About two weeks ago, Dylan informed me that they say a prayer in school every day at Assembly. I was furious!
I was never opposed to all prayer in schools. A lot of us would say prayers together before drill team competitions, volleyball games, plays and the like. But I AM against the entire school coming together and praying.
It's not like I am against prayer. We have taught both our children to pray. I'm just worried that he's learning the "wrong" kind of prayers.
I was actually that parent who spoke to his teacher about it at parents' night--demanding to know all the details and asking why I wasn't informed they were doing it. After all, it's a State school, not a Church of England school. She actually offered to take him out of the room during the prayer if I felt it necessary.
Isn't that funny? We probably go to church more in one week than most of the people at his school go to in a year, and I'm the one who pitched a (mini) fit about prayers in Assembly...
Maybe I'm too American in this regard. I was raised to believe in a separation of Church and State, and anything other than that just seems wrong.
At any rate, I am not making Dylan leave Assembly for prayers. I am just informed now, so I can do religious damage control at home if needs be. I want him praying the way I teach him, not the way his school Head teaches him.
I can't wait to get Dylan in an American school. NOT because they are superior to English schools, mind you. Just because I am more familiar with what goes on over there than I am over here. It's all so, well, foreign!
4 comments:
I am really surprised that as a Christian you would have the school remove Christianity, which may be the only exposure to having faith that those children get.
Have you considered whether Martin and I would have been so open to receiving the gospel had these seeds of faith not been sown when we were young. I know Martin's mum is a Christian but my parents weren't and the lessons at school were what led me to going to Church and developing my own faith before I ever knew about Mormons!
Our three children all pray at school and they are taught to tolerate and respect other religions but they know how to pray correctly (in our opinion) because we teach them at home.
I think your worries are unfounded in this case.
Oh dear--my big mouth gets me into trouble again. Let me explain:
I don't have a problem with the kids praying in school-hence me NOT insisting that Dylan be removed from assembly before prayers and me NOT throwing a fit about it.
What I DO have a problem with is that I sent Dylan to a State school with absolutely no inclination that they would be praying there. Had I sent him to a C of E school, I would have expected it and been prepared for it. I would have discussed with my son the difference between the prayers at school and the prayers we say at home and at church. Instead, he had been attending school for a full month before I knew about it.
It bothers me that a State school can include prayer in the curriculum without even informing the parents about it. If I was, saw, Jewish or Muslim, I would be absolutely furious about it. As it is, I am extremely disturbed. What else are they teaching my child that I may or may not approve of?
As I said, I may be just too American in this regard. But still, fore-warned is fore-armed.
Dang it, I even remembered to say that American schools weren't superior to English schools, and I STILL got in trouble with a Brit!
Not in trouble Jamie, just a friendly assurance that this is perhaps not as big a deal as you are making it. You need to remember that this is not America and despite all the talk of multicultural societies we are a predominantly White British Christian society. That doesn't mean that we don't encourage others to share their faith with us, it just means that Christianity is our heritage and as especially as someone who celebrates Thanksgiving you need to respect that.
Please don't feel you have this need to say that you love England all the time, it sounds fake and that is not you.
You bum--I DO love England. It's beautiful, and my life is here. Just not my extended family. And I am very happy with the way Dylan is doing in the English school system. It's not inferior. It's just different and unfamiliar. And that's not fake--that's totally genuine.
So pffft to you :)
I love that you are so patriotic and passionate about England, by the way.
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