So relieved! Secular school
Jan 28, 2015 16:54:44 GMT -5
Post by mommyatty on Jan 28, 2015 16:54:44 GMT -5
So, we live in Texas. Land of creationism in textbooks, teachers who riot if they can't make my kids pray or attempt to "save" them from the bogey monster named Satan, and coaches who think God will help them win football games. Public school is not an option for us. Most private schools here are religious- Catholic or very conservative "we put our kids in this school so that under no circumstances do they hear any opinion that deviates from ours" Christian schools. There is one independent, non-religiously affiliated school near us.
This Sunday, we went to the Open House at the school. On the way, we had the "oh shit, what do we do if we hate it" discussion. So we sat through the talks by students, the choir singing a traditional Maori welcome song, the headmaster's speech. All good. We see the preschool buildings. Fantastic curriculum, teachers are engaged and speak really passionately about their jobs.
Then a grandparent touring with parents and a child who is still over a year out from going pipes up. The teacher has a very small wall hanging that we hadn't looked at. It had a very generic Bible verse, and the teacher was a little flustered the grandmother was asking about it. So the teacher said, "I am a Christian, and that is mine, but we are not a Christian institution." (DH and I breathe a sigh of relief.) So Granny pipes up again, "Well I like it. Do you do anything else like that? Pray before lunch? Teach Bible verses?" I'm thinking, with a little irony, "Jesus Christ, lady, didn't you hear her?" The teacher very calmly says, "No, we do not indoctrinate children into any faith. Children from a wide variety of backgrounds attend this school, and our mission here is to make a safe space for children and families of all those various backgrounds. In December, though, we do talk about any number of belief systems and where different traditions come from in an age-appropriate manner."
Needless to say, we will be signed up for the fall. And thankful that Granny's little angel is a year behind our daughter and a year ahead of our son. And hopeful that Granny finds a school closer to their beliefs if she can't keep her yap shut.
This Sunday, we went to the Open House at the school. On the way, we had the "oh shit, what do we do if we hate it" discussion. So we sat through the talks by students, the choir singing a traditional Maori welcome song, the headmaster's speech. All good. We see the preschool buildings. Fantastic curriculum, teachers are engaged and speak really passionately about their jobs.
Then a grandparent touring with parents and a child who is still over a year out from going pipes up. The teacher has a very small wall hanging that we hadn't looked at. It had a very generic Bible verse, and the teacher was a little flustered the grandmother was asking about it. So the teacher said, "I am a Christian, and that is mine, but we are not a Christian institution." (DH and I breathe a sigh of relief.) So Granny pipes up again, "Well I like it. Do you do anything else like that? Pray before lunch? Teach Bible verses?" I'm thinking, with a little irony, "Jesus Christ, lady, didn't you hear her?" The teacher very calmly says, "No, we do not indoctrinate children into any faith. Children from a wide variety of backgrounds attend this school, and our mission here is to make a safe space for children and families of all those various backgrounds. In December, though, we do talk about any number of belief systems and where different traditions come from in an age-appropriate manner."
Needless to say, we will be signed up for the fall. And thankful that Granny's little angel is a year behind our daughter and a year ahead of our son. And hopeful that Granny finds a school closer to their beliefs if she can't keep her yap shut.
