(February 11, 2016 at 3:18 am)The Gentleman Bastard Wrote:(February 11, 2016 at 2:56 am)robvalue Wrote:
All of this, but...
Quote: It's not so much the school or the teachers/administration that I'd be worried about, but the peer pressure. Kids will follow where other kids lead far more readily than they will follow the teachers...THIS.
As most of you know, I'm an atheist working as a church musician. (There are actually a lot of us. One of my college music professors started a class by saying "NEVER, ever, work for a church. However, probably everyone in this room will take church jobs because you have to pay the rent. So . . . " )
There is a school where I work. Here is what I see: a lot of the parents pay their tithe, so their kids can attend the school, but never set foot in the church. The priests rant and rave about this, but they cannot force parents to attend Mass. But they CAN, and do, require classes of students to participate in Masses - for a grade. The students have religion class and sing religious songs and perform at Mass. There is a a required school Mass every Wednesday and every Holy Day. School kids lead the Mass twice a year, as well as taking part at Xmas and Easter. The school prepares children for first communion and first confession.
I have an atheist friend whose children were at the school for two years. She got tired of combating the questions and the peer pressure from other students and other parents and the priests, and now her kids are homeschooled. I'm sure that many other families deal with the pressure better than she did.
The decision is up to you, of course. Are there no secular private schools, or charter schools, in your area?
"The family that prays together...is brainwashing their children."- Albert Einstein