Content Warning: Biased and Exclusive Religious Lessons, Religious Beliefs
An important decision every parent will have to make is the type of education they wish for their children to receive. From the school system to extracurricular offerings to their level of involvement in the school system, there are a lot of variables for parents to consider.
Even with the most astute research before making a decision, surprises might still arise in the school, especially when substitute teachers and school visitors are present, pointed out the members of the “Am I Overreacting?” (AIO) subReddit.
Redditor Mason110417 was uncomfortable when their daughter came home from school and shared all she had learned about Christmas and the Christian faith, despite her family being Jewish.
Though they weren’t specifically against their daughter learning this information, the Original Poster (OP) didn’t like the thought of the faith being preached as a better option than their own.
They asked the sub:
“Am I overreacting for being upset that my child’s first-grade substitute teacher taught the class about Jesus?”
The OP was concerned when their daughter came home and shared what she learned at school one day.
“I am Jewish, but not practicing, and my wife is not religious at all.”
“My first grader came home from school on Monday and said she learned about Christmas, and her substitute also taught her about Jesus, that Jesus is the reason for Christmas, and that Christianity was THE truth.”
“The actual lesson was about holidays around the world. While we, of course, want to expose our child to all religions, we did not think bringing Jesus into the topic was appropriate.”
When they heard from the principal, they did not feel better.
“My wife emailed the principal and requested in the future that there be training or guidelines for substitute teachers about what is appropriate to talk about.”
“The principal emailed back with a copy of the lesson (which had no mention of religion or Jesus) and said the substitute followed the lesson, and if we didn’t like it, we can opt our child out of future lessons about religions and world cultures.”
“I thought this was an inappropriate reply.”
The OP continued to feel perplexed by the situation days later.
“I am aware Jesus is part of the history of why Christmas is celebrated and have zero problem with that being taught. But when it is presented as the one real religion, that’s where I start to have an issue.”
“To clarify, nobody freaked out, and nobody thought anyone should get fired. Religion is extremely nuanced, especially for six-year-olds relaying information to their parents.”
“In all honesty, I was more annoyed by the principal’s dismissiveness of the situation.”
“Anyway, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and I hope everyone has a safe holiday season.”
“AIO?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NOR: Not Overrating
- YOR: You’re Overreacting
Some pointed out that this was a solid example of a problematic substitute teacher.
“As a teacher who has taught holidays around the world, there is a right and wrong way to teach this unit. I’m sure the same principal would be unhappy if Ramadan were taught in a certain way, too.”
“My guess is that the substitute decided to wing it since they already knew what Christmas was, and that they didn’t follow the lesson.”
“I’m so sorry this happened! It’s generally best practice not to mention specific figures, but rather to focus on the traditions and customs practiced by those who celebrate them. The theology is not interesting to six-year-olds anyway, and the standard being taught is that different people have different traditions.” – blondeoftheguild
“I think you should phone the principal and explain that their lesson plan is great, but that the sub didn’t follow the lesson plan. Explain that your child said, in addition to the lesson plan, the sub taught them about Jesus.”
“Ask if they talked to the substitute teacher. If they say yes, and the sub said they followed the plan and didn’t discuss Jesus, then tell them your kid must’ve heard about this on the playground. Thank them, and hang up.”
“Either that’s what happened (the playground talk), or the substitute knows what they did was wrong, so lied about it. They probably won’t risk it again, or if they do, they’ll definitely be caught next time. At any rate, the school is doing what it can, and that’s all they can do.” – ElectricalTwist3385
“NOR. I am an atheist, and we are raising our children nonreligious (we intend to teach them about all the different religions people believe, why we don’t, and that they are able to explore this as they grow and make their own choices).”
“I would be upset if any religion were taught as the ‘truth’ in school. All of my family is religious, and we have said, of course, they can talk about it, but they cannot ‘teach’ it while babysitting, etc.”
“There is a strong difference between explaining why something exists and teaching it as a truth.” – Moliterno38
“NOR. I believe your point wasn’t that the lesson plan was unacceptable, but that the teacher did not follow the plan. The principal’s response was poor. Hopefully, it did raise their consciousness about it for future units on the subject.”
“In my kids’ elementary class, Bibles were handed out. There was a big huhu when she refused to accept one. She and the one Jewish kid bonded over it.”
“You can bet I was on the phone the next morning. I believe the school no longer does this. They’re also now wise to no hymns during school concerts, but that was someone else’s doing.” – Holiday_Trainer_2657
“Principals don’t really have much power over any particular substitute. Substitutes are not usually anywhere near well-trained to be respectful and mindful of others. Further, they don’t have to maintain relationships with the community the way that real teachers do.”
“This is a polite way of saying, you get some weirdo substitute teachers.”
“As for the principal’s response, what can she do? She can offer you a way to avoid this type of incident, but she can’t really undo that the weirdo sub was preaching. Also, even if it’s her plan to burn the sub professionally, it wouldn’t be appropriate to share that with you.”
“As for you, I get you. If I had a dollar for every time Christianity was the default mindset in December. Oi. NOR, but what can you do? Maybe file a complaint with substitute services?” – Chemical-Captain4240
Others were infuriated by the idea of this lesson taking place.
“The way I’d be meeting with that school and sub and making this a f**king problem. NOR.”
“Don’t let this go. Get that sub fired if you can. Like you say, no one should get fired, but this sub is clearly using their position of authority to try to brainwash kids into a religion without their parents’ permission. In my opinion, that’s f**king assault.” – TellProud6400
“As a Christian, involved in my church, faith is very important to me, etc… I would be perturbed about this and wonder if I should complain.”
“If any teacher can preach Christ, then any teacher can preach anything, and school is not the place for it.”
“Even if I could make sure that schools were only preaching Christianity, there’s so much bad information and wrong and destructive theology out there, I would turn that down.”
“Even if I could make sure that schools were, in good faith, teaching exactly my version of Christianity, I’m fair-minded enough not to want my faith shoved down others’ throats.”
“Make a stink, school is no place for it.” – Famous-Example-8332
“Well, Jesus is not the reason the schools and businesses close down for this holiday. We are not a nation of Christians, although Christianity is prevalent, and there should be nothing extra to explain or promote it in public schools. Is your child’s school public? Because if not, it might not have been against the rules.” – Deduce-Produce-5391
“NOR. As an atheist, I would RIOT if a teacher did this in my kid’s class. I want my kids exposed to a multitude of religious viewpoints, but never in a public school and never from a stranger.”
“It was extremely inappropriate of that substitute teacher to even mention Jesus in the class; to kids, teachers are supposed to give accurate information… if the teacher lies/exposes their own bias/indoctrinates the children, that’s sending a message to the kids that what the teacher is saying is true.”
“No one should control their kid’s religious journey except for their parents.” – Delicious-Valuable96
“I’d be so mad. Nor. As a matter of fact, I’d tell them that you’re getting a lawyer. That sub needs to be permanently fired.”
“Edited to add that I am a non-practicing Jew, and have raised my sons in the culture, minus the religion/God aspect. And I would be absolutely livid!”
“I literally banned my mil from my house for the same reason.” – bountiful_garden
“Wow, OP, when reading again what the principal said, I would go over his or her head and talk to someone else. But this doesn’t sound like a public school, so not sure you can do anything about it.”
“We have some experience with this, I would be glad to relate to you, but it only applies if the school is public. We got lots of help and cooperation from the school.” – Funny-Horror-3930
The subReddit understood the OP’s concerns and pointed out that exploring beliefs and holiday practices around the world would be lovely and beneficial for all students, as long as one “option” was not given preference and treated as the “right” route to take.
Perhaps the OP’s child misunderstood what the substitute teacher said, or perhaps the substitute teacher misspoke, but either way, it sounded like an issue had come up in the classroom in which students might have felt guided toward Christianity and Christmas, which could have terrible implications for many families.