Politicising our children.

Germanshepherdsmum

Soozikinzi

I don't think it's at school GSM I think it's at home .

I understand the mother expected such teaching. Lord knows how the child is being indoctrinated at home.

Exactly!
I think it’s borderline abuse.
Someone on the FB page wants to fundraise to offer every child in the primary school a Palestinian flag.
It’s breathtaking .

I don’t think that’s the norm Sago, in fact I don’t think it ever was for 9 year olds. By that age in the sixties I was watching the news, and reading the daily newspaper myself, we talked about things at school, and had opinions on what was happening in the world. Children now have access to so much more information, they can access subjects they are interested in, it’s not a tide that can be held back.

Soozikinzi

I don't think it's at school GSM I think it's at home .

I understand the mother expected such teaching. Lord knows how the child is being indoctrinated at home.

Dinahmo

Children are very knowledgeable these days. Surely it is better that they are aware of world events rather be worried about stuff on social media, such as not looking like Taylor Swift etc - or much worse - coming across pornography. the latter are reasons for anorexia or anxiety, rather than world events.

These are 9 year olds, our 9 year old GD , doesn’t go on social media or watch the news, she is far too busy playing games, drawing, crafting, watching TV and reading age appropriate books.

Children are very knowledgeable these days. Surely it is better that they are aware of world events rather be worried about stuff on social media, such as not looking like Taylor Swift etc - or much worse - coming across pornography. the latter are reasons for anorexia or anxiety, rather than world events.

Children do have a very strong moral code and it doesn't always match what the adults in their lives think, or approve of how they behave. I remember when I was teaching several children whose parents were smokers developing very fixed ideas about how awful smoking was. They picked up ideas from the news, what they read and what they heard. They were sometimes quite judgemental and in discussion would advocate quite severe rules about smoking and penalties for those who broke those rules. I doubt if the parents would have agreed. They often had very black and white opinions with little room for grey areas.
No doubt children can be (and have been) indoctrinated but only sometimes does that come from the parents. They also absorb information from the world around them. The news about Palestine and the numbers of programmes about climate change will probably be more influential.

Children have often got a very strong moral code which is why they are easily persuaded about issues/religion. Adults need to tread responsibly.

And then parents worry why their young teenagers have anxiety issues or anorexia.

If children see/hear the news there will be some who ask questions and even when a parent is very careful and nuanced in response at 9 they will be forming opinions. You cannot shut them away in a box.

My 11 year old grandson is very exercised about all sorts of things in the news and another wants to know all about the rights and wrongs of museums keeping (maybe stolen) artifact from other cultures.

Children are as varied as adults. One of my other grandchildren has clearly no interest in the "wider world" but does hate to see injustice in school or amongst his friends etc.

I don't think it's always driven by school or parents to be honest.

One of mine at about age 5 or 6 realised there was a crisis going on (can't even remember where) and she heard a lorry was taking relief - she was determined to send food and eventually we supported her in her need to be a "collection point" for items going to the lorry. It was a small village but we sent 3 car loads of essentials to whoever it was. I don't know where she heard about this but it might have been brownies...

Children have often got a very strong moral code.

In Sago's example, the school is being criticised for not teaching the children about the Palestinian cause.
Schools have to be very, very careful on such issues. I was approached by parents during the war in Afghanistan to keep any mention to a minimum, rightly so as we had a lot of children whose fathers were in the military. However, others wanted to protest with leaflets in the playground, so the whole thing had to be dealt with with sensitivity and fairness. I wouldn't want to have to face this issue these days. I think any teacher should err on the side of safety.

I don't think it's at school GSM I think it's at home .

Urmstongran

Let children be children for a while. Why worry little minds? Let them play and laugh. I was concerned yesterday Sago to hear the Children’s ‘word of the year’ (well 2 if we are being pedantic) was ‘climate change’. The second was ‘war’.

Totally agree, it’s too much, particularly after Covid.

Children of 9 being taught at school about the Palestinian cause? Good grief.

Let children be children for a while. Why worry little minds? Let them play and laugh. I was concerned yesterday Sago to hear the Children’s ‘word of the year’ (well 2 if we are being pedantic) was ‘climate change’. The second was ‘war’.