Page 12 | To think that a RECEPTION teacher shouldn't have said this ???

AutumnalPumpkin · 2023-10-14T10:16:29+00:00

My daughter goes to a catholic school (it was the only school available to us) we are not a religious family, but it does not bother me that she is being immersed in religion. After all, she will only make her own mind up later in life anyway. But this is relevant. They use god in almost every part of the day, and in all aspects of learning. As those who are not religious will know, we and a lot of others view god as "made up" or a myth, if you will. Now this brings me to where I have a problem - her reception teacher has picked up on some of the class talking about unicorns. A typical 4/5 year old thing... and has proceeded to tell them that Unicorns, fairies and dragons etc are all made up, and do not exist. This is absolute insanity to me!!? They are 4/5 and all have wonderful vivid imaginations. We regularly take my daughter to "the fairy forest" and she immerses herself into it and tries to find clues to where the fairies could be hiding, and loves to think that at nighttime all of the magical creatures come out to play. She's now come home saying that it's all untrue and they are made up. I'm actually really upset about this. How can you push the belief of god, and they go all out for Santa etc. but actively shut down the belief of magical creatures ??

GoonieGang · 14/10/2023 13:39

Lostcotter · 14/10/2023 13:28

i don’t see how it’s mean - why assume the worst ?

Many others on this thread with kids that age have said their kids don’t believe in fairies and they’d assume children are old enough to know that /be told that. So it’s not necessarily she was being spiteful.

I think OP already said the school goes hard for Santa anyway . And because of the huge cultural impact of Santa I’d assume most adults would know kids that age are told it’s real and would not feel it’s their place to tell them he’s not.

So it’s very different from fairies/unicorns, where many adults would reasonably assume kids are not being told they exist.

Show quote history

Its mean because if OP’s DD had piped up that God doesn’t exist she would be penalised for that belief.
And why is it okay to tell a kid fairies/Santa isn’t real yet allow a teacher to say God is?

GuitarGeorge · 14/10/2023 13:40

YABVU.

I don’t think this is the right school for you.

LolaSmiles · 14/10/2023 13:43

Its mean because if OP’s DD had piped up that God doesn’t exist she would be penalised for that belief.
She wouldn't. She is free to have and express whatever religious beliefs she wants.
Religious/philosophical belief is not the same as children's imaginative play.
And why is it okay to tell a kid fairies/Santa isn’t real yet allow a teacher to say God is?
It's a faith school. It comes with the territory.

Differentstarts · 14/10/2023 13:43

I don't think its a religious thing I just think its something most adults teach children so as not to cause confusion on what's real and what's not. The only time I'd agree with you is if the teacher said santa or the tooth fairy isn't real, then I'd be pissed

Bunnycat101 · 14/10/2023 13:43

At 4 they really are so little and all believing. My daughter’s reception teacher is the most lovely person and there is no way she’d crush them in that way. They’ve been doing immersive and imaginative stuff all week.

There is a programme that stephen fry did about mythical beasts and their origins on the bbc. She might be too little for it yet by my 7 year old really enjoyed segments of it as they covered unicorns, Loch Ness monster, dragons and some of the hypothesises about where they came from. I think it was open enough that the explanations weren’t definitive.

tenbob · 14/10/2023 13:47

There is a Hey Duggee episode called Mythical Creatures badge where they explain unicorns et al are mythical for pre-schoolers!

Even at reception, they know the difference between imaginary play and real life so you can still play fairy hunting games without having to be totally literal about the existence of fairies

bakedbrain · 14/10/2023 13:49

@GoonieGang I'm an atheist myself but I really don't understand this line of argument? Lots of people think God is real. Is there any segment of society (I mean apart from babies, who eat their own snot) or any functioning adult who thinks unicorns are real??

Respecting different religious beliefs is about learning the skills to co-exist culturally and socially (though I wouldn't penalise the child, only remind them of respect).

That said, in my classroom as a child we also were given the opportunity to research and debate the question of religion – so there are respectful forums for it. Plus, in scientific terms it's hardly a settled question, neither proven nor disproven conclusively.

Fairies I could sort of understand if this were Ireland maybe, because it's tied to spirituality / respect for different culture's spiritual beliefs. But unicorns... aren't real. It's sort of... not debatable. The % of society that believes unicorns are real is so thin that I think the right to free speech and scientific info trumps cultural and religious respect.

CasperGutman · 14/10/2023 13:53

We've always been perfectly open with our children that fantasy creatures are exactly that - fantasy, not real. That doesn't mean they don't enjoy using their imaginations, or spot fairy doors on walks, or imagine there's a dragon lurking everywhere when we visit a castle.

WrongWayApricot · 14/10/2023 13:54

YABU even in a secular school you would be being unreasonable...

I also don't think parents should insist their kids believe nonsense for as long as possible. I feel like while the brain is still developing is probably a crucial time to lay good foundations for critical thinking. I don't think it's cute to purposely encourage children to be gullible. When they notice that unicorns/santa/tooth fairy is not real, congratulate them on their deduction. If someone tells your kid it's not real just say yeah but it's fun to pretend and get on with life.

SoSad44 · 14/10/2023 13:54

Santa Claus is an actual Saint in the Catholic church. I can’t belive you sent your child to a Catholic school 🤦🏻‍♀️

GoonieGang · 14/10/2023 13:55

bakedbrain · 14/10/2023 13:49

@GoonieGang I'm an atheist myself but I really don't understand this line of argument? Lots of people think God is real. Is there any segment of society (I mean apart from babies, who eat their own snot) or any functioning adult who thinks unicorns are real??

Respecting different religious beliefs is about learning the skills to co-exist culturally and socially (though I wouldn't penalise the child, only remind them of respect).

That said, in my classroom as a child we also were given the opportunity to research and debate the question of religion – so there are respectful forums for it. Plus, in scientific terms it's hardly a settled question, neither proven nor disproven conclusively.

Fairies I could sort of understand if this were Ireland maybe, because it's tied to spirituality / respect for different culture's spiritual beliefs. But unicorns... aren't real. It's sort of... not debatable. The % of society that believes unicorns are real is so thin that I think the right to free speech and scientific info trumps cultural and religious respect.

Edited

Scientifically, unicorns fairies and god are all the same. No proof any of them exist

Original poster

AutumnalPumpkin · 14/10/2023 13:56

@newYear10 well of course it wasn't with no context. It was said because some children were talking about them. More of a "by the way those aren't real you know"
Rather than "today children we are learning about why all of the exciting mythical creatures you believe in are not real."

OP posts:

DoggerelBank · 14/10/2023 13:56

My kids were at a CofE school and anything Harry Potter was banned.

Fernie6491 · 14/10/2023 13:57

I' ve scanned the whole thread but may have missed it. Lots of Irish people are Catholic, and yet they believe in leprechauns don't they ? 'The little people', what's the difference between leprechauns and fairies?

It all seems odd to pick and choose which mythical creatures to believe in!

Thindog · 14/10/2023 13:57

I must say I have actually found small unicorn horns on the beach. So that proves they are real.

AliceOlive · 14/10/2023 13:58

AutumnalPumpkin · 14/10/2023 11:35

@Britneyfan i honestly never realised this! It is shocking to me

It’s alarming that you think you now know something because some random on the internet told you it was so.

Doubly so that you would send your child to be educated at a school without having a basic understanding of their beliefs.

I was raised Catholic and spent many years in Catholic school. No one gave a shit about fairies or unicorns.

Pollyputhekettleon · 14/10/2023 13:58

Yeah that's mean and unnecessary. We had a teacher in primary school who told us Santa wasn't real between about age 6 and 9. You get nasty people in all walks of life.

DeeCee77 · 14/10/2023 13:58

NellyWest · 14/10/2023 11:24

It’s a Catholic school, not Hogwarts 🤷‍♀️

😀

Thelittleweasel · 14/10/2023 14:00

@AutumnalPumpkin

Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?

— Job 39:9–12

King James Bible of course!

WhileMyDishwasherGentlyWeeps · 14/10/2023 14:01

Haven’t RTFT so apologies if this comment has already been made.

But what is it with pretending fairies, unicorns and the like are real? The whole point of parenting (well, one of them) is to explain to children what’s real and what isn’t. Santa got shot down in our house as soon as possible.

I worry that many people are becoming childish. I find it endlessly depressing that MN has so many credulous posters who believe in ghosts, psychics, witches (who practise ‘magick’ - never forget the ‘k’, it’s got powers) and the like. I’d feel terrible and that I’d failed my kids if any had grown up to believe in this nonsense.

Pollyputhekettleon · 14/10/2023 14:02

Fernie6491 · 14/10/2023 13:57

I' ve scanned the whole thread but may have missed it. Lots of Irish people are Catholic, and yet they believe in leprechauns don't they ? 'The little people', what's the difference between leprechauns and fairies?

It all seems odd to pick and choose which mythical creatures to believe in!

I really hope you're not talking about Irish adults. And most Irish people aren't Catholic other than in name. Of those that self-describe as Catholic, around 10% of them don't believe in God.

Differentstarts · 14/10/2023 14:02

Fernie6491 · 14/10/2023 13:57

I' ve scanned the whole thread but may have missed it. Lots of Irish people are Catholic, and yet they believe in leprechauns don't they ? 'The little people', what's the difference between leprechauns and fairies?

It all seems odd to pick and choose which mythical creatures to believe in!

No they don't

whatsappdoc · 14/10/2023 14:04

Were you there op or is this what has been relayed to you? Possibly it was a chat about animals you'd find in the ark or a zoo and the teacher was getting pissed off at the amount of unicorns mentioned and was just setting the record straight.

Also if your dd believes everything the teacher says you are going to have a problem with the god thing!

Miamisun · 14/10/2023 14:04

We have a catholic guy at work and he won’t watch Harry potter or let his kids watch it. Very anti magic which blew my mind. Each to their own just didn’t know it was this strict

RedLeicesterRedLeicester · 14/10/2023 14:04

Now I feel like an utter cow for telling my son yesterday that gruffalos aren’t real