Adam & Eve VS Evolution - RC primary schools, experiences, opinions please?

[StarryStarryNight]

I am a little concerned regards to my sons primary education. He is in year 1 in a Catholic school.

Do they learn evolutionary theories, Darwin, or just Creation Myth, ie Adam and Eve.

Does anybody know? I am very hesitant to ask my sons school outright what is in their curriculum on this.

Dont get me wrong, we want him to be in a Catholic school, we share the faith, and we are active. But, here is the thing. I was speaking to another parent and we were touching in on evolution theory and the teachings of the bible, as she said her son came up to her and said "mummy, Ben said we come from monkeys", and she replied "I dont know about monkeys, I am Catholic, as far as I am concerned we come from Adam and Eve".

Do they learn this in school?
Does anybody know whether catholic schools are able to leave aside large chunks of the science curriculum and teach creation myth instead?

Do we do the Bible?

Not sure how much evoutionary theory is taught in Primary, but I wouldn't have thought for one moment that there would be a creationist atandpoint in a catholic school.

But Ben should perhaps be put right on the monkey thing...

No, Catholic schools don't teach creationism. Creationism isn't part of the church's teaching and shouldn't be part of the schools.

Having said that, you do get anomalies -- I borrowed a skeleton (real one) from the lab and took it into school for dd1's (then) Y4 class. The kids were v. v. excited and asked the same questions all undergrads ask: Is it a man or a woman? I'd just taken a deep breath to launch into my routine on pelvic depth and angle when the TA said brightly, "Oh, I suppose if it was a woman, it would have an extra rib!" Hmm. Cue long talk from me on the difference between biology and theology.

Dd1 when in Y6 also had a particularly bonkers supply teacher who in a science lesson, after dd1 had given a reasonably succinct account of evolution (which she had a major bee in her bonnet about for some reason), said, "Well, you can believe that if you want, but as Christians we should believe the Bible". Dd1 came home spitting tacks, but had mercifully managed to restrain herself from expressing her thoughts to the teacher directly, which was progress of a sort. I went and complained to the deputy head, who was mortified and promised she'd have a word with the teacher.

In fact dd1 had such a bee in her bonnet about it that when she went for the pre-admission interview at secondary school, and the head got to the "have you got any other questions?" stage, Dd1 said, "Yes, actually, I'd like to know what St X school teaches about evolution." The head boggled slightly (I gather most of the girls had been asking about sock colour and what kind of hair accessories they were allowed), but recovered well, and gave a very coherent and lucid answer pretty much along the lines of my argument about theology and biology being different world views. And in fact I saw what was pretty much a reprise of that argument in her Y8 RE homework book last week.

So in summary, apart from the odd loon who might pop up anywhere, you should be safe, creation-wise, in a catholic school.

Thank you both. I can relax.

Our Catholic school teaches evolution.

Don't know what my ds's RC school teach, but ds is well up on evolution. He says he's not sure if god actually exists at all!

LOL at Frogs' dd!

Why would you hesitate to ask the school ? They are the only ones who can tell you for certain ??

Much of the RC teaching especially at primary level is new testament anyway so you wouldn't get the creation there, don't even think about the science of dying and rising again on the third day or transubstantiation (changing the bread and wine into the body and blood for the non-RC's)
Have not had any problems with biology v theology and mine have been right through the school system (currently have one in infants, eldest doing A level biology).
The only conflict comes around year 10 when they are studying reproduction for gcse which involves how the contraceptive pill works and the lesson begins with the teacher quoting "this is not in line with the teachings of the church but as part of the science national curriculum....."