R.E.
Children learn through education. They learn to make choices through the information fed to them in their formative years. State schools by and large don't force the R.E. down children's throats - it's the one aspect teachers can duck out of on moral grounds if they wish. Church of England Schools have a more Godly agenda. Catholic schools spend too much time on religion and not enough time on teaching.

As A Head, I believe it should be taught, but not proselytized (look it up - I had to!!) so that children have enough knowledge to make their own minds up later in life.

You can't make a decision based on ignorance, neither can it be made on fanaticism. There has to be balance.

Length? 32 years so far.
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Sun 22 Mar 2009, 8:20, 7 replies)

I agree . . .
with the addition that education at home will also allow children to make up their minds. Force-feeding anything makes the individual avoid the subject later on - watering things down and making religion out to be "cool" is just as bad - children aren't stupid; but they need some guidance when it comes to deciding about religion. Give them facts and perspective and let them decide . . .
( Mrs Legless . . . belongs to, well, you know . . . :), Sun 22 Mar 2009, 8:55, closed)

Teacher's Choice
Sadly, I get upset with teachers that bottle out of this particular aspect of their job. It's what they're paid for, after all.
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Sun 22 Mar 2009, 20:50, closed)

Extra points
for positing a continuum with ignorance at one end and fantacism at the other.
(apeloverage committed the vile act of onanism on, Sun 22 Mar 2009, 10:34, closed)

Zaphod Beeblebrox
Why thank you, but, hey, I'm just this guy, you know!!
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Sun 22 Mar 2009, 20:48, closed)

Catholic Schools
I can't say anything about Catholic high schools, I went to a state high school.

I did find when I moved from a Catholic primary school to a state primary school at the age of nine I was a year and a half ahead of my classmates in every subject.

Perhaps it was just a particularly rubbish state primary, they made use of me as a gofer for all of year six.

My brother and I were moved from the Catholic school as they refused to acknowledge his dyslexia despite a statement of specific educational needs from the Dyslexia Institute.
(herefromthere, Mon 23 Mar 2009, 3:03, closed)

Dyslexia Institute
Sadly, every parent who takes their child to the aforementioned institute comes away with a massive missive telling them that their child is dyslexic.

Sadly, too, state schools don't have anywhere near the funding to deal with every aspect of individual children's specific needs. We get about three bob (15p in today's money) and some lego we found down the back of the settee, and are expected to cure the needs of all children.
( The Lone Groover has mal des nuts., Mon 23 Mar 2009, 22:25, closed)

Indeed. When I moved from a Catholic primary to a secular secondary
(and a good secondary at that) I found that we'd been taught all sorts of things that hadn't featured in others' primary educations. We were way ahead (to the extent that year 7 was pretty boring). The maths teacher had us do his filing while he taught the rest of the class.
(Skittlemcfluff ......................, Tue 24 Mar 2009, 11:31, closed)