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 ??

@Gwendimarco I just think it's sad that she had to take it upon herself to tell them they weren't real , with no real reason to. It's not going to hurt them to think that fairies and unicorns live in the forest. You're only a child for such a small time. It feels like they're having to grow up too quickly

@MrsSkylerWhite it was the only one unfortunately. And I know all schools have an element of religion anyway. I will be honest though, I didn't realise that catholic schools were so strict with it. That was my mistake.

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

I find it very hard to believe that there is no non religious school available at all

It wouldn't have bothered me as I never told my kids unicorns were real. They can still play and have imaginations without being told things are real that aren't

What did you say to your daughter when she came home and told you this?

Sorry if you’ve already said.

@sleepyscientist there was never mention of it when we signed up. They just said they use god in all aspects of everyday life. Which to me seemed okay.
I just think they're children. They should be allowed to believe.
I don't think it should be taught necessarily, as that's misleading as obviously they AREN'T real. But I don't think teachers should butt in and say they're fake when children are talking

Why would you want your child to think that unicorns etc are real creatures? That's the odd but imo. Knowing they aren't real won't affect the enjoyment of play will it?

This is what you signed up for when you sent your DCs to a religious school. I can never understand why parents are surprised that children are taught Catholicism at Catholic schools.

@ilovesooty well all schools have some element of religion don't they. With hymns in assembly and the like.
I didn't realise there would be such a stark difference. But it's either this school, or a school with the worst ofstead report you can imagine.

But they don't exist. Maybe she could have dealt with in a kinder way but neither you nor she think unicorns are real. They push the belief in God because they believe that God is real and the Catholic version. For them it's not an equivalence.

I don't think I ever actually believed in fairies and dragons (though for some reason I was under the impression that unicorns were an extinct animal like a dodo or dinosaur) but I still had fun playing with the ideas. Think how huge a following Harry Potter has, and no-one was led to believe it might actually be real. You don't need a true belief in something to immerse yourself in the magic of it.

Practising Catholic here- also a teacher. There is nothing wrong with humouring a child with their imaginations. That teacher didn’t need to respond that way.

@AutumnalPumpkin yeah I can understand why you feel the way you do. I can also see how the school might be viewing it though. I think you’re just not a good match up ultimately as someone else has said.

Catholics think all magic is temptation by the devil. Tarot, ouji, and yes some go so far as any magical thinking at all.

@IdaPolly I have never actively set out to tell her that they ARE real. But I did not ever expect anybody to tell her that they are not. Especially at 4 years old. It's mean

Are you in Ireland, OP? Because I can't imagine any part of the UK where there is only a Catholic school, given British history, settlement patterns and all.
But then if you're in Ireland you will have been brought up Catholic (or surrounded by it) and will know some Catholics are more traditional than others.
So I'm confused about where this is taking place.

I would move her if at all possible.

Wait to you see how they describe Halloween and frown on allowing children to participate in the fun.

I’m with you Op. she is 4 why can’t we let children’s imagination run wild & be carefree. It seems cruel to me. I do similar things with my son, he loves things that like. Let a child be a child FFS!

@PartyFearsTwo I didn't know what I was meant to say, really. As it took me aback.
But I told her that sometimes as you get older it's harder to believe in some things but that doesn't mean she doesn't have to.
But sadly what her teacher says goes

@VisionsOfSplendour as said previously I've never actively told her they are real creatures. But she believes they are out there somewhere, and I never expected anybody, let alone her teacher... to tell her it's all made up.

”Mrs SpoilsortTeacher must never have seen a fairy. Have you ever seen a fairy? Why don’t you go looking to see if there are any signs that fairies have been in our garden”

Just because the teacher doesn’t believe, doesn’t mean your child can’t.

(Maybe I was a daft kid, but I was quite convinced I had seen several fairies, moths in the evening light, no doubt. I also left tiny button-sized sandwiches outside at night for them. The sandwiches had gone in the morning so obviously fairies had eaten them!!).

Children's imagination is great. They don't think Spider-Man is less exciting because he's not real. They don't need a real shop to play shops. They can play magic and pretend all they imagine is real, without being told by a grown up that unicorns and mermaids do exist.

I'm not sure the teacher should've said what she did, as different families approach these things differently, but I know it wouldn't have been an issue with my dc, who are happy to play zombies etc. without believing in them.

How far is the next nearest school? There must be another one nearby. There’s four schools between our house and my daughter’s school five miles away. And we live fairly rurally.

My daughter went to a C of E primary and Hallowe'en anything was forbidden.

I think your teacher is an arsehole

Majority of schools in Ireland are Catholic that has nothing to do with it. We are the land of folklore, fairy forts, mythical creatures, we even learn some of it history in lessons for junior kids. Google Tir na Og and the children of Lir to see what I mean.

The teacher was mean leave kids and their imaginations alone, pretty sure there are no adults walking around thinking unicorns are real!