For a couple of weeks now, an ominous line has been appearing in the calendar of up-coming events in my children’s school notices.
“Thursday 20 March – Christian options”
“Right….” I thought. “What do they mean, ‘Christian options’?”
Then the full note came home yesterday.
Dear parents / caregivers
Once again, the local Christian churches (Interdenominational) are visiting our school, presenting a (sic) “Easter Play / Presentation”.
The presentation will take place in Week 8. If you have any objections to your child participating in this session please notify in writing to the Principal by the end of Week 7.
Oi vey! Where to start?
First up, this is likely to be theologically immature phaff, given that it’s “interdenominational”.
Second, it’s very exclusive. I would be happy enough for my kids to learn about religion, but not exclusively Christianity, and not as anything other than a sociological analysis of the things that people can make themselves believe in.
Third, it’s not an option at all. No other activity is offered. It’s christian tales, or nothing.
Fourth, this is supposed to be a state school, and this is supposed to be a secular state. If the Christians, and any other religions, want to get together and play little god games in lunch hours and after school, then fine. Whatever. My kids get to go and play chess and sing in the choir – I see no reason why other people shouldn’t be able to engage in other non-curricular activities at the school, outside of school hours. (Though if pushed, I will argue that there is a certain merit to chess and the choir that is missing from religion.) But I mind that my children get exposed to pious nonsense at a supposedly secular school.
But none of that is what upsets me most. It’s the opt-out procedure which I find to be so offensive. It’s coercive, and unlike any other opt-out procedure the school offers.
Typically, if there is an activity at school, any old activity other than normal classroom and school ground work, a permission slip gets sent home. On that slip, you can elect whether your children do or don’t participate. Usually, the permission slip will specify the alternate activity for children who are not participating, even if it is only, “Children who are not participating will be supervised in the school library.”
But this time round, there’s no opt in / opt out slip. Instead, all children are assumed to be participating, unless a parent takes the trouble to write a special note to the principal. So there’s a poor presumption about what children should do, and on top of that, an extra barrier to opting out. You have to do something special, something extra, to opt out.
The ‘extra effort’ for the opt in / opt out is applied to exactly the wrong side of the choice. If people want to peddle their fanciful belief systems in a secular school, then children, and parents, should be required to opt in. The presumed norm should be that the school is secular, and therefore anyone who wants to listen to stories about sky fairies had better actively choose to do so.
On top of that, the opt out letter must be sent well in advance of the event. And the note that came home from the school doesn’t even give a date by when the opt out note should be received. Sure, it specifies week 7, but I’m damned if I ever know which week of a school term we are in. I know when the school term starts, and when the school terms ends, and after that, I really neither know nor care whether it’s week three or week eighteen or week nine hundred and sixty two. It’s not information that I carry in my head, because I am not a teacher, not someone who is intimately connected with the organisation of the school. I am intimately engaged with my children’s education, but not with the daily detail of school administration.
So, lots of barriers in the way of opting out. But perhaps the only way that christians can get people to listen to them is through trickery.
If I can find out exactly what time this event is happening, I might just go and collect the girls, and run a wee class for them, and any others who are interested, on the Euthyphro dilemma. We might sacrifice a few Easter eggs while we’re at it.
