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

[AutumnalPumpkin]

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 ??

@SaffronSpice the word “unicorn” very much is used in multiple places in the Bible, in several different English translations.

Some parents have no choice in the matter. Where my grandchildren live all 3 schools are church schools. they will attend one of them or have to be home schooled. That’s not an option.

If you look at the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament, you won’t find anything at all about unicorns. Unicorns are only mentioned in the King James Version due to a roughly 2,200-year-old mistranslation originating in the Greek Septuagint. This mistranslation has been corrected in most modern translations of the Bible, including the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and the New International Version (NIV)

@BurnToastAgain
I will not rely on public transport. Especially to get my child to school. I appreciate a lot of people must do this. But I have the option not, and I feel it is unreliable.
We do not drive. So you do have that privilege.
The other school was not an option for many reasons and there actually is a school opposite hers but it is an SDA school.

it's that I just don't think it's fair to suck the imagination out of a young child

Telling a child that unicorns and fairies don't exist will not suck their imagination out of them. However children of that age find the entire real world fascinating and magical. They are not yet so sated with the beauty of the world we live in that they need to believe in unicorns. I mean why do you think that a horse with a horn on its nose is wonderful but one without a horn is boring?

OMG the hyperbole here!!! 😂Utter horror.... What a load of old tosh. People say things about Catholic schools that they would never dream of attributing to other faiths. You sound utterly ridiculous. I also went to a Catholic school, both primary and secondary. I am eternally grateful for the high calibre of education that I received. Both of my children are at thriving in academically high achieving Catholic secondary schools. The nonsense spouted on here about Catholic schools is just crazy.

I’m not quite sure what you’re trying to say. Sorry. You say you don’t drive and also refuse to use public transport. That’s your choice obviously but if you feel that you must choose a school within walking distance then you’ve got to accept the values of that school, or do what most people do and use some form of transport to get your child to school. Seriously, you have a choice so exercise it in a way that suits you best.

I agree and am still waiting for someone to explain why they think the same about other faith schools. No joy so far 😆

Yeah….. narwhals…..

I discovered they existed after the bridge terrorist incident where allegedly someone armed themselves with a narwhal tusk? Horn?

How did I get to the age I was then with absolutely no clue they existed? Surely they would have been prime fodder for keeping kids interested learning about sea creatures and the like.

A strong candidate for the Mandela effect if you ask me…. 😈😉

@AutumnalPumpkin apologies for the de-rail again…. I’m enjoying this thread though so thank you for starting it.

YABU.

You sent your daughter to a Catholic school, so you should expect Christian teachings. Unicorns, fairies and dragons are pagan myths, and many Christians despise paganism.

They literally know it is indefensible and so cannot justify it. It is outrageous and completely unacceptable to show tolerance for every other faith apart from Catholicism. I am completely sick of it.

Move then, I would.

Too be fair, there were 2 nuns at the one I went to, who rather liked administering the cane. One of which would call me a heinous bitch for not crying aged 7. This was the 70s though. My teacher and the priest where both fantastic though.

This is down to the individual teacher perhaps being careless and had nothing to do with it being a Catholic school. Catholic schools have a faith element of course, but they do not disagree with unicorns and fairys. Most children know these are fantasy. Ireland would have been considered a 'Catholic' country and most schools remain affiliated with the church but there is also a rich folklore aspect based on fairys, fairy circles etc.

Corporal punishment was not outlawed in UK schools until 1986 so who knows if it went on in other schools? I was schooled in the 70s and 80s at Catholic schools, was never hit or threatened with any type of physical punishment. Dd have some strict nuns in secondary however!

@Soontobe60 preaching to the choir! It’s a long thread so you won’t have read my earlier post about exactly this, mistranslations. I said that unicorns are mentioned in several translations, and went on to state that it’s not what we would picture (white horses with rainbow tails) but actual creatures with the specifics lost in translation. That’s why I’m my later post that you quoted, I said “the word unicorn” not simply “unicorn”.

You say:

“This mistranslation has been corrected in most modern translations of the Bible”

Your words but my bold - most, not all. There are copies (especially online) of the Bible with the word unicorn in.

It’s much better to have an interesting discussion about re’mu and the Septuagint as you have, than just say “no unicorns in the Bible” as did the poster whom I was correcting!

I don’t think this is a sinister thing related to any religion at all because I think it is acceptable for school teachers to call unicorns make believe.

The teacher is an ass.

My DD has gone to catholic infant, junior and now secondary schools, never ever had an issue with harmless childhood beliefs being rubished.

I'd be tempted to return your child to school to ask more probing questions about beleiving things exist without proof and why children shouldnt be left alone with a catholic priest.

Erm, if the OP feels that her DD is in danger of being abused at school then surely, living as she does in a “big, multicultural city” she needs to overcome her aversion to public transport and move her daughter to a safe school?

Mine was Southern Ireland. I remember a lot of humour too
Fantastic Halloweens that everyone celebrated. Hot cross buns on a Wednesday. A teacher who gave me the gift of loving books, even shock horror mythology. Mind to be fair to those nuns I have always been a headstrong handful. Always in trouble for eye rolling and tutting.

How could I possibly say without visiting. Although I wouldn’t send my child to an Islamic academy school, equally objectionable belief systems IMO. My understanding is there’s a unicorn helpline for disgruntled Catholics: [email protected].

My mum, who is a devout Catholic, was a teacher in a Catholic school. She bought the school library their copies of Harry Potter books, which were very popular. I'm a Catholic. I've just finished binge watching Supernatural, and am a huge Buffy fan. For many of us, fictional magic is fine, thanks.

It could be linked to the school being RC but it could also just be the teacher or it could be that one of the pupils is terrified of unicorns/dragons/fairies and a parent has asked the teacher to reassure them that they're not real.
As for Hallowe'en, at one of our RC school they'd mention Hallowe'en but connect it to All Hallows Eve ie the eve of All Saints Day so it was discussed but not celebrated. At our other RC school, they had a massive Hallowe'en disco every year with different time slots for different ages. So it's impossible to tell what your DD's school will do.
RC schools do tend to take a dim view of horoscopes, ouija boards, etc, too.

What ludicrous replies. Of course it’s fine for children to make believe. One of many reasons why I wouldn’t enrole my child in one of these cults.

Do you tell her that God is made up at home?

My DD stopped believing in Santa and the tooth fairy at around that age - because her friends told her they were not real! (I didn’t care that much) And we had open conversations about it. It hasn’t damaged her. A child with an imagination will always have an imagination. Also believing and imagination doesn’t have to stop at childhood.

We are Christian and went to a non religious schools for similar reasons to you (close to home). So I had to prepare myself to answer tough questions. Fortunately we have a strong culture at home and have honest debates without compromising our faith but without disrespecting other people’s beliefs.

Sounds like fairies and dragons are important to you, is it embedded in your home culture.