AIBU to think we need more ^inclusive^ education?

[LoveFoolMe]

AIBU to think we need more inclusive education? If children in a multicultural society such as the UK are educated together surely this promotes more tolerance and better mutual understanding.

So these proposals worry me:

Call to end limit on religious free schools

Considering how divisive and rigid religious attitudes can be, I think it's time to bring children from faith schools into mainstream schools and to encourage these children to mix with more diverse cultures.

Secular schools can still provide fact-based religious education in the classroom and would probably teach their students about a greater range of religions than a faith school would. Parents could, of course, provide a more personal approach to religion for their children outside of school hours if they wanted to.

Let's not further segregate our children by religion.

AIBU to think that reducing (rather than increasing) the number of faith schools in the UK would be far better for our children and far better for our society?

People with faith often do better because their lives have meaning and purpose.

Have you any evidence for this?

Do you think Richard Dawkins would be more successful with faith? Einstein? Kraus?

As a science graduate it worries me that schools are allowed to opt out of parts of the science curriculum. It doesn't say much about the faith of the parents of they think learning about evolution will automatically turn their children into lifelong atheists

It's not just science either, I was taught how good a queen Mary Tudor was, unlike Elizabeth who had 40 good RC people executed and how they are now saints.

The whole thing where Mary had hundreds executed wasn't even mentioned.

We should teach children Evolution and Intelligent design in science. Its only when they have all the arguments from both sides of the debate that children will be able to make their own minds up. To hide the controversy is just lying to children, so I agree with sashh that schools should be much more inclusive and less bias in what they teach.

"We should teach children ........Intelligent design in science"

WTF??

No lets teach our children science in science shall we.

sashh do you think that putting children of all faiths or none in the same classroom necessarily leads to an inclusive educational setting?

That wasn't me asking, that was me quoting and replying, I agree with you.

We should teach children Evolution and Intelligent design in science. Its only when they have all the arguments from both sides of the debate that children will be able to make their own minds up.

There is no controversy. We should teach science in science ie evolution and teach RE in RE which is why the bid bang theory should not be included with 'creation myths'.

There is no evidence for intelligent design which is why it isn't a scientific theory.

but if you have more religious inclusion in schools you have to be inclusive within the class as well, and surely that would include science lessons.

Religion isn't science though- so in has no place in a science lesson.

The mistake is to read the creation stories in the bible as science. They were written as myth and should be treated as stories which are attempting to express a truth about the relationship between the divine and humanity.

When my children were Doing RE it was mostly about festivals and what the different faiths believe. All mine did really badly at GCSE as they are PKs (preacher's kids) and the curriculum was pretty simplistic and they were used to hearing much more nuanced arguments than the model answers given.

Sashh.....but Richard Dawkins is a secular Christian!

www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/10853648/Richard-Dawkins-I-am-a-secular-Christian.html

Colchestergal I don't think that comes as any surprise. My MIL is a church elder and an atheist. Who doesn't love a good carol sing song at christmas time even though we are without faith.
I was brought up on a diet of hymns, plastic nativity models complete with plastic donkeys, tales of torture at Easter.

If your MIL is an elder then she also secular. If she has no faith, yet continues to be an elder, then I find that shocking. She is duping her church family and those who go to her as an elder for spiritual and pastoral support.

Note that my original post was in January.

However, since then, not only has politics become more polarised and divisive but the Government has announced that all new and existing religious free schools will be able to select 100% of their places with reference to religion.

If you think that we should be improving integration and inclusion, not increasing segregation, then take a look here:

Fair Admissions