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Original poster

Primary school teacher imposing her opinions

137 replies

Chichi444 · 09/10/2025 09:47

My son age 9, came home yesterday and told me that during their free reading time in class his substitute teacher had instructed everyone to pick a book of their choice but it had to be a non fiction so my son and his friend picked the bible, but they were later told to go and select a different book as the bible in her opinion would be classified as fiction my son and his friend disputed this as we are Christian and so is my son’s friend.
The teacher reaction to their disagreement was “there’s no proof whatsoever that the bible is real” so they were forced to pick different books.

I am absolutely furious about this!
aren’t teacher meant to remain impartial on topics such as religion and politics?
and is there anything I can do as a parent for there to be consequences as I find this unacceptable.

thank you for reading!

OP posts:
MemorableTrenchcoat · 09/10/2025 19:28

Chichi444 · 09/10/2025 13:23

The fact that some people think I’m making this up is so bizarre…
anyways my intent wasn’t to debate other mums here on their views and opinions on this actual factuality of the bible.

just to mention also his usual teacher doesn’t have an issue with the children picking the bible as a non fiction as this is something my son would do once in a while.

And no my son is not thick someone mentioned this something very wrong for another mum to say something like this about a child , how weird…

i was more wanting to get advice on what to do next and measures that can be taken from the head as I know this brakes the impartiality rule.

Also is a Church of England school and aren’t we in a Christian nation.
I feel like there’s more and more extreme leftist coming into the education system is very troubling.

Communists? Extreme leftists? You sound like a right wing loon.

Burntt · 09/10/2025 19:36

Op there is a lot of hate towards Christians on here. Try not to rise to it. Turn the other cheek and all that.

I would not make it a formal complaint but I’d be raising with the head what was said because it was wrong to slate a child’s religion like that. I do see the point people are making about the type of book a non fiction book tends to be so if that was her point she should have approached it that way not insulted a religion which as a teacher she should not be doing.

LavenderBlue19 · 09/10/2025 19:54

MemorableTrenchcoat · 09/10/2025 19:28

Communists? Extreme leftists? You sound like a right wing loon.

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An American right-wing loon... never heard anyone outside the US mention communists as an insult, it's a peculiarly American obsession.

NorthenAdventure · 09/10/2025 20:04

InMyShowgirlEra · 09/10/2025 11:25

The Bible cannot be described as a non-fiction book and does not have any of the features of non-fiction books.

She was absolutely correct that there is no proof the Bible is real. I'm sure you would be equally annoyed if she handed out copies of the Quran and stated it was factual.

Your son was being facetious by picking out the Bible when instructed to read a non-fiction book.

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I agree. Whether or not you believe in God/Jesus, surely you can see that the Bible is not a non-fiction book? It's stories.

Ad a compatison, there's a lot of historical fiction stories that are based on real events/people, but we still don't classify them as non-fiction.

I think the teacher was spot on.

She didn't say it's not true. She said it couldn't be proved. This is factually true of all religious texts.
Excellent point.

Colinfromaccounts · 09/10/2025 20:05

Even as a non-believer, the bible is classified as non-fiction as an ancient religious text.

that said, she probably wanted him to choose a more recent non-fiction book for specific reasons of identifying and analysing features of non-fiction writing, and the bible is written as a book of stories, so is not suitable for that purpose, which is probably what she means. You seem extremely eager to make a political point out of this.

NorthenAdventure · 09/10/2025 20:05

Burntt · 09/10/2025 19:36

Op there is a lot of hate towards Christians on here. Try not to rise to it. Turn the other cheek and all that.

I would not make it a formal complaint but I’d be raising with the head what was said because it was wrong to slate a child’s religion like that. I do see the point people are making about the type of book a non fiction book tends to be so if that was her point she should have approached it that way not insulted a religion which as a teacher she should not be doing.

Did she insult a religion?? How? All I can see is that she noted that there is no 'proof' of the Bible stories being real... which is correct. She didn't say it definitely isn't and she didn't insult anything as far as I can tell. She educated them on classifying fiction from non-fiction texts!

NorthenAdventure · 09/10/2025 20:07

ArtTheClownIsNotAMime · 09/10/2025 13:19

Easy to see where your son gets it from.

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Ha, yep!

NorthenAdventure · 09/10/2025 20:08

Arlanymor · 09/10/2025 12:33

How incredibly rude of you - you don't know the faith (or non faith) of anyone on this thread. If you don't know what constitutes non fiction then that's one thing, but to just insult people for pointing that fact out to you is quite another. Oh but I guess you put emojis at the end so you were 'just joking' and not intending to cause offence...

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Agreed.

NorthenAdventure · 09/10/2025 20:11

ShadyPinesMa · 09/10/2025 15:40

Bloody hell @InMyShowgirlEra why are you giving me all that? 😂 why ok earth would you think I'd need or want to read that, what a waste of your time.

The issue isn’t in that the teacher wanted them to pick something different to read or even whether or not the teacher was correct that the bible is proven. It was the way she went about it. The unnecessary and inappropriate way she decided to attempt to discredit a child’s personal beliefs. It was pointless.

As a teacher she should be more than capable of expressing herself in a way that doesn’t cause upset or offence to somebody’s faith. It’s not unreasonable to expect a basic level of tact from an adult who has decided to go into teaching.
I know tact and tolerance is a difficult concept for lots on here, but as a teacher she needs to learn an appropriate way of dealing with children wrt certain subjects.

I know tact and tolerance is a difficult concept for lots on here

Love the irony of you saying this (and presumably being sincere) 😂 Mumsnet is golden sometimes.

It was the way she went about it. The unnecessary and inappropriate way she decided to attempt to discredit a child’s personal beliefs.

Definitely failing to see how she 'decided to discredit a child's personal beliefs' by stating a fact. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Wishing14 · 09/10/2025 20:19

Of course the bible is non-fiction!!! It’s a selection of historical texts.

Wishing14 · 09/10/2025 20:21

@NorthenAdventureyou realise the bible documents many historical facts, such as the existence of Jesus? (That is separate to whether you believe he is the son of God or not)

NormasArse · 09/10/2025 20:31

Chichi444 · 09/10/2025 12:16

mmmm ok I didnt realise I might have entered the Atheist communist mamas thread😅😂

Don’t be silly.

In school, they are required to pick out certain features of a non fiction book. Headings, sub headings, photos, diagrams and text.

What do you think your son’s agenda was, as this will have been explained, and he must’ve known the Bible wouldn’t be suitable for that exercise?

NorthenAdventure · 09/10/2025 20:40

Wishing14 · 09/10/2025 20:21

@NorthenAdventureyou realise the bible documents many historical facts, such as the existence of Jesus? (That is separate to whether you believe he is the son of God or not)

Erm... so do Kristin Hannah's wonderful books (document many historical facts). I learned a lot from them.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas refers to Hitler.

Shakespeare's Henry V documents the existence of... Henry V.

That doesn't make these books non-fiction texts.

Good grief 🤦🏼‍♀️

StrawberryFreckles · 09/10/2025 20:42

Wishing14 · 09/10/2025 20:21

@NorthenAdventureyou realise the bible documents many historical facts, such as the existence of Jesus? (That is separate to whether you believe he is the son of God or not)

There’s hardly a book out there that doesn’t contain historical facts.

TartanMammy · 09/10/2025 21:18

The teacher wasn't wrong.

Original poster
Chichi444 · 09/10/2025 21:23

NorthenAdventure · 09/10/2025 20:08

Agreed.

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I honestly didn’t think saying someone is an atheist or communist was an insult…

OP posts:
MemorableTrenchcoat · 09/10/2025 21:33

Chichi444 · 09/10/2025 21:23

I honestly didn’t think saying someone is an atheist or communist was an insult…

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Sure. And “extreme leftism”?

Holdonforsummer · 09/10/2025 21:36

No, but saying more left-wing people coming into education is worrying is an insult. Are you in the UK? Left wing generally means open-minded and compassionate towards others (or it did before Farage and Trump started using the term as an insult). I am an atheist and am constantly baffled as to how and why so many religious people are so right wing. Surely left-wing values align far more with religious beliefs? Or maybe we are simply too kind and compassionate for your version of religion. And educated so we don’t believe in the Creation story.

Snorlaxo · 09/10/2025 21:37

Wishing14 · 09/10/2025 20:21

@NorthenAdventureyou realise the bible documents many historical facts, such as the existence of Jesus? (That is separate to whether you believe he is the son of God or not)

Dr Who meets real famous historical figures on his adventures but that doesn’t make him or these meetings real.

The Bible is a set of stories told orally and corrupted over time by the Christian Church in order to maintain control over people. Just because the odd fact is provable, doesn’t make it fact.

AgnesMcDoo · 09/10/2025 21:38

The primary teacher should not be making those assertions.

check the other side of the story and then raise it with school

MumoftwoNC · 09/10/2025 21:41

I'm late to the thread but I think the issue is using the terms fiction and non fiction.
A better contrast is stories (whether true or fictional) vs information.

On my dd's shelf is a story books section and an information section.

She has "the life of Marie curie" (its for children) and it is in the story book section because it is the story of her life.

I'm a Christian BTW. Our illustrated children's bible is very much in the story section on our shelf.

The information section includes "how vehicles work", "Frogs"

Your son's teacher clearly wanted him to choose an information book, like about frogs or how vehicles work.

And I think Jesus would approve of my categorisation because he loved telling stories, including to children

MumoftwoNC · 09/10/2025 21:44

A story is a tale with a beginning, middle, and end. With ups and downs, suspense, etc.

A biography is very much a (true) story.

A book about trains or frogs is not a story.

The Bible is a book of stories including a biography of a famous man.

Fiction/non fiction is not a useful delineation for children's books. Story vs information is more useful

Wishing14 · 09/10/2025 21:51

The teacher was incorrect to say what she did. It also can’t be ‘proven’ to be false and given the two options it would be classed as non-fiction. She could have quite easily asked for them to pick a different book in a more sensitive way, eg stating it is a religious text and why that wasn’t appropriate for the task at hand. The children are 9 and it was insensitive.

ScrollingLeaves · 09/10/2025 21:53

InMyShowgirlEra · 09/10/2025 11:25

The Bible cannot be described as a non-fiction book and does not have any of the features of non-fiction books.

She was absolutely correct that there is no proof the Bible is real. I'm sure you would be equally annoyed if she handed out copies of the Quran and stated it was factual.

Your son was being facetious by picking out the Bible when instructed to read a non-fiction book.

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She had no right to interfere with a 9 year old’s religious beliefs. It is crude and tactless of her.

She could have simply shown the sort of book they meant: such as ‘Sea Creatures’ ‘ Dinosaurs’ etc without ever saying the Bible is not ‘factual’. That is very reductive and over simplistic anyway for such an enormous book written/told by so many.

Original poster
Chichi444 · 09/10/2025 21:54

MemorableTrenchcoat · 09/10/2025 21:33

Sure. And “extreme leftism”?

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Well I mentioned this as ideologically speaking is those on the far left who usually discredit faith religion and propagate atheistic beliefs so that’s what I meant as is not ideal in a church a school as faith is at the core of the school ethos

OP posts: