Easter at school

that's unusual in CofE. sometimes happens in RC schools.
i guess it's up to her parents to complain.
what does the child feel about it.

Once, as head teacher, I invited a minister from a nearby church to come to our Infant school around Easter time to tell the children about the Christian festival. We were a community, not a faith school. I had to step in and stop his talk when he produced 6"nails! He had been briefed about age of children & the outline of what we felt was important for children to know: new life, hope etc. .It did not include details of how crucifixion is carried out!

The Cruxifiction was gruesome. It is hard to sanitise it. It is central to the Christian faith.

........... but needs to be presented in an age appropriate way - or not at all in a state school.

There is no need for this level of detail. Children can be told that the gist of the fact that the bible story relates a murder, but not this grim detailed account.

Would children of this age be told every gruesome detail of the deaths of children in Ukraine; or of US prisoners in the electric chair; or of bloody details of a car accident? - no. And quite rightly.

Religion needs to conform to a level for decency and child protection.

Why would we expect children to hear this gruesome stuff, then go on to do maths or PE or play in the playground? It is so very wrong.

Age appropriate is exactly right! Same with anything taught in school..it needs to be well matched to the children's/ students' stage of development.

I recall being aware of the reality of the crucifixion from an early age. If you are a Christian you don’t try to sanitise it.

I went to a Catholic school so this was the norm when I was 5 or 6 My children went to what my FIL called a non denominational school ...the local school they saw these images too and had visits from the local minister once a week.
My son used to carry the wee angel off our Christmas tree in his pocket ,when his teacher in primary one discovered itIwas told not to let him take it to school as they "didn't believe in that stuff" Work that out ! They only went to the Protestant school to keep FIL happy in the first place but it was selective about which parts of the "christian" story it told.
The crucifixion was fine but no happy wee angels ....religion...eh ..you couldn't make it up Or is it that heaven and hell thing to keep them in their place?

A child's age appropriate version of Xianity was pretty well invented by Jesus in the teaching form of parables.

There is no need for young children to learn about the significance of JC's suffering and death. Most adults are puzzled by the Resurrection except when they are dead superstitious.

Religion should play no part in a state-funded education. If parents want their children to have a religious education, they should be prepared to pay for it.

When I was teaching Early Years children (Reception class) we told the story of the crucifixion, but without gory details. It was age appropriate. When I taught the Nursery class we discussed new life, flowers, baby birds etc but didn’t discuss the crucifixion at all. It was a non denominational state school.

blondiescot I disagree. I think children & young people do need to know about religions, philosophies and ideologies that underpin cultural heritage across the world and the values and attitudes of today. They do not need to be involved in worship or to be directed towards one set of beliefs or grow up thinking their family's faith is " better" than somebody else's. Learn the similarities & differences, understand where / how religions incorporated existing cultures etc. General knowledge, cultural & social history..how can we learn from the past if we don't take the effort to study it?

It was a gruesome act and it was done to an innocent person,without sin,on our behalf. I think it is good that they don’t pull punches and sanitize what was done for all of us.

PECS

blondiescot I disagree. I think children & young people do need to know about religions, philosophies and ideologies that underpin cultural heritage across the world and the values and attitudes of today. They do not need to be involved in worship or to be directed towards one set of beliefs or grow up thinking their family's faith is " better" than somebody else's. Learn the similarities & differences, understand where / how religions incorporated existing cultures etc. General knowledge, cultural & social history..how can we learn from the past if we don't take the effort to study it?

Yes, I should have made it clear that I don't have a problem with it being taught in that context. What I do have a problem with is schools linked to a particular faith (and I include all 'faiths' in that) or worship being held as part of a school day.

Our GS, 9, who’s here this weekend had this yesterday in school, just asked him, he’s not fazed, nor were my children, nor was I.
‘History’ is barbaric and bloody in many instances, we see it now as it’s being made in the Ukraine, sadly little seems to learnt from it.

I would imagine any child attending a catholic church would be familiar with the gruesome images of the crucifixion simply by seeing the statues and paintings displayed there.

I believe it is still part of the education curriculum that an act of collective worship is held every day.

No small child should be told the details either of the Crucifixion or of the war in Ukraine.

Although how we can manage to keep the news from them these days is beyond me.

I am a practising Catholic, but have never given children all the gory details of the Crucifixition or any saint's martyrdom.

Older children can better understand that horrible things have been done in the course of history to those accused or convicted of crimes, in warfare, or by members of one or other of the world's religions. They should also be taught that the fact that these things were done, does not make them right, or less than horrible.

Forgive me for pointing out that the Resurrection is the point of the story, both Christ's and ours after death due to our faith in him. This is not hard for anyone, least of all a child to comprehend, unless you find it impossible to believe in the possibility or the hope of some form of life after our bodily death.

But none of this prevents me from believing that state run schools should not be affiliated to any organised form of religion, and that no-one should only have the option of sending their child to a school connected to a church, C. of E., or any other which they are not either members of themselves, or content to allow their child to attend.

It's cruel, sadistic, and unworthy of priests or parents to present to young children facts about a man being tortured to death.

Fortunately teachers know better than to do any such thing!

The Crucifixion is not central to Christianity: the Resurrection is central to Christianity.

No wonder people are leaving churches and all religious worship! Christianity is so badly taught by priests.

The resurrection cannot be separated from the death by crucifixion.

Having a catholic education, I grew up with the crucifixion and Jesus Christ on the cross, I just accepted it.

However I cannot ever remember any teacher or minister ever wallowing in the gore of the event. or of going OTT about the nastiness of the whole episode. The story of Easter we were taught was that Christ loved us so much he was prepared to die for our sins, without dwelling too much upon the details.

Like most children I accepted all kinds of events in my childhood, as normal and run of the mill, from constantly moving around and changing schools, to long periods in hospital without being able to see my parents as part and parcel of life.

Blondiescot I totally agree with you.

Blondiescot I agree, sorry I misunderstood your post. would do away with any faith school. If parents want their children to be involved in a faith then they need to arrange it themselves. The law does say schools should have a daily act of collective worship mainly Christian in character. It is hard to have ' collective ' worship if those participating are not of similar faith! To believers worship is special and generic school assembly makes a mock of that!

Caleo

The Crucifixion is not central to Christianity: the Resurrection is central to Christianity.

No wonder people are leaving churches and all religious worship! Christianity is so badly taught by priests.

But you can't have one without the other.

Although how we can manage to keep the news from them these days is beyond me

Grandtante it just isn't possible. The news about Ukraine was on Newsround and as soon as children can read they can access news and information.

Now most of them have mobiles; before we had TV news I was reading the newspapers age 8.