Teacher told my child that child is not a Muslim

[Jkam24]

My daughter has recently started reception and asked me today if our family are Muslims, to which I said yes. She then started crying saying her teacher told her that she (my daughter) is not a Muslim. Is it unreasonable to be angry about this?

It could be anything from the way the little girl was dressed to the way she wore her hair that told the teacher this child is not Muslim; of course it’s ridiculous but that’s the way some brains operate. Maybe mothers chat with the teacher will inspire the school to set up some further training or maybe the teacher was saying that little girl didn’t have any muscles but had a broad unusual accent - hopefully we’ll all find out later

I hope your dd got this wrong and she is no longer upset.

It could be that your dd got this right, teachers are not immune to being prejudice and children can certainly pick up on this I really hope not though and its been a misunderstanding

And some children are more advanced for their age, nothing wrong in noticing this about your child (my child wasn't but his best friend was)

In the classroom your daughter should just be a 4 year old child and not a religion label

You need to know a child's religion to understand dietary rules etc. It's not a teacher's job to tell them they are or are not said religion.

Children were ALL made to hold hands two by two while we walked outside. Some boys didn't want to because it was 'haram". It was disruptive because the teacher had to negotiate this because it's the done thing when walking in public with small children'. I am not saying I found the kids offensive : I find it offensive that parents teach their children that they can't hold another boys hand when they are 5 y old because it's haram. It's bloody ridiculous.

It's not a label, it's essential background information. This would be for teachers' general awareness, issues about diet, religious practices and observations etc.
The teacher needs to be aware of all factors.
We had a pp seemingly unaware that someone could be Indian and a Muslim. If you're a teacher, knowledge and cultural information is essential.

That's adorable.

Teacher said she did say it because she doesn't think children can have a religion. I didn't say much but will have a think on how to move forward - it's ok for her to think that but not for her to say it, but I am not looking to get her into trouble, rather to clarify that stating this out loud to a child is beyond her position.

To the rest of you - learn to articulate yourself without prejudices and swearing as you've just proved the point that such views exist. I wonder why people think it's ok to speak to people like shit and whether they would think it's ok to speak to someone in the same way face to face!

Ok, thanks for the update. I'm very surprised, she's almost certainly going against school policy here, it's generally accepted that teachers do not comment on, or judge, religious affiliation.
How did the conversation go?
Are you going to take this to the HT?

She shouldn't be foisting her personal beliefs on children. This definitely needs addressing.

Really? That’s dreadful. Even if you hold that opinion then you should keep it to yourself. Personally I would be speaking to the head about that.

Thank you. I can imagine this isn’t the first time this teacher’s thoughts have got in the way of her actions. I hope you’ll come back to the thread and tell us what you did next

Yes, this most definitely needs to be followed up.

Oh bloody hell.

I taught little kids. To some of them it is really important to be Muslim etc.

Not the teacher's place to state things so clearly. It is always a some people believe this and others that situation.

I won't be taking it to the head as I think it will just escalate everything in a manner it doesn't need to and demonise the teacher who probably did not mean it with malice and said something without thinking. I'll probably speak to her again one to one and tbh she can do with it what she will. If she truly cares about children she'll reflect on it and hopefully avoid it in future.

Thanks for updating OP. I agree that you do need to follow up on this.

Wow, that’s appalling. You definitely need to bring this to the Head’s attention asap. What other shit opinions is she pedalling?

It’s no different to her saying that a child can’t possibly be Jewish and she’d be severely reprimanded for saying that!

@BlackeyedSusan yes, I think it was important to my daughter to be the same as me even if she doesn't conceptually understand religion! But she's ok and has forgotten all about it as children do.

Think about it, @Jkam24 , because she needs to stop doing this, and it's certainly not school policy. You could speak to the HT without making it a complaint. Perhaps she could undergo further training rather than have a disciplinary, although why she has missed this vital information from previous CPDs is a mystery.
I wouldn't just let it go.

She'd face a disciplinary for saying it about any religion. Not just Jewish.

Technically the teacher is correct (afterall, would your daughter be any religion if you/OH weren't telling her she was that religion?), however she probably should NOT express that view at school.

@CatrionaBalfour people are sort of seen as silly if they say their child is advanced, as everyone else gets funny about it assuming it's just a parent thinking they're child is a genius / angel etc. And that's not what was happening here on my end - but people DO get up in arms about it. A common pattern in this thread seems to be a lot of people throwing around denial of people's experience - gaslighting in a subtle (or not so) way. I'm sure you mean well but - it happens.

@GleisZwei well this is where I'm coming from. @CatrionaBalfour I'm sure she didn't miss any training, rather just said it "factually" but it still rubbed me up wrong. I think the conversation is enough for now but will keep an eye and ear out on things.

Wow, that's interesting.
If what she said was truth, children would not be baptised as babies and schools would not ask for religious food restrictions at school.
Small children may not understand the concept of a religion, but generally parents bring them up in some kind of a religion or baptise them, in which case the religion is already chosen for them.
My son was 7 or 8 when he decided he is a Hindu and won't eat beef. Since then he has rejected beef as a school lunch option and told everybody he is a Hindu. But until then we just didn't really care, as my husband said "small children have no idea what is in the food, so they cannot do the wrong thing". My other son is 5 and still has no idea.
BTW, we are a Hindu/Catholic family and we never imposed on our children one religion or the other (i.e. no baptism until they decide what they want). We go to temples or churches in respective festivals or some religious events but have friends of all faiths. We don't eat beef/pork, so I guess that's the only thing that might stick with kids at some point.

Yes, when I was a child non-Catholics used to refer to Catholics going to 'the chapel'.