault with the lights or someone playing a trick. God is not an entertainer at a children’s party doing tricks on demand, this sort of thing is damaging for believers and non believers alike.

dottiedodah · 10/09/2020 10:17

I would not complain to the School .However if you are not Religious it seems strange to send DC to a faith school! Surely there must be other options in your town? My DC were at a Faith School too, and we were very happy with the education they recieved and the Christian ethos of the School . (We are a Christian family though)We were actually asked for our Baptism Certificates as well! I would have a think and maybe look for another School ?

Aweebawbee · 10/09/2020 10:19

Maybe she'd been busy with the water converted into wine in the stationery cupboard before the lesson.

heymacaroner · 10/09/2020 10:22

It's a bit nuts of the teacher IMHO. I'm not religious though so I would think that.
I don't think you should dwell on it more than that though, the kids will make their own decisions over their lives and I doubt this single event will have that profound an impact on any of them. If they're 8yos they'll have forgotton about it pretty soon anyway

Whatwouldscullydo · 10/09/2020 10:24

Why do people not believe there are no other options.

When I went to school the local village school the next nearest wouldn't have been walking distance certainly not witg a then 3 year old sibling in tow and the bus service there is still not great.

And you can forget about a place in a school in the town there are very very few schools here that would come out further than a mile or so. You can ve surriunded by schools here and not be able to access most if them

custardbear · 10/09/2020 10:24

@dottiedodah you need to read what OP has stated already - don't rely on faith that you're right when you've not got all the information in your head

custardbear · 10/09/2020 10:25

@Aweebawbee 🤣

Illdealwithitinaminute · 10/09/2020 10:26

Fake miracles- it's actually hilarious they said this, although not nice for the children to feel duped.

LonelyFromCorona · 10/09/2020 10:32

I went to C of E primary school, wasn't baptised. Fell for it for a few years then figured I didn't think it was true.

They never pulled any kind of stunts like this. Mostly just local vicars in assemblies covering the more interesting stories for kids (David v Goliath, Moses, the tax collector guy, prodigal son etc), singing hymns.

This stunt sounds ridiculous and I would be bringing it up, it's a complete lie to the kids. The rest of what they would cover in assemblies such as the stories are based on an old book, and it is up to individuals to determine whether they believe/trust this, but doing this, they know a person has turned on the lights and have outright lied that it was god. Insane!

FatCatThinCat · 10/09/2020 10:33

I'm a Christian and this makes me very uncomfortable. Where in the bible does it teach us that God expresses his love for us by pissing about with the electrics?

ChesterDrawsDoesntExist · 10/09/2020 10:35

That’s a big assumption on your part. There’s no evidence it was staged.

Well it wasn't bloody god was it?

BoomBoomsCousin · 10/09/2020 10:36

If it was a fix, somehow, to make it seem like the kids got proof of god when it was actually the teacher, that would be highly inappropriate whether you’re an atheist or not. In some ways it’s more inappropriate if you have faith - makes a mockery of it. If it was a coincidence and the teacher used the opportunity to push her faith on the class, given it’s a faith school I think it’s to be expected though I don’t personally think schools should be allowed to push faith at pupils and think faith schools ought to have been banned by now. So it would still annoy me but I’d be complaining to my MP rather than the school (though I might withdraw my kids from worship if that’s what it’s like - tricky though, as Othering).

dottiedodah · 10/09/2020 10:39

Custardbear I dont actually think that pulling a stunt with the electrics(if indeed that is what happened ) is right .however I find it surprising that there are only faith schools avaliable in OPs town .My point is why send DC to a Faith School where things like this may happen if you are not a religious soul?(surely a drive to another School would not be impossible?)

AryaStarkWolf · 10/09/2020 10:40

Even if I were religious (which I'm not) I don't think I'd fancy that comment much

ChesterDrawsDoesntExist · 10/09/2020 10:42

@ivfbeenbusy

Highly doubt there is only one primary school in your entire town

It's a CofE school let them get on with it. Sure much worse goes on in other faith schools 🤷‍♀️

There's only one in my town. One primary. That's it.

There's also only one high school.

You can send your kids out of the catchment area but in doing so you forfeit the right to free travel and you have to transport them yourselves or at least at your own cost. I know this because we chose to go outside our catchment as we knew we were moving to that town within the year.

TenDays · 10/09/2020 10:44

I'd be saying to my DC 'So how did the light come on? Really, how do lights come on? They have another switch at the fusebox. We can do the same, look!' and I'd demonstrate.

I did this with my own DC. We'd discuss (for example) how special effects are done in scary movies.
We repeatedly replayed the licking-telephone scene in Nightmare on Elm Street so they could spot where the scene changed and the phone receiver with the prop tongue appeared.
They even spotted that it was a slightly different colour from the first phone!

I knew I'd won when they started complaining that I'd ruined their movie experience forever. No WAY would they believe religious stunt 'miracles'.

RiftGibbon · 10/09/2020 10:44

I don't know about faith schools but I am a school governor and I'm aware that schools have an obligation under DfE regulations to have a daily act of religious worship. Personally I think it's wrong. Religion is personal and has no place in education. Morals and being a decent human being apply, but they don't need to be attached to belief in a deity.
I'm still trying to work out how one challenges the DfE.

TheVanguardSix · 10/09/2020 10:47

God isn't some Btec Dynamo. But neither is the teacher, probably. She probably didn't actually tell them it was God. The kids likely started spouting bollocks, as kids do. Storm in a teacup, OP. Nothing to get worked up about. Get off the whatsapp chat. Parents getting riled up on a whatsapp thread is waaaay more toxic than Assembly Miracles, I promise you. That's 'Great Flood' stuff, parents on whatsapp is. I just couldn't find the energy to get worked up about it.
If the teacher did say this, it's a lie and it's wrong. But again, nobody died. I couldn't get upset about this. There's bigger fish to fry.

Smallsteps88 · 10/09/2020 10:48

obviously they will learn about God, I just wasn’t expecting the teacher to be faking his existence!

Umm....

BoomBoomsCousin · 10/09/2020 10:51

surely a drive to another School would not be impossible?

Pretty impossible if you don’t have a car. Or for a whole bunch of logistical reasons that parents find themselves in. Also, not much use if all the reasonably distanced schools are also faith schools as is not uncommon in some parts of the UK.

IwishIwasyoda · 10/09/2020 10:54

Makes me uncomfortable if that's what happened. Problem is at this age they believe everything

Lockdownseperation · 10/09/2020 10:55

You child is attending collective worship in a faith school. Things are going to be attributed to God which you believe aren’t caused by God. If you are not happy with this then you need to withdraw your child from collective worship and carefully discuss the contents of the RE curriculum. I personally wouldn’t send my child to a religious school and would move/not bought in that catchment area but I’m an RE teacher so this was an obvious thing for me to consider.

What will her secondary school be like?

BoomBoomsCousin · 10/09/2020 10:55

@RiftGibbon

I don't know about faith schools but I am a school governor and I'm aware that schools have an obligation under DfE regulations to have a daily act of religious worship. Personally I think it's wrong. Religion is personal and has no place in education. Morals and being a decent human being apply, but they don't need to be attached to belief in a deity. I'm still trying to work out how one challenges the DfE.
Sadly, the daily act of worship requirement is written into legislation, not just DfE regulations. So challenging the DfE won’t do much good. You’ll need to get MPs on board.