Should we close schools for Ramadan etc?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-117202 7/Schools-close-Ramadan-non-Christian-festival s-avoid-pupils-missing-classes.html

Instead of closing schools, and everyone losing out on lessons, perhaps these pupils should then be forced to attend school during the Christian festival holidays?

This way the authorities cannot be accuse of short-changing the non-Christians of valuable teaching time.

They could be taught during the Easter and Christmas holidays by non Christian staff.

[Lindylou]

I'm with Lucy.

[Lonnie]

Your welcome sophie, it just started to grate on me that most people on here thought it was to do with the Empire etc, I womder how many others will look it up.

Its all part of our History. (distant), but still relevent.

[sophie_1003]

I thought it was to do with the Empire as well to be honest but even if it was, we don't have an empire anymore so it wouldn't make any sense to use that as an argument anyway!

[ConfusedCH]

Our country, our rules. Don't like it? Leave!

[sophie_1003]

Arrrghh! Has anyone who is asking Muslim people to leave actually read the article??? It is NOT Muslims who are asking the schools to close, it is the schools themselves (who probably do not have Muslim headteachers) that are suggesting they have teacher training days on widely observed non-Christian religious festivals. This is so that no children miss out on an education and so that the schools attendance rate doesn't look awful. It has NOTHING to do with Muslims trying to change the rules!

[ConfusedCH]

Load of old rubbish. There will be a Muslim behind this somewhere. Are you trying to tell me some avarage, christian school headmaster just thought this up one day over breakfast? Don't think so.

[B00]

What about the parents who have to work? How are they supposed to get childcare for the extra days off their children may require?

[sophie_1003]

Well the school I was in that did this idn't have a Muslim headteacher, there were probably Muslims on the governing body but I repeat for the third time- it has a lot to do with attendance rates, the higher the attendance rates of a school the better it is deemed to be, therefore by having days where lots of children would be off as training days it avoids the school being shown in a bad light.
BOO- yet again, they are not 'extra' days off, they are training days which all schools have had for a long time and parents have always had to find childcare for

[sophie_1003]

*didn't

[B00]

Are you a teacher by any chance Sophie? As I feel like I've just been told off by one :-(

[sophie_1003]

Aww sorry, yes I am training to be a teacher. Am a bit peeved at the racism on here thats all, I know we have a problem with immigration in this country but it is very hard to put up with the sweeping statements made by some people on here who don't seem to understand that not every 'foreigner' in this country is actually that, some have citizenship, some were born here etc and it just gets me a little annoyed when suggestions are made to send all Muslims 'back to where they came from' especially seeing as my boyfriends dad is Muslim! Sorry to take it out on you, I didn't mean to! :o)

[Hazel104]

I see your point Sophie, it is quite clear if you read the article properly.

All schools have to have teacher training days through out the year, for example at the end of the Easter holidays just gone a lot of schools went back on the Tuesday rather than the Monday as Monday was a teacher training day.

So if the teacher training days are schedule to be on non Christian religious days, this means no child has to be taken out of school to observe their particular non Christian religious day, as is happening at the moment.

This to me seems a common sense solution and I can not see why this would annoy anyone to be honest.

[B00]

Hehe no worries, now I've read back more thoroughly I understand what you're saying.

I wasn't being racist with my question, it was more based on my own future worries as to how the heck im going to get childcare for my youngest when she starts school in September and I become fulltime again. And when I read (or thought I had) that they'd be having more days off my first thought was "oh balls!".

[sophie_1003]

Ah finally someone who sees sense Hazel!
Wasn't implying that you were being racist by the way BOO, does the school have a private nursery nearby, they may offer a holiday club that extends to teacher training days?

[Hazel104]

Thanks Sophie,
I do not usually get involved with the questions that lead on to the race discussions etc as I think I would go mad trying to reason with some of the attitudes on here when nothing I say will ever change their minds anyway!

It makes me feel quite depressed knowing that there are still people out there with a 'send 'em home attitude'

[sophie_1003]

I have joined in with one or two, but do often just get frustrated, joined this one because it's something I've had experience of but wished I hadn't now, just makes me angry!