Evolution To Be Taught In British Primary Schools

I went to 2 large private schools in UK. One was Anglican, the other Methodist, although this was fairly nominal they both tried to be "broad churches". At each school we had a chapel that we had to attend 2 or 3 times a week for a morning assembley where we listened to sermons, sang hymns and said prayers.It was during these services that I started to look around me and consider how strange it was that absolutely everyone, teachers and students alike, went through the motions of religious ritual with straight faces. Although personal religious belief/disbelief was hardly ever discussed, I knew many of my friends were not religious and I was certain some of the teachers weren't. That's why I thought it so bizarre that we all had to go through the ritual. Why? Openly questioning why we had to do this was not allowed and I was actually considered quite odd for doing so (or maybe considered quite odd generally!).Outside the assemblies I can't say religion was forced upon us or even a part of school life. We had to study Religious Education as part of the curriculum, although expression of disbelief was freely allowed in the classes.As far as I can remember, Evolution was never taught at all, even though I studied Biology as a specific subject for at least 6 years.Weirdly, it was the science teachers who tended to be the most religious. In fact, my biology teacher actually went quite off-the-rails with his belief. The humanities teachers seemed to have little interest in the subject.All in all, a very strange state of affairs. It's amazing I turned out such a well-rounded, level-headed, decent sort of chap!

Teaching Evolution is just indoctrination of a different idea. What good is it to spend all day shoving scientific dogma down the children's throats if they still cannot smell the difference between bullshit and reality?Evolution class is just like Math class, just like Physics class, just like History class, just like Spanish class... just another topic of crap for kids to remember in rote. And just like such classes, the kiddies will forget it all after the test.You cannot make someone a carpenter by buying them a house, and you can't make a kid a thinker by telling him what to think.JonEdited by Jon, : quotes

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[O]ur tiny half-kilogram rock just compeltely fucked up our starship. - Rahvin

Most schools were C of E (Church of England) when I was a lad. We had assemblies and had to sing songs from a book called 'Come and Praise' (any one remember that gawd awful thing?).We had to say the lords prayer every time, as well.I went to 5 different primary schools and they all followed pretty much the same xian assembly method.

So what you are saying is that a child should not be told "there is definitely a god and it is exactly the one you read about in the Bible or the Qur'an or the Torah".I heartily approve and commend you for taking this stance!Dawkins and his crew need more people like you.Edited by Larni, : ? to a ! in 3 easy moves.

Sing Hosanna! - I hadn't thought about Come and Praise. for a long time. Same here. I also went to a school in the Bahamas (a Gospel school!) - which had a somewhat different format. Though when I moved to my final primary school they had ditched 'Come and Praise' in favour of a presumably much cheaper OHP.

Well that's just bizarre. I always thought prayers at assemblies were an oddity of the fact that I went to Catholic school, and it turns out everyone else was doing it too.

And there was always someone who forgot to stop singing at the end of the last chorus, lol!

As is teaching the multiplication table. You could ask the same of any scientific concept. And the answer would be much the same. It might not make 'em into critical thinkers, but it might prevent them from growing up scientifically illiterate. Well, that depends on the children, doesn't it? I can still remember things I learned in school.There is a reason why we teach children stuff. It's not all wasted effort. True, but you can make him better educated.Edited by Dr Adequate, : No reason given.

Believe it or not, some of the things I learnt at school actually helped me get a job!Who'd a thunk it?