To believe that the mum who said our CofE school was looking too religious was being unreasonable.

[MehgaLegs]

It is a voluntary controlled CofE school with a very Christian head. It's Easter, there is a display about the Easter story in the hall.

At least Jesus was reputed to have been crucified the right way up. St Peter was crucified upside down and to remove his body from his cross, his feet were cut off. Nice. Any guide in San Pietro in Rome will tell you that.

My dd doesn't seem bothered by tales of gory executions (unlike me at her age and more recently at the blood-stained Tower of London ) but she did become very distressed when she heard about the tsumani in 2004 and that is still a taboo word in my household for that reason. A gory execution 2000-odd years ago hasn't really upset her at all.

Agree with blu's rather amusing post. is she a bit dim or does she see the irony? My DS not at all bothered about the crucifixion of Jesus but a bit perturbed and waking in the night after covering Great Fire of London. DD cried about goldfish but only because both hers died and only one of DS's. When my Grandad died she said she was "not sad".

I obviously have rather self-centred children.

Sounds like my dd. She went through a phase of morbidly asking people when they were going to die - including my cat and my Dad - earlier this year. I think she was rather fascinated by funerals.

Well faith schools are unreasonable institutions, they shouldn't exist. Clearly the mum thought there was too much religion and not enough education - surely that's a valid point of view?

If your argument is that a faith school should shove faith up the DCs noses, then that's weak IMO.

Surely children should be educated about the various faith systems in existence, esp at a faith school that she'd gone the extra mile to get her child into? . Education isn't just abuot learning to read and write although these are very important, nonetheless.

If it was compulsory prayers before each lesson and constant proselysing to the children rather than teaching them other things then yes, she would have a point. I'd expect a faith school to teach at least elements of their own faith though.

Q - What do you mean "Clearly the mum thought there was too much religion and not enough education."

I/she never said there wasn't enough education. She just commented that the Easter display in the school hall was too religious.

And no, my argument is not "that a faith school should shove faith up the DCs noses" at all. I just feel that if you are willing to go to great lengths to get your child into a good school and it is a church school that's the choice you've made and you just have to put up with it.

Chritianity is not shoved up the childrens' noses, it's a CoE school so most parents expect that it will come up from time to time.

You obviously have an issue with faith schools but the faith school thing isn't the point. It's like sending your kids to stage school and complaining they do too much ballet and no football. IMO

I do think, whatever the general argument, it was pretty dim of her to deliberately move into the catchment of a faith school in order to get a place, and then complain it was too religious. If I buy orange juice I don't complain when it tastes too much of orange....

I know it's different if you live in an area and that's what there is, or you move there for other reasons like work or family, and don't have any realistic choices, but if you've read up on it and made a decision then you can't really complain unless it was unfairly marketed in some way.

She wants to have her cake and eat it.

If you choose to send your child to a Faith school you have no right to complain that it is religious!

Madness.

his has cropped up on MN before, people make an active choice to send hei kid to a faith school because of advantages for the child, than complain that aspects of the faith are taught to the child.

How daft can you get?

REALLY don't agree with Quattro's assertion that faith schools shouldn't exist. Ds1's school is a CE school. Anyone can go, but it has a Christian ethos - so they have a service at the end of each term in the local church, the vicar comes down once a week to take an assembly. It is the loveliest school I know. No-one is obliged to send their child there, there are lots of excellent primaries in the area, but if you want your child to have a Christian education then it is there. Doesn't hurt anyone/deprive anyone of anything.

And learning about religions is part of education anyway. In today's world, I think knowing about Christianity/Islam/Judaism etc etc etc is going to be vital for the adults of the future to untangle some of today's problems.

Sorry Megalegs, forgot to answer the OP! YANBU!

Whats the Easter display like? If its a life size depiction of an agonised christ bleeding from head to toe then she might have a point.

If its bunnies and fluffy chicks then she is clearly nuts.

Not at all connected with OP...but connected to Easter and therefore needs to be said soon, or it will be too late!
DD (6) was continuously telling tales on DS today. We had the usual, plus "he's looking at me in a grumpy way", "his hand flapped me", and then, in desperation, she brought his religious piety into question "Mummy, it's Easter and I don't think DS has thought about Jesus hardly at all. I have been thinking about him a lot and I am VERY sad".
DS is 3