Sounds a bit like brainwashing to me!
I do like the thought of normal schools where all kids get to mix with other races and religions and learning about all different things and being a bit more open to the world. Surely if you stick all the Muslim kids in one school, all of the Catholics in another, all of the Jews in the other they will leave school with their own friends who are all the same and never really go outside of "what they know".
Yep. Exactly my thoughts.
Surely we need more integration and less segregation don't we?
Sounds a bit like brainwashing to me!
I do like the thought of normal schools where all kids get to mix with other races and religions and learning about all different things and being a bit more open to the world. Surely if you stick all the Muslim kids in one school, all of the Catholics in another, all of the Jews in the other they will leave school with their own friends who are all the same and never really go outside of "what they know".
Faith schools shouldn't be banned......but they certainly should NOT be funded by the state.
If a bunch of religious loons from any persuasion want to indoctrinate their offspring with poisonous bullshit, got for it, but pay for it yourselves...... don't expect the taxpayer to pay for this mind pollution.
All state schools in the UK should be secular.
This would also help to reduce bias in academic achievement as the sharp-elbowed middle classes wouldn't have to go through the charade of pretending to worship some bearded-god-bollocks just to get their kiddies into a "better" school.
Erm... I can see the point here, but we've go to watch that we don't get all Daily Mail about it.
The vast majority of faith schools don't go for this sort of stupidity - there's about a million kids in CofE schools, and an awful lot in other faith schools that won't be learning that creationism is reality or that believers in other Gods (or no God) are inherently wrong or evil. Most of my in-laws went to Catholic schools, and they don't seem have turned out to be bomb-throwing zealots, or door-knocking God botherers. My lack of faith (at least in an organised sense, despite going to mostly CofE schools) doesn't seem to bother them, and my kids (who also go to a Catholic school) get the benefit of my cyncism too.
I'd have no great issue with the state stepping in and taking over church schools if they thought they could do a better job. However, that might mean spending a bit more money on education - stuff like rebuilding crumbling schools. and maybe developing some greater respect for what teachers have to do and what they should be paid. I'm guessing everyone here is right behind that too, no?
Finally, don't make the mistake from watching one TV programme that Judaism is in some way anti-science. That's simply not true. For evidence, google "Jewish Scientists" and see what pops up.
I opt my children out of all religious worship and it's related activities at school, this includes R.E lessons any form of assembly or gathering that may contain it, any visits by people with a religious affiliation to the school and any trips to places of the like.
I do this because i can, under the School Standards and Framework act 1998.
Good for you.
When I went to school we just used to say the Lord's Prayer every morning in assembly and that was it. Never even another sniff of religion throughout the day. Today I can't get my head round this you must do this, you must pray like this, pray this many times every day, fast like this, wear this, not wear that, do this, don't do that etc.
Can't believe this is the 21st century sometimes. Some thinking is just so backwards at a time we desperately need to think forwards.
All these religious scripts were written for men by men. It is so obvious. What God would want women to cover themselves up and hide their faces so that only their man can see them as God intended? No god is the answer.
There's a girl in my daughter's class who must keep her legs covered at all times. She also never goes on school trips or outings etc. she always misses out on any fun.
I will always respect other relgions, but when there are daft and ridiculous laws and beliefs that are enforced I feel it only right to speak up.
I tried the 'respecting everyone's belief' thing, but as an atheist, apparently i do not deserve the same.
Yep. From now on you will be known as Mr. Infidel.
That Otis, is my point exactly. The RE in schools is not about the history of faith it's about the fear driven, importance of respecting selected faith groups, today.Now we are a multi cultural society I think it would be right and proper for schools to cover religious history, but not teach religion.
I think that should be something done in the home.
Learning about religions isn't quite the same as being indoctrinated to follow them. That is the difference between being taught RE and being forced to go to a faith school. From what I remember you do get taught about things like ethics and morality and these things are worth learning about regardless of creed.
I hate ALL religion! Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Christianity & Catholics, and any other that believes there is some sort of "spook in the sky" taking care of them! Fuck me! Look at the world! It was formed MILLIONS of years ago. Man progressed from sub-human form to cave man and then developed over the next 6 - 7 million years. It has been proved with carbon dating on fossils that dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago after being around for 165 million years. It's natural history! No "god" did this! Charles Darwin was my hero!
I was dragged up in a convent as a 5 year old until I was 11. I attended catholic schools all my childhood until I was 15. I hated every minute of them! Frustrated nuns and queer kiddy fiddling fucking priests! So, yes. I agree that so-called "faith schools" should be banned! And so should all religion!
I'd class Darwin as a great man too, but with respect I think you're misrepresenting his views if you think they align with yours. From what I understand he was a man of faith who became an agnostic rather than an atheist (a more scientific approach, I'd argue). He certainly didn't rail against religion or call for it to be banned, though he didn't much care for the 'fundamentalist' Christian idea of "believe or be damned" either.
Personally, I think that people should be allowed to believe what they like, including believing in nothing at all. That's as long as those beliefs don't break the law or intrude on others' peoples basic rights too (which would I would say should include the right to a proper education, including conventional science and sexual health, for boys and girls). All just mho, as ever.
Good post, Duffer.
Thanks Otis. I accept entirely your general point by the way - we shouldn't tolerate schools set up that refuse to teach science, using your example. All politics aside, this concept of free schools and academies which can now sit outside a national curriculum seems odd (and frankly backwards) to me, particularly in that regard.
(Again, just my opinion, appreciate others differ.)
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