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Original poster

DS being told by teacher that there is a devil and he lives in hell!!!! [angry]

19 replies

cjsausie · 28/01/2008 11:41

DS (p1)school(non denominational as far as i was concerned!) in a small village in semi rural Scotland do seem to be pushing the whole god thing. We are non believers but not in any extreme way and think children should be told about all religions as a mater of information. I was ok with the Christian slant on thinhgs in the run up to Christmas - could just say was nice story about a good man etc etc. But (and i don't know what context he was told this in) he was talking about the devil one night at tea and saying he lived in hell and when gently questioned said a certain teacher told him it was true.
The school does quite a bit at the kirk and i am aware it still has quite a big role in the community BUT if i wanted my son to be indoctrinated and scared i would have sent him to a catholic school
AIBU??? Should i leave it or say something?

OP posts:
Wotz · 28/01/2008 11:46

Give the teacher the benefit of the doubt, as she may or may not have said this exactly.

I would ask the teacher if she would know of any reasons why your son might be coming home saying these things, rather than suggesting she said them to him and see what the response is.

If she had said it I would be very cross too.

SoupDragon · 28/01/2008 11:55

I would be more worried if there had been any hint of "... and that's where you'll go if you're bad!"

wannaBe · 28/01/2008 12:06

I agree with sd.

Tbh, I don't quite get this idea that parents don't want their children to be told about god/te devil/whatever other aspects of religion. Ultimately, children grow up to have their own beliefs, and it should be up to your ds to decide what he takes on board and what he doesn't. If he decides that he believes in god and satan and all that, then ultimately that should be his decision and no-one else's.

Wotz · 28/01/2008 12:17

wannaBe I must be reading things differently today on MN, as i didn't get that being the issue at hand, and the op

had said they think
... children should be told about all religions as a mater of information.

I read that the teacher may have suggested it relation to being bad as SD said which would make me cross.

Original poster
cjsausie · 28/01/2008 12:19

wannaBe I don't not want him to be informed about religion and would welcome it if he was taught about all religions BUT i do object to him having someone elses' beliefs impressed on him . If he chooses to believe in anything then that is his choice and of course that is fine BUT at 5 years old he will believe what a teacher says....

OP posts:
juuule · 28/01/2008 12:44

I thought most (all?) branches of christianity believed in hell and the devil, not just RC.
We just tell our children that it's a story that the school like to tell. If they do use it to modify behaviour I'd tell the child that's why they tell the story.

flameboy · 28/01/2008 12:50

The RC position is that hell is a state of being involving "the pain, frustration, and emptiness of life without God.". Don't think they teach a pitchfork and cloven hoof version in RC schools.

TrinityRhinosDhWonHerAnIPOD · 28/01/2008 12:53

I dont have a problem with children being told about al different relgions
BUT i have a problem when my child is taught christianity as complete and utter FACT

moyasmum · 28/01/2008 12:54

If he was genuinely freaked at the teachers comments, or they were pointed;y said at someone then I think op may have a point .

But you send your kids to school and its no surprise that they will get influenced by their teachers and schoolmates.

Discuss ideas with your kids,ds is going to meet up with all kinds of ideas that you might not approve of, he will have to learn how to deal with them.
I treat the" burn in hell" devil concept in the same way I treat santa claus- annoying lies, both of them. Doesnt stop me having rational discussions about the nature of good/bad with the kids.
Must have been my catholic school education in the 70s.

juuule · 28/01/2008 13:02

Must admit, I don't think the devil got a mention at my children's RC primary.

Original poster
cjsausie · 28/01/2008 13:17

juuule and moyasmum - thanks - i thought i may have been a bit unreasonable and know i will just have to reaffirm balanced and tolerant thinking at home .
TrinityRhinosDhWonHerAnIPOD - totally agree with you
flameboy - wasn't maent to be a slate on RC schools but pitchfork or not think that definition of hell sounds even worse and more fear mongering!
On the same note the school has termly services at the kirk - no i accept in school asssemblies the whole religious thing but still do have a BIG ISSUE with children being preached to (especially by Church of Scotland minister ).
Can of worms anyone...?!?

OP posts:
motherhurdicure · 28/01/2008 13:26

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Message withdrawn

Original poster
cjsausie · 28/01/2008 13:40

motherhurdicure thanks wise words - perhaps i should attend a service and see for myself. Just have friends brought up as Cof S whole strict unbending , observe sabbath etc. Maybe i am being not as tolerant and balnced as i would like to think

OP posts:
MrsPuddleduck · 28/01/2008 13:41

I had a similar conversation with DS1 (4 ) this morning as he poured the milk over his weetabix . It stemmed from the face on the side of the Innocent Smoothie carton which had horns drawn on it and he asked me if it was the devil!

I just said that it was, that yes the devil is usually red and that he lives in hell. Fortunately it ended there .

Ubergeekian · 28/01/2008 13:49

I think it would be sensible to do a little gentle questioning here - I like the idea of the "Do you know where this could be coming from?" approach.

I had a rather bizarre teacher at school. He was alcoholic in my day, but later found religion and was sacked after telling a class of twelve year olds that one of their number, who had just died in a car accident, was undoubtedly burning in hell as she wasn't saved.

That's an extreme case, but best to make tactfully sure ...

Blu · 28/01/2008 14:03

Gentle questioning before you go further. Could this have come from a storybook? Or a 'this is what some people believe' type conversation? A concept about a devil in hell is immensely attractive, imaginitively, to a small child.

DS had a nursery teacher who told them that if the sun wasn't shining it was because god was not pleased with us because we are bad - a truly awful belief to instil in a child, imo, and apart from being meteorological nonsense begs the question 'and if he sends a Tsunami are the people washed away bad?'. But she was a wonderful teacher in many many other ways and in the end I just let him absorb what she had to say alongside what I had to say and told him what I believe.

Original poster
cjsausie · 28/01/2008 14:22

think i will have to do more questioning and perhaps ask his class teacher who is lovely and i doubt would ever say anything like that (the teacher he said told him was the deputy head which is worrying if it was mentioned in assembly!?)
Thing is when i said the devil/hell etc is just a made up story and some people do believe it he got all upset saying it was real because Mrs ... said so
I don't want to push him the other way by trying to say that teachers say things that aren't alwasy right.. wasn't expecting to have such opinionated discussions until he was a bit older but i guess it shows he does think about things !

OP posts:
motherhurdicure · 28/01/2008 14:22

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Message withdrawn

GryffinGirl · 28/01/2008 14:47

cjsausie - that's surprising about your friends. That's not the C of S of my experience (like motherhuriecare, glasgow, fife and edinburgh). Again, not being defensive 'cause I am a complete non believer and would have a problem about what you describe, but it is waaaaay more benign than even the C of E IMO. Perhaps in very rural areas with a wee free influence there is some blurring ?

It could be that the school is fire and brimstone, which I wouldn't like, or more likely it is a "rogue" teacher peddling this stuff. Occasionally teachers will try to foist their views on kids. I had one teacher who was a rabid Scottish Nationalist and banged on about some uncomfortable stuff. My dad was not amused when aged 7 I was parrotting Mrs Mckenzie's words. He let it pass and exposed me to lots of ideas and I am now happily married to an Englishman

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