Guy Fawkes assembly detail slightly OTT?

[GeorgianMumto5]

My dc are in a primary school. One is in KS1, the other in KS2. They came home from school today and shared a fairly detailed description of how Guy Fawkes would have been hung, drawn and quartered. Their description included the bit about the victim still being (just) alive while his guts were removed, 'and the heart last of all, which they showed him.' TBH, I was a bit revolted by all of that (and they gave further detail). I'm pleased they got a decent history lesson, but don't you think that level of detail is a bit unecessary for a primary school assembly? DH seemed to think it was OK, so maybe I'm being over-sensitive? Am I?!?

Have your children not started on the Horrid History/Science/Geography series yet, just you wait!!!!

In the 1600s the children would have been pushing to the front of the queue to watch the execution.

Don't tell me they were terribly traumatised . More likely they were gripped in a slightly revolted way - it clealy sank in if they could tell you all the details later..

It'll get worse. You'll grow to love it and the way the frisson of ick drives them to pay attention and find out more.

YANBU. Guy Fawkes wasn't drawn, he jumped so the noose broke his neck.

Sorry, just noticed you are not in AIBU, but really, shown his heart. He was dead long before they cut him down.

yanbu, that's horrible! But apparently I've got it all to come. DS is YR and not into gore at all, but I gather it's the curse of most boys to love gross stuff,

I hate guy fawkes night, ever since I saw the 2 signatures guido fawkes put on his confessions - 1 before and one after torture. Awful stuff. Made me join amnesty international.

I overheard our Deputy giving this assembly today. I'm just waiting for the parents' complaints!

Saying that, I learnt all of that when I was in year 2. We even went to visit archaic torture chambers and were shown the rack. That gave me a few nightmares, to say the least!

I bet that's the one lesson they remember when they're old and grey!

My dd is in reception. She came home today and told me Guy Fawkes was "a guy with a fork on his head."

I did this with my kids today - I suspect I used the same powerpoint resource actually! Mine are y6, admittedly, but they definitely weren't scarred by the gruesomeness and it led onto a really interesting debate on whether these punishments would be ok in modern times or not. I was very impressed with them. (Even the ones with extreme right views!)

Cooooooool!

Thanks everyone! Well, I'll stop my worrying now. I had a day of people grossing me out with gory stuff, so maybe that was a gross-out too far. Thankfully I am now 'over myself'. Ds was freaked out by it at bedtime, but he slept fine once I suggested he thought about something else. He loves gross stuff, in terms of toilet humour, but is not so into gore.

You are all right though: they did and probably will remember it. I can't complain about that. Sounds like it was that powerpoint, Fermez (great user name!)

WearingGreen Ha! I love that response! I will tell them later.

Funnily enough, we did discuss together the idea that punishments of that kind are no longer used and would be considered unacceptable now. They didn't seem to have grasped the HT's point, but I can't imagine it was, 'And what a great idea that was, hey?'

The history teacher at the prep school I went to gave us the project of describing and drawing your own medieval torture chamber for homework when we were 8. I found mine a few years ago and was quite horrified at what unpleasant things 8 year-olds can dream up... I thought it was a cool homework project at the time!

DD (3.5) howled inconsolably round the Tower of London in the Spring because she couldn't watch someone get their head cut off. Lovely!