To think the school have got this very wrong?

[anerki101]

Had an email from my child's school this week regarding the World Cup. The council have decided that they want to celebrate the World Cup so will be allowing the first game to be shown in school for every one to watch. They added that because of the human rights concerns with the host nation they would ask the kids to wear their football kits or team colours and bring in a donation for amnesty International.

AIBU to think this is wrong? If they are concerned about the human rights issues then surely boycotting the World Cup and NOT showing the game is the the best thing to do? Very happy to donate to amnesty but I still think allowing the game to be shown is a mistake.

I say this as a football fan who looks forward and watches the world Cup but won't be this time.

Not convenient. What I can afford.

Discussion isn't just about shutting children down and telling them what to think. They have been given an opportunity to reflect, contribute and take part if they want to. It's a good approach from the school that empowers their own decisions. To just ban it kind of shuts it all down really doesn't it? A huge number would just bunk off anyway so any impact isn't really felt at all.

Just because schools are deciding to show the match doesn't mean they going to force anyone to watch it. It's highly likely they'll put it on and anyone who isn't interested can do something else.

For me, it depends if it's primary or secondary.

Primary - YABU. Young children don't need to know about the politics behind it. There's too much negativity as it is, hence crazy rates of anxiety in primary schools amongst children.

Secondary - YANBU, I think they're old enough to understand and benefit from boycotting it.

Did schools do anything for the Rugby League World Cups recently or the Women's Rugby Union, why is football given such prominence? Have they been watching the snooker? As a Teacher I would have expected to be able to opt out of any supervision of groups watching this.

In my school the children will be watching it - we have children from many different countries when homosexuality is against the law including Qatar. Alongside the football, we are focusing on the rights of LGBT people worldwide at an age appropriate level. So Children can watch the football plus get some understanding of the issues surrounding it.

Id be happy with that from school, I think it sends exactly the right message.

The World Cup is a major event and football is a big deal to a lot of families so it would be wrong for the school to try and pretend it wasn’t happening. Boycotting it at school would achieve nothing because children will still take their biggest influence on the politics of it from their families. School not showing the match is a non statement, whereas showing it but also highlighting that human rights issues might actually teach them something.

That said, I think Amnesty international is a questionable organisation and not one that I would donate to, but they do carry the banner for human rights so I can see why the school has chosen them.

My school has chosen to show the match. Ethical issues aside, the kids want to watch it and it's better for them to be in school and watch it than bunk a day off!

As far as boycotts go, as Piers Morgan said - once you put on your moral halo, where do you draw the line? Homosexuality is criminalised in about a dozen competing countries at the World Cup. Another handful of competing countries have disgraceful foreign policies and recently backed or engaged in illegal wars. Another handful have the death penalty. Another handful ban abortion. Another handful have never paid suitable reparations for the horrors of slavery and genocide on which their wealth was earned. Another handful have shockingly high per capita carbon footprints. And on and on…

I think Qatar as host was a terrible choice on practical and logistical grounds, but some of the moral grandstanding is getting a bit much.

Why do people keep saying it's better for them to be in school than bunk a day like that's an actual option

I would keep my child at home so they didn’t have to watch that garbage (sport).

I think that football fans have to make their own decisions how to approach this from embracing the entirety of the world cup in their usual way to completely ignoring it and everything in between.

I think watching the match is fine if they are explaining in an age appropriate way, and collecting for Amnesty is also fine. It's a toughie because the whole thing is obviously a big hot mess.

Why do people keep saying it's better for them to be in school than bunk a day like that's an actual option

Perhaps because it's an "option" which some parents are prepared to enable?

@Puzzledandpissedoff

If that's the case then you can keep your kid off and the schools can do what they're paid to do.

During the 2002 World Cup, the Headteacher of the secondary I worked at refused to televise the England vs Brazil game. Nearly 50% of the pupils didn’t turn up to school that day.

Heads often televise matches in order to make sure pupils attend school. Better they miss 90 minutes of learning than a whole day.

This. Not to mention parroting Kremlin propaganda in Ukraine. Wouldn’t be getting a penny off me.

A few schools on our area are showing it. Our DSs isn't.
I honestly wouldn't mind if they did, but he is only in KS1, it only comes around every 4 years, (it might enable some of the teachers to get some of the paperwork finished that they normally take home and don't get paid for doing)

If he were older and they had it on, I probably wouldn't stop him watching it, but I would educate him on how appalling the country is for its laws and treatment of women.

Oh and so long as they had other options from those against watching it. One of the local schools my friends DC are at is allowing the kids to just go out and play football if they don't want to watch it.

It might not be an option for you but there are plenty of parents who would enable this.

Well, my DH has just said he is going to be watching it in which case it'll be on in our house anyway. He's a grown adult. I can't stop him. In which case I can hardly forbid my DS from watching it at school if he's going to be seeing it on the TV at home! But we will be having discussions about the human rights issues.

During the 2002 World Cup, the Headteacher of the secondary I worked at refused to televise the England vs Brazil game. Nearly 50% of the pupils didn’t turn up to school that day.

Heads often televise matches in order to make sure pupils attend school. Better they miss 90 minutes of learning than a whole day.

I disagree. Better that school goes on as normal and kids whose parents let them stay at home are registered with an unauthorised absence.

Better that school goes on as normal and kids whose parents let them stay at home are registered with an unauthorised absence. so no consequences to the kids who skived, and the ones who missed it think well next time I'll just skive too

At my GSs school they are watching half in lunch time, the other half it will be on in classroom, sound off, and kids will have work to do, if they watch the football and don't get work done it will be added to homework. I can't see the problem.

As most primary school teachers are women, I'd imagine there's a substantial number of those who have no interest in watching the match.

Gotta love the sexism here, women couldn't possibly like football, could they!

No, there were afternoon matches in Russia four years ago.