Schoolboys punished with detention for refusing to kneel in class and pray to Allah
[web]https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... Allah.html[/web]
Schoolboys punished with detention for refusing to kneel
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eefanincan
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I have absolutely no problem with other religions and their customs/rituals being taught and discussed but I don't think any students should be made to participate in any of those rituals. Discussing and learning is one thing, participating is another. Not so sure they'll be scarred for life, but if I was a parent, I think I would feel that this was crossing the boundries into parental responsibility.
If everything in the article is factually accurate then I do feel it was a bit over-the-top to demand that anyone take part in a practical religious demonstration that they don't want to take part in, but this is from the Daily Mail, so I highly doubt all is as reported.
I'm an atheist, so I wouldn't care about going through the motions of any religious practice - it would be as harmless as learning a new dance or something, but for someone who is highly religious (I doubt these kids were, but who knows) I can understand how they might object to being made to ape a different kind of worship. I mean, a Jewish or Muslim kid might be a little pissed off if he was asked to kneel down and recite the Lord's Prayer or take a fake communion.
Again, though: Daily Mail. Hardly going to be an accurate story.
I'm an atheist, so I wouldn't care about going through the motions of any religious practice - it would be as harmless as learning a new dance or something, but for someone who is highly religious (I doubt these kids were, but who knows) I can understand how they might object to being made to ape a different kind of worship. I mean, a Jewish or Muslim kid might be a little pissed off if he was asked to kneel down and recite the Lord's Prayer or take a fake communion.
Again, though: Daily Mail. Hardly going to be an accurate story.
Teaching about the religion is one thing but making them perform the practices is a bit much.
I taught world religions for five years. We covered so much to do with each one and it was great. But I would never have made the students take part in the religious demonstrations. That's uncalled for. I had guest speakers come in and show and demonstrate but to force a student to take part is just plain stupid.
They children won't be scarred for life, or even a week for that matter but the situation could have been avoided by following some simple common sense and ethics.
I taught world religions for five years. We covered so much to do with each one and it was great. But I would never have made the students take part in the religious demonstrations. That's uncalled for. I had guest speakers come in and show and demonstrate but to force a student to take part is just plain stupid.
They children won't be scarred for life, or even a week for that matter but the situation could have been avoided by following some simple common sense and ethics.
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eefanincan
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Well said, Sky --- you captured what I meant to say in my post, but much betterSkylace wrote:Teaching about the religion is one thing but making them perform the practices is a bit much.
I taught world religions for five years. We covered so much to do with each one and it was great. But I would never have made the students take part in the religious demonstrations. That's uncalled for. I had guest speakers come in and show and demonstrate but to force a student to take part is just plain stupid.
They children won't be scarred for life, or even a week for that matter but the situation could have been avoided by following some simple common sense and ethics.
Treating it entirely as an educational question, that makes no sense. You can't teach a child how to play an instrument by demonstration alone, or how to make a cake, or just about anything else, so why make a difference for religion?I had guest speakers come in and show and demonstrate but to force a student to take part is just plain stupid.
You aren't teaching them to worship, that's why. I'm teaching the practice of the religion not how to practice it.faceless wrote:Treating it entirely as an educational question, that makes no sense. You can't teach a child how to play an instrument by demonstration alone, or how to make a cake, or just about anything else, so why make a difference for religion?I had guest speakers come in and show and demonstrate but to force a student to take part is just plain stupid.
I taught about gladiators as well but I never took them in the ring.
There must be no compunction in religion, that's an important tenet of Islam. If the teacher concerned was a Moslem you can be certain the article would have mentioned it, but it's just a load of bollocks written with the sole intention of manipulating people's fears. It was a class and the child refused to take part - they should be punished or removed from the school if the parents are that bothered.shillax wrote:Can you imagine if a Muslim was forced to pray to Jesus? Or be forced to wear a skullcap? There'd be 'Death to the West" protests all over the land.
To make prayer valid in any religion you have to accept that faith, merely carrying out the actions is meaningless in itself, but a valid tool in understanding and accepting other faiths.
btw, Christians in the middle-east call their God 'Allah' too.
If you can't 'force' a kid to learn about other religions, then they should either completely remove R.E from the curriculum or just allow kids (parents it will be though) to pick and choose what they want to learn.
I went to a Catholic school and learned absolutely nothing about the Protestant faith - in a city with a huge religious divide. It was a shambles to call that education.
I went to a Catholic school and learned absolutely nothing about the Protestant faith - in a city with a huge religious divide. It was a shambles to call that education.