My son and religious schooling

[Reticulatus]

My son is almost 3yrs old, and the best school in the area is one which receives church funding (Christian). My wife really wants him to attend this school, but I am very skeptical.

I went to a very simular school 20 odd years ago, and I can still remember all the rubbish we were taught. I can clearly remember the teachings of creationism, yet I never heard a word of evolution, or even alternative religions/belief systems.

My wife believes that our son will be open minded enough not to take in everything he is told, but thats not the point I'm trying to get across. I skipped 2 grades, and moved onto another school, but I seriously believe that the time we wasted sitting crossed legged talking someone who isn't there, could have been far better spent being taught 'real' lessons.

I don't want him not to be taught religion, or to be ignorant towards it. I just want him to learn it in the correct classes, and in the correct way.

Can you please give me your opinions on my dilemma.

[LiamOS]

I don't think there's a problem with him being educated in a religious environment as long as you make sure that he doesn't actually become indoctrinated.
If he wishes to take part in extra-curricular religious activities, make sure he is doing it for reasons other than convention.

However, if it's a really extreme Christian school(Seven days, no evolution, etc.) I would say that he wouldn't be getting a real education there.

[Abraxas]

I don't think this is one we can answer for you. We don't know enough about the quality level of education in your area to make judgment about where best to put your child.

I do see one danger though that you didn't mention in your post, that being what happens if and when your child follows in your footsteps and says as much to the faculty? What happens during prayer hour when your son says "My daddy says this isn't real" or when he tells the class that his parents taught him the Earth was billions of years old?

On the one hand, this is going to be a potentially compromising position for the child in a few ways, First, if you are telling him the teachers are teaching him wrong stuff, that he shouldn't listen to them abut theology, it can create distrust or confusion about who to believe. Depending on the school that could create disciplinary problems, (more than one around here would expel a child for questioning dogma too much). The alternative is for hm to keep quiet and go along with things he believes false which I'm not sure would be good for him either.

Have you spoken to the school officials and asked what their expectations and curriculum are to get a better handle on what the situation there is exactly?

[Lux]

I agree with Abraxas, you should ask the school for more information. What exactly do they teach? Is praying and/or Bible study compulsory? Some schools receive Christian funding but are not "indoctrination machines" or anything of the sort, and some are.

In my personal experience, it can be a bit difficult for a kid who is not a Christian to go to a Christian school. Even if the teachers are not pushy, the peer pressure to accept Christianity can be strong, and we all know it's not easy being different when one is a kid. That being said, if the school is really the best in your area, and you find out that they aren't extremely fundamentalist or anything of the sort, it might be worth it. Remember you can always teach your child about other religions, atheism and alternative approaches yourself.

[lionel1020]

I had the same problem with my 9 year old daughter a couple of years back. In our location we had three choices: 1) public 2) private 3) home school with a tutor. We chose the Catholic private school because it had more than 95% success rate for university entry.
With regard to the religious element I have never given her specific instructions regarding what she should believe. But I did instil one 'rule' for everything: Ask 'how' and 'why' demand 'proof' and 'evidence', 'reasons' and 'references' for every single subject.
In a talk with her teacher at the end of last term she told me that Meggy-Celiné was very bright and was in the top 5% of her class. However in her religious studies she was not doing that well as she asked so many questions that her behavior was disrupting the class. I explained she was probably just enthusiastic but I promised to talk to her and calm her down.

[Charles Darwin]

Hey, dont have kids so take this with a grain of salt, but you could always ask to look at some of the curriculum and sit in some classes if they said it was ok. If you like what you see, then just make sure you communicate with your son about what he learned and did in school

[Nilloc James]

I don't have an answer.

Though does the school follow a state-set ciriculum or anything like?