Post by borinquen57 on Aug 29, 2014 13:24:18 GMT -5
...send your LO to a Lutheran or Catholic pre-k and/or kindergarten? DD is 2.5 and I know I need to start looking into pre-school for next year. There's a small, Lutheran pre-K/K around the corner where she's enrolled for an ABC class for an hour/week, then there are other religious and secular private options. I'm actually leaning toward public schools but from what I've heard, it might be easier to go the private school route at least for pre-K. The ABC class doesn't seem like a huge deal and so far she's only enrolled for September, we won't go back if it's too churchy. My main concerns for pre-k/k during the regular school year are that the curriculum may be too religious-based. I already have enough issues dealing with religious family members and DD. School is a little different and only for a year or two, so that may be easier to deal with, though? I guess I'm trying to decide if I'm being too rigid or if it's really not a huge deal for such a relatively short amount of time.
Sure, depending. Do you know with which synod the Lutheran school/church is affiliated? Some synods are way more conservative than others, that might help you figure out if their curriculum might include things you don't agree with.
I grew up Lutheran so feel free to ask me any questions.
Post by penguingrrl on Aug 29, 2014 13:36:35 GMT -5
It would depend on the school itself. My second went to a preschool that was housed within a church but wasn't affiliated with the church itself, which was somewhat common in our old area. They did celebrate holidays, but not just Christian holidays (although they were more focused on Christian and Jewish traditions and barely touched on Ramadan or Kwanzaa). They also taught who MLK was, had a Halloween parade and passed out Valentines.
I wouldn't send my kids to a preschool that actually incorporates religion into the curriculum beyond discussing holidays, though. Even though H and I don't do organized religion, we celebrate Christian holidays as a cultural thing (and neither of us was willing to give up Christmas despite leaving organized religion) so we don't mind the kids being taught the story and we can revisit the spiritual aspects to align with our beliefs.
Can you ask them what program they use for their curriculum? Because I think that will probably sway you. If you don't recognize the name, feel free to ask us. Someone here will probably have heard of it.
If it was our catholic school, I'd say you wouldn't like it. DS came home the first day taking about praying to Jesus and recognized the crucifix in his room was Jesus. We had never really talked Jesus with him in a way he recognized it. Religion is definitely incorporated into his day there.
Post by jeaniebueller on Aug 29, 2014 13:42:48 GMT -5
I sent DS to a Catholic preschool and it was NBD, but it was only a two morning a week program. I would hesitate to send him to a religious full day program.
I think you need to do some digging about how religion is incorporated into the classroom. My son went to a Lutheran preschool and I would say of the options in our area, it is pretty "religious lite." BUT they still attended chapel once a week, had "Jesus time" in his 3yo class (not in pre-k though) and some teachers would do a prayer song before snack. He came home knowing the Lord's Prayer and Jesus Loves Me and talking about Jesus. So I guess you have to decide how you would feel about that and decide how you would address that with your daughter maybe a little sooner than you would have liked.
I'm curious, in a non snarky way, just curious, if religious parents would be comfortable sending their kids to a school that taught there was no god or gods and incorporated this way of thinking into the classroom?
(I swear this is not loaded; for the record, I would not be comfortable with this either).
I'm curious, in a non snarky way, just curious, if religious parents would be comfortable sending their kids to a school that taught there was no god or gods and incorporated this way of thinking into the classroom?
(I swear this is not loaded; for the record, I would not be comfortable with this either).
For me, I am just more comfortable with my kids being taught with beliefs "like ours" or not taught at all then something that differs. That is NOT to say that we don't educate our kids in other beliefs, but not in an educational setting.
I sent mine to a Methodist preschool, but there really wasn't any Christian teachings with it, just the standard ABC 123, arts and crafts, and lots of play time. They had a generic prayer before snack time (thanks for our food type thing). DD2's will be in a church, but is not religious based in any way. No prayer before snack time at this one.
My sister went to a Lutheran prek. it was the only thing near our house in the sticks. It was relatively non-dogmatic, just sorta generically yay god. Mom is actually vehemently anti organized religion (catholic k-8. does not have good feelings about nuns), but not actually an atheist so this was a good enough choice for her.
Sis did go on to join a church on her own accord in high school and would give me shit for taking the lords name in vain (Jesus Christ!), and mom joked that this was due to her early indoctrination - but all three of us kids went through various versions of trying on different religions before all three of us landed on "other."
I sent my kids to a Christian daycare from 3 mos to 3 y/o. They weren't too preachy and my kid's providers were fantastic. They were very play-based which was great although we put them in a more structured program for pre-K.
Post by ChillyMcFreeze on Aug 29, 2014 14:37:38 GMT -5
Like pps said, it would all depend on curriculum. I went to a presby preschool and the only churchy thing I remember doing was ringing to church bell and doing a nativity pageant. But I was 3, so what do I know?
My sister went to a Baptist preschool and came home sobbing that she had black sin in her heart. Like anything, there's a spectrum.
I'm curious, in a non snarky way, just curious, if religious parents would be comfortable sending their kids to a school that taught there was no god or gods and incorporated this way of thinking into the classroom?
(I swear this is not loaded; for the record, I would not be comfortable with this either).
Actively no god, not comfortable. Just not mentioned, fine of course.
I'm curious, in a non snarky way, just curious, if religious parents would be comfortable sending their kids to a school that taught there was no god or gods and incorporated this way of thinking into the classroom?
(I swear this is not loaded; for the record, I would not be comfortable with this either).
Nope.
A school that doesn't mention God or promote one religion over another is fine. We call that public school. But one that taught there was no God, nah.
You guys brought up a few things I hadn't even thought about like prayers and chapel, and I wouldn't want DD to participate in those. Thanks for the input, everyone! It'll help me have a better idea of what questions to ask when we start our search.
I'm curious, in a non snarky way, just curious, if religious parents would be comfortable sending their kids to a school that taught there was no god or gods and incorporated this way of thinking into the classroom?
(I swear this is not loaded; for the record, I would not be comfortable with this either).
Maybe I'm weird, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with this either. I don't think it's up to me to firmly decide DD's religious beliefs. It's still really important to me that she knows about other religions and cultures, and respect others.
Our kid goes to a catholic preschool. Chapel is 1x/wk & is mostly learning about being good friends. We can also opt out of it. They also teach about holidays of other religions. Religion isn't an everyday thing.
My husband & I are atheists but I want my children to choose for themselves. Realistically, this means they need to be exposed to other religions to have a choice & I'm not gonna be hauling them to church or whatever. For the record , if there was a convenient Jewish preschool I would have considered that as well.
I'm curious, in a non snarky way, just curious, if religious parents would be comfortable sending their kids to a school that taught there was no god or gods and incorporated this way of thinking into the classroom?
(I swear this is not loaded; for the record, I would not be comfortable with this either).
No, I would not be comfortable. That's why I homeschool.
I would not (as an atheist) want to send my kid to a Missouri Synod Lutheran school. I went to one and was told in 2nd grade that there was no Santa - that is a pagan belief and the only purpose of Christmas is to celebrate Christ's birth, end of story. I was also told that because by that age I knew right and wrong, if I would accidentally get hit by a bus and die I would go to hell because I was not at that time yet baptized. I feared for my eternal soul from age 7 until I was baptized at 13.
As a Christian, I would not want my kid going to a school where they are taught there is no god or gods. I feel there is enough reason for doubt by learning basic science. I want my kid to learn the sciences, but I hope to instill in her a faith in a higher power AND acceptance of basic Scientific principles. It's at least my job to introduce her to faith and let her decide from there.
We're an actively involved Jewish family and both of my children attend(ed) a Methodist pre-school. Clearly I know that Christ is an important part of their belief system but there isn't a whole lot of Jesus talk in the curriculum. There is a lot of talk about God as a representation of love and peace. As an almost-atheist, that doesn't bother me at all.