School children as young as 8 told they would be 'racist' for missing school trip

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education...hool-trip.html

School children as young as 8 told they would be labelled 'racist' for missing school trip

Parents have criticised the school's "ludicrous" threats and accused it of trying to blackmail them

Parents Donna Ward, left, and Tracy Ward, right, with their children (left to right) Caitlyn Lakin aged 8, Chloe Ward aged 8 and Harry Lakin aged 9 outside the school

Parents have criticised a school after children as young as eight were told they would be punished for racism if they did not attend a religious workshop about Islam.

Angry mums and dads were sent a letter by Littleton Green Community School, in Huntingdon, Staffordshire, warning their children would be considered racist if they did not go on the school trip.

The visit to Staffordshire University - for Year 4 and Year 6 pupils - had been arranged as part of the children's "cultural education" on November 27.

Headteacher Lynn Small wrote to parents and said if kids did not attend a "racial discrimination note" would be made on the pupil's records and would remain there for their school careers.

On top of that, they were also ordered to pay £5 towards the cost of the trip.

Parents have criticised the school's "ludicrous" threats and accused the school of trying to blackmail them.

Stacy Waldron, 26, who has an eight-year-old daughter at the school, said: "I feel my child will be racist if I don't allow her to go.

"This is my choice, not hers, and she shouldn't have to pay for it."

Mum-of-four Tracy Ward added: "I was shocked by the letter. To be told my kids have got to attend this workshop is disgusting.

"Everyone should have a choice but that's my opinion and I don't want a stain on my kids' record as a result.

"They are not old enough to be called racist."

Her sister Donna, whose daughter also attends the school, said: "It's not our religion. We should have a right to stop our children going."

Another parent Gillian Claridge, 55, added: "To be told we had to pay for the trip as well was just a kick in the teeth.

"How dare they threaten to brand the children racist at such a young age. Its going to make them feel like little criminals.

"The very nature of religion is all about choice - on this occasion they were not being given any choice at all.

"It was draconian move and its left a lot of parents fuming."

Around 100 pupils across four years were expected to take part in the course - which would have involved them being shown Islamic artefacts.

But after parents contacted the school they were then forced to make an embarrassing U-turn and withdraw the threat after council chiefs intervened.

A letter from the head to parents apologised for "inaccuracies" in the previous correspondence.

In the letter Mrs Small asked parents to "on reflection disregard a section from the earlier letter".

South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson slammed the original move - labelling it "bonkers".

He said: "The idea of attaching a 'racial discrimination note' to children's education records saying it will remain on their file for the duration for their school career seems unfair, particularly when it is no the child's decision whether or not he or she attends.

"It seems a very heavy-handed approach."

Defending the decision Mrs Small said that exposing the pupils to other faiths was part of the school's statutory duty.

She said: "We are a mainly Christian school, but we have to cover at least one other religion as part of the national curriculum.This visit is part of that.

"They would not be taking part in any religious practices. We have had similar workshops on a variety of religions in the past - including one on Islam with no problems at all and the children have absolutely loved it.

"We have pupils and teachers at the school who belong to the Islam faith and it is right for the children to understand and appreciate their faith as well as their own."

The school, which was told it "required improvement" in an Ofsted report earlier this year caters for 341 pupils aged between 3 and 11.

A spokesperson for Staffordshire County Council said: "This is a school matter and the council was only contacted once the letter had been sent.

"We believe it is important for children to find out more about different cultures.

"However parents also have a right to withdraw their children from religious activities.

"Clearly it is not appropriate for comments about racial discrimination to be made in these circumstances."

A few things.

Firstly, Islam is not a race. Maybe as a headmistress she should have known that basic fact.

Secondly, again it goes to show how certain words are being used in this country to shut down debates on a whole manner of topics. Racist of course is the most common one - raise concerns about mass immigration and the crime is brings and you are labelled a racist. Have rational criticisms of Islam do you? Islamophobe. Think we should be running our own country rather than have it run by Brussels? Xenophobe. Little Englander.

I brush those silly words away when people dare raise them against my rational points of view because it's nothing but slander and they're trying to shut you up. Never accept it.

What else? That's right, why are 8 year olds being brainwashed on Islam? I wonder if the workshop they're attending has anything on the views and treatment of Islam towards homosexuality or women. Or Jews. Or Christians. Or comics, authors and journalists who make fun of it and subject it to the same comic slander as every other religion recieves.

My children wouldn't be attending ANY of these brainwashing 'workshops' on Islam, Global Warming, Multiculturalism, Nelson Mandela or Sex Education unless they were to be taught the opposing arguments such as the fact that Nelson Mandela was the head of an armed terrorist wing of the ANC that murdered innocent civilians. Or the views of Islam towards Jews and minority Christians. Or the fact that the globe hasn't warmed for 15 years. And if the school wanted, i'd be happy to come in and do a lesson on any one of them.

This idiot mindwarping headmistress should be SACKED. How dare she.

Thoughts?

[Kardan]

I think the argument over it all is getting too complex, at the end of the day, if a parent doesn't want their child to attend a school trip, that should be the end of it. For the school to try and argue otherwise, simply because it's a school trip based on RE, is pretty ridiculous.

Schools should teach about religions, but at primary school it should be kept pretty basic. As you said Undertaker, I doubt they would have portrayed things very accurately, but it's worth noting that in later years that does start to happen. Anyways, that's a side note really. The school is in the wrong here.

[Yawn]

disgusting parents they should be ashamed

[FlyingJesus]

That is ridiculous but not nearly as ridiculous as those kids' poses

[karter]

the comments on the article are just stupid and narrow minded i am nauseated

[Ardemax]

IT'S POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE MAD

[-:Undertaker:-]

the comments on the article are just stupid and narrow minded i am nauseated

Are my comments and the comments on the article not 'inclusive' enough for you? Do my comments and the comments on the article 'alienate' and 'divide' the wider 'community'? Should the mothers and fathers (opps, I meant progenitor 1 and progenitor 2) at this school be less 'close minded' to different 'lifestylesssss'? :rolleyes:

You can always go and read the Guardian or New Statesman where they grovel to and slobber all over the 'Religion of Peace' if you don't like it. Many holier than thou comments there for you to read and make yourself feel morally superior over.

[Kardan]

Are my comments and the comments on the article not 'inclusive' enough for you? Do my comments and the comments on the article 'alienate' and 'divide' the wider 'community'? Should the mothers and fathers (opps, I meant progenitor 1 and progenitor 2) at this school be less 'close minded' to different 'lifestylesssss'? :rolleyes:

You can always go and read the Guardian or New Statesman where they grovel to and slobber all over the 'Religion of Peace' if you don't like it. Many holier than thou comments there for you to read and make yourself feel morally superior over.

To be fair, the comments are pretty absurd.

"This is the reason why so many of our children can't read or write when they leave school"

Ah, of course! The reason kids can't read or write is because they have to go on school trips that teach about Islam. It's a good thing I learnt to read by not going on those school trips!

I mean, seriously? What are people even thinking these days?

[Yawn]

im going to a mosque for a fieldtrip soon

[-:Undertaker:-]

To be fair, the comments are pretty absurd.

"This is the reason why so many of our children can't read or write when they leave school"

Ah, of course! The reason kids can't read or write is because they have to go on school trips that teach about Islam. It's a good thing I learnt to read by not going on those school trips!

I mean, seriously? What are people even thinking these days?

I think that's known as a generalistic comment with some humour thrown in.

Only could somebody with their head screwed on backwards comment on a story like this and have a go at the comments by people supporting the parents against this nutjob headmistress. But I guess i'm just not as enlightened or as 'tolerantttttt'.

Ironically it's always those who pretend to be tolerant and open minded who are usually the most close minded and intolerant of any views that differ from their own - as was confirmed the other day when I attended a debate in university on free speech where I sat and watched an audience of young so-called liberals argue that free speech ought to be banned. I bet karter thinks the parents are neatherals and the kids should be forced by law to attend this workshop. Am I right?

A world upside down, it really is.