Politicising our children.

Joseann

^You apparently would ignore the children^.
That is a laughable and unfair comment Glorianny in view of what I said.

Joseann you said
So, in short, if it were me, I would avoid discussion of the topic in a Year 4 or 6 class setting
Which means that if the child who had been influenced in some way and had successfully influenced her classmates was proposing to bring the whole class out on strike you wouldn't talk to them about it. Isn't that ignoring it?
Or are you saying you would have the time to bring 30+ children in to discuss the matter individually?
Even half the class would be a problem because there could well be disagreements in the class over the matter.
Saying you would never do something is rather a drastic statement for a teacher to make in my opinion, circumstances change and ideas need to be adjusted.

Joseann

^You apparently would ignore the children^.
That is a laughable and unfair comment Glorianny in view of what I said.

It's rude but typical of Glorianny who twists other posters' words to suit her own agenda.

Yes, Silverlining, many children do take these things in and then want to do something positive to try to make a difference. I remember my young children, together with their friends, regularly doing something similar. Their choice - no indoctrination involved.

I think I'd prefer to stick to the clear Gov.UK guidelines at KS2 which state that it is important for schools to use their reasonable judgement as to whether teaching about certain political issues would be age-appropriate or advisable. At 9 years old, I judge class discussions, other than a mention of minimal facts, on the Israel/Palestine conflict to be unadvisable, and calls for strikes or flag waving to be out of order.

Delila

Yes, Silverlining, many children do take these things in and then want to do something positive to try to make a difference. I remember my young children, together with their friends, regularly doing something similar. Their choice - no indoctrination involved.

Yes, and a different issue altogether.

Glorianny, I have just checked the wording of the guidelines at Junior level, and the message is very clear, stating that it may be advisable to avoid ........... when teaching about political issues. This does not equate with your ^ignore the children".

Joseann

I think I'd prefer to stick to the clear Gov.UK guidelines at KS2 which state that it is important for schools to use their reasonable judgement as to whether teaching about certain political issues would be age-appropriate or advisable. At 9 years old, I judge class discussions, other than a mention of minimal facts, on the Israel/Palestine conflict to be unadvisable, and calls for strikes or flag waving to be out of order.

So quite what would you do if there was a group of children calling for a strike and telling their classmates?. I really don't understand. Your view seems to be that it wouldn't happen or you can tackle it by talking to individuals. I've said what I would do individually and I'd take the same approach to a whole class intervention. Not talking about Palestine but discussing actions and what is effective. Quite a lot of 9 year olds know about demonstrations some have even been on them.

Joseann

*Glorianny*, I have just checked the wording of the guidelines at Junior level, and the message is very clear, stating that it may be advisable to avoid ........... when teaching about political issues. This does not equate with your ^ignore the children".

The words are "it may be advisable" if you have a group of children discussing or arguing about things it very much is advisable. Sometimes difficult subjects have to be tackled.
You said you wouldn't have a class discussion. I have asked what would you do?

Callistemon21

Joseann

You apparently would ignore the children.
That is a laughable and unfair comment Glorianny in view of what I said.

It's rude but typical of Glorianny who twists other posters' words to suit her own agenda.

Would you like to withdraw that or further explain to me what these words mean
So, in short, if it were me, I would avoid discussion of the topic in a Year 4 or 6 class setting

My grandchildren used to read The Week Junior, which explained the news in terms children 8 - 14 could understand. I don’t know if it still exists.

the idea that children will know nothing about a big news topic if they have no devices/newspapers seems naive to me.

Grandma70s

My grandchildren used to read The Week Junior, which explained the news in terms children 8 - 14 could understand. I don’t know if it still exists.

I remember that Grandma70s, yes, I think it's still going

My grandchildren had that too Grandma70s

nanna8

Schools should never politicise things. Their job is to present a balanced view and teach students how to read critically and with an open mind. I was not happy recently on hearing that my grandchildren had been told to support a certain side in a recent referendum. Not the school’s business. I think things have deteriorated a lot since the time I was at school in this regard.

That’s it, a balanced view if they have to say anything at all.
Schools can’t and shouldn’t go into the rights and wrongs happening all over the globe.
They need to focus on education.Some parents are very demanding and entitled in their religious and political ranting.
They should be told firmly NO.

The Children’s Times was a weekly newspaper and my lavender bag dd aged about 10 sent in an article which was printed in the paper and she was sent a very nice Parker pen as a prize.
She was an activist at a very young age, and remains one still, absolutely nothing to do with us.

The world is black and white to them. They’re not just innocent, they’re also ignorant and easily indoctrinated because they don’t see shades of grey. That knowledge comes with maturity.

I wish that was true Urms!

Children pick up knowledge from all sorts of places and sometimes without any input from their parents. I had a year 2 girl who, when asked to paint herself doing something she thought she would do as an adult. painted herself leaving a nightclub.
Her parents were quiet people who had no idea where she had learned about such things. She was a bit of a handful.

What about the children in Gaza? Are they old enough to know what’s happening?

The children of Gaza are not the subject here and would merit a completely different thread.

welbeck

the idea that children will know nothing about a big news topic if they have no devices/newspapers seems naive to me.

I’m in New Zealand at the moment and my grandchildren here have absolutely no knowledge of what’s going on in Israel. So not naive, simply true. And I’m thankful for that too.

AmberSpyglass

What about the children in Gaza? Are they old enough to know what’s happening?

The same way as children here “knew what was happening” in WWII.
Their view will be coloured by what’s happening to them. I very much doubt if those who are suffering are giving any coherent or unbiased view of the reason the other side are attacking them.
And as has been said, they are not the subject here.

Mollygo

AmberSpyglass

What about the children in Gaza? Are they old enough to know what’s happening?

The same way as children here “knew what was happening” in WWII.
Their view will be coloured by what’s happening to them. I very much doubt if those who are suffering are giving any coherent or unbiased view of the reason the other side are attacking them.
And as has been said, they are not the subject here.

DH has memories of WW2 which are those of a child with a child's perspective.

Joseann When I said 9 year olds could certainly know about rape (even if they were not quite sure what it meant) and the dismembering of babies.

I was not referring to anything to do with schools or education. I was talking about what will be in the general knowledge of some/many 9 year olds. I was 9 in 1953 and living in Hong Kong, when the victims ofthe worst excesses of Mao Tse Tungs's China came over the border from mainland China daily and what the stories of the sufferings and torture they ahd undergone was the regular reporting in the papers. I knew all the terrible things going on.

At 10 we had moved to Singapore where the papers were serialising stories of the Japanese POWs, men, women and children.

Nothing to do with school or teaching, just part of my general knowledge gleaned from other sources.

Quite apart from what is taught in schools, surely children are sitting at home when parents are watching the news. It's natural for them to ask questions, and it's up to their parents to give answers.
I think the home environment has more impact on children than school, so it's important for parents to be very careful what they say on all issues, not just the political.