Are you Interested in a Pagan School?

[Galdor]

I was driving home today from doing some shopping and went by the typical Catholic, Protestant, and whatnot schools on Stevens Ave. and it hit me. We, as a community, don't have anything like this at all. So I started thinking about it and trying to determine why. Could it be because we as a group are so isolated and diversified? Could it be because we as a community don't value education? Could it be because we as a community prefer the public or other type of private school systems already in place? Or could it be simply that no one has ever thought of this?

I tossed that around in my brain and decided I couldn't answer those questions. I knew MY reasons, but I didn't know how to answer them for the entire community. So... I decided I'd ask.

So here's my question: Would you, as a pagan, send your child to a private school that taught a normal education, but also gave tutelage in our beliefs?

For a example, the children would have the normal curriculums as per the public school, but in addition they would have curriculums in basic herbalism, basic forestry, basic metallurgy, basic geology, runic writings, tools of divination, tenets of our belief, survey of gods and goddesses, understanding the planetary alignments and moon phases (combo of basic astronomy/astrology maybe?), and such?

I personally, as a child, would have loved something like this. How about any of you? Would this be something you would send your children to?

If not, why not?

If so, what restrictions and teachings would you expect there to be?

I'm actually seriously considering this as a feasible idea. It would be a long road to bring this from concept to actuality, but I think it could be done. Obviously I would need help, but I've got to see if it's something that would be worthwhile from the get go...

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, by all means you can e-mail me at galdor7@hotmail.com

Galdor

[Myst]

Nope.

There's another thread on this at MW tho at the moment I can't find it.

As far as I'm concerned religious beliefs do not belong in the classroom. While my children will go to school to learn about the world at home *I* will be the one who helps them learn about various beliefs and encourage them on their own way. I wouldn't trust anyone to teach them principles, values, morals, or about their beliefs. I plan to let them go to church if they want, to sunday school or summer bible camp if they like, and expose them to as many beliefs as possible. I consider that part of my job, not a teacher's job.

[Galdor]

*nods* And you are equally entitled to that belief.

Galdor

[Myst]

Thanks, I know :D

[Lavender]

I feel the same way. School & religion should be separate. As Myst said, it's my job to teach my son about religion. I want my son to understand that there are more than just our beliefs in the world. I encourage him to learn about other religions. I feel that's where understanding & tolerance starts.

[Yvonne Belisle]

I don't want mine in a school like that for a few reasons.
People aren't ready to deal with the idea that there are so many of us right now. So our kids could become targets.
Our paths are too diversified as Pagans we follow far too many paths to try and teach all the various beliefs and cover regular coriculum. I think various traditions could have a class along with the classes for thier older members for the children of members. I wouldn't make those classes public unless a parent comes to them and signs a release saying yes I want my child to learn your tradition. That would be nice but over all I think it's for the parents of any religion to instill a belief structcure for thier children.

[Twilight Garden]

My step-daughter went to a private baptist school from pre-K until 2nd grade. It was horrible. It got to be a problem for my step-daughter. She started to come home saying she didn't believe in Gods because she hated the way school delt with "God type stuff." That was when my husband decided she was NOT going back to that school. I know many baptists that wouldn't even send their children to that school because the school is too forceful of it's religious teachings and values. Thankfully, she was atmitted to a school of art this past year. While a pagan school, without forethought sounds like a neat idea, I really feel that exposure to religion is better done through family and friends and general curiosity. And unfortunately I believe that what Yvonne says may be true, about others not being ready for it.

[Galdor]

Something all of you are entitled to have an opinion on, but for me, RELIGION and SPIRITUALITY are an entirely different thing. This school won't so much teach (or preach) a religion, but teach spirituality and promote spiritual growth, and give the children the knowledge of the various religions of the world so that THEY can make up their minds about them.

Perhaps, PAGAN School says a little more than I really am implying. I'm thinking more of a "Holistic" school. But with definite workings of spirituality involved in it-courses in meditation, what the tools of divination are from the various cultures and what are the concerns with using them, herbalism, and other "new age" sort of things.

Again, everyone has the right to make up their minds about this issue on their own. I agree about separating religion from school. But I'm not talking so much about religion, but spirituality.

Galdor

[Myst]

re·li·gion (r-ljn)
n.

Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

spir·i·tu·al·i·ty (spr-ch-l-t)
n. pl. spir·i·tu·al·i·ties
The state, quality, manner, or fact of being spiritual.
The clergy.
Something, such as property or revenue, that belongs to the church or to a cleric. Often used in the plural.

I'm afraid my answer hasn't changed. There are courses out there for reiki, herbcraft, etc. and personally I've learned tons about spirituality on my own. I feel this is a personal matter, paths that cannot be taught, and again that sharing spirituality *or* religion with my child is my job, not the education system's. Everyone else has made excellent points I agree with here too.

[amberlaine]

Welp, I have to say, no, I wouldn't personally bother with all that in my child's education. IT seems that even private schools have a difficult enough time teaching children math, physics, english and history, blaance with a bit of music, art and dance without throwing in any kind of "new age" stuff.

I believe school has the express purpose of teachign my child the fundamentals needed to operate in our society, and to excel at the university level, and to learn to think independently and to process data. There is barely enough time in the typica 8-3 school day to cover all the academic subjects I want my children exposed to--there is certainly no time in that schedule for holistic studies.

I can do that on my own, and will.

[Lavender]

In a perfect world, that idea would be ideal. Freedom for everyone to choose what's right for themselves. Kids would be encouraged, rather than laughed at, for being different. As much as I love the idea you're presenting. I can't see it happening here for a very, very long time. Perhaps, in my great, great grandchildren's time but not now for my son.

That's a beautiful goal to work towards, Galdor. I hope it becomes a realty soon. :)

[Doctor Oakroot]

Well a Pagan school modeled on Friends (Quaker) schools would be OK. Generally in Friends schools, the school emphasizes education with virtually no mention religion.

Two of my siblings graduated from a local Friends school (and I attended for 1 year). The faculty there is about 60% Quaker, but the student body is about 80% Jewish - obviously no one's pushing religion there. (I'm guessimating those numbers but they're about right).

If you were to teach religion at, say, a Wiccan school.... you would be limited to the reed - that's about the only thing that all Wiccan's agree on... and then there are "anti-Wiccan" Witches who don't even buy the reed... and if it's a Pagan school, what could you teach? Is there anything that all Pagans agree on?

[Chibi-Fallon]

Well considering I almost had a speech meet at a Christian (I'm not sure if it was Catholic or what) school today. Religion with schools is like inbreeding. The first few generations nothing to funky happens then you start putting signs outside your school that say "Holy Spirit" when the schools name is "Cretin Duram Hall".
And then people (yes, people, not me and my boyfriend and the rest of our speech team) will come and egg you're school because you're so stupid. Nothing good can come of it.
I personally think a school of all one religion would be, not bad, but the real world isn't like that. I mean you are going to meet lots of non-Pagan and what have you's out in the world so you might as well learn how to get along with them in school. That's half the reason they have you go. Is to learn how to deal with people. Might as well learned how to deal with all of them.

[Mercuria]

I think that education should be separated from religion/spirituality.

A good idea would be to have after-school pagan classes. That way it's an extra-curricular activity. Children can still socialise with other pagan kids and gain a sense of community while learning, but it's separate from regular school.

Mercuria

[ManyBlessings]

Originally posted by Mercuria
I think that education should be separated from religion/spirituality.

Mercuria

thats what i think myself.
I think its much better that way.
less pressure on your kids I think.

[Twilight Garden]

One more thing... I also feel that some kids may not be ready for religion. It's usually the adults that feel a need for Religion, Spirituality, God..., not the kids. As long as they have their parents love, they don't feel the need for such things in their lives yet. I think it's all very personal to the family unit. I certainly don't think there is anything wrong with teaching your children your ways or exposing them to the ways of others. I just think religion is a bit too personal to be taught in a school setting.

I also don't see a problem with an afterschool meeting of pagan-friendly students, as Mercuria mentioned. After all, there is already the "Fellowship of Christian Atheletes" in many public schools.

[Melysande]

Galdor, you're not alone in your thoughts about a Pagan private school. I mentioned this same idea on another forum once and got basically the same responses. And after reading all of them, I do tend to agree that the world might not be ready yet for such a school. I'm fortunate enough to live in a very liberal state (I was born in Salem, MA, and lived in a neighboring city all my life), but in most parts of the country, I would fear that my children would somehow become a target. Either some misguided person would try to "rescue" all of the children, or else some dimwit would burn down the school. (Best case scenario would be at night when no one was there, but worst case would be during the day when those, ahem, "evil devil-worshippers" were all inside.)

I did go so far as to do some research on what is involved in setting up a private school. It definitely ain't easy. And the goal of the school would be to get accredited so that any child attending it would be accepted into college. Most of the religious private schools are Christianity-based and so they have their own separate procedure to go through. The more secular schools have a different procedure.

To set up a Pagan school couldn't follow the Christian procedures because well, they'd object. But it really wouldn't be a secular school, so it couldn't really be done through that channel either.

Someone else suggested homeschooling as a way to teach various holistic and Pagan beliefs and practices along with the regular courseload, but I'm not sure that would work out well in most cases.

I'm thinking maybe a Pagan summer camp would be kind of interesting. And the parents of the children attending could be encouraged to do some of the teaching, like for a day or even a week, or what-have-you.

**shrugs and smiles** Just my six cents, a wad of gum and a lint ball.

[Earthcup]

There's a K-12 Pagan school online. Moon Circles Academy or something like that. I looked over their site and corresponded with one of the teachers and was very impressed. They teach secular courses and offer Paganism and World Religon courses as high school electives. It was more about having a learning enviroment where Pagan children could express themselves freely than teaching religon.

If I had kids I think I would sign them up. Supplement it with some homeschooling maybe.

I would be against a Starhawkian school where the kids are immersed in magic and new age philosophy at the expense of a more practical education. Just my opinion...

[SapphireDragon]

A good idea would be to have after-school pagan classes. That way it's an extra-curricular activity. Children can still socialise with other pagan kids and gain a sense of community while learning, but it's separate from regular school.

that's sorta what i thought. school is crazy enough as it is, but regular lunchtime, after school and weekend classes (perhaps also a summer school like some mentioned) would be really great and would enable lots of bonding amonst others of like mind.

Luwana

[Earthcup]

aha! found the link to that school!

http://www.goddessmooncirclesacademy.org/

[moonmari]

Yes!!!!!!!!!!! I would like to see my children in a pagan school.

[AradiaSupernova]

ok..coming from a student point of view:

I personally don't think a Pagan school would really go over well. Sure...its an interesting idea and a wonderful goal to try to reach, and who knows, maybe someday it will happen :) But for now I agree with everyone else. With everything else we are learning at school, no one really has time for much else. I know that the Unitarian Universalists have the CUUPS thing for Pagans (I'm still checking into that) and yeah, Pagan classes after school would be totally perfect :) But a Pagan school..kinda like they have Christian schools? I don't think that would go over well.

[LadyJ0713]

Hi, I think it would be a great idea. I've checked out the online school and am considering it for my son. He's only 2 1/2 now, but it's never too late to start checking into things. I think a well rounded view of the world is a great idea.

There is a pagan homeschooling web site called Acorns. I'm not sure of the address, but I like some of their stuff. The key is to teach your child what you want them to know but also what they need to know and experience. I didn't follow the paths of my parents. With their help and as I got older, I explored many paths.

Thank you

[LadyJ0713]

Hi, I think it would be a great idea. I've checked out the online school and am considering it for my son. He's only 2 1/2 now, but it's never too late to start checking into things. I think a well rounded view of the world is a great idea.

There is a pagan homeschooling web site called Acorns. I'm not sure of the address, but I like some of their stuff. The key is to teach your child what you want them to know but also what they need to know and experience. I didn't follow the paths of my parents. With their help and as I got older, I explored many paths.

Thank you

[Ball-Bhreac Ròn]

School and religion should be seperate, but, in our area, it is certainly not. We have C of E primary schools, Catholic primary schools, and Muslim primary schools (but I have as yet to see a Jewish, Buddhist, or Hindu primary school :p). These are openly Christian schools - anyone is allowed in, but they must first accept there will be Christian/Muslim prayers etc.
Even in secondary school, we have religion. Ours is a school that you have to pass a test to get in - therefore, pupils are chosen on a basis of their academic abilities, rather than their religion. However, at the end of every term, we are sent to church, to thank God for the past term, we have Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving services in the church - heck, we even have a school prayer, which states: 'Jesu, I humbly offer my life to thee'! But it is not a Christian school - we have never been told it was, I could find nothing in the school prospectus about it, even the teachers I asked seemed puzzled about it.

Wow, I'm sorry, this is very off topic, but I just needed that quick rant :mad: Back on topic....

I personally would have absolutely adored to have been taught all that stuff from a young age! Wow, I would love it even now!
However, there are some flaws with the idea. Paganism is still not completely accepted in this prejudiced world, and you can bet there would be opposition from various religious and social groups against a pagan school...we might even see violence (take St Mary's (?) school in Ireland for example - Protestants in the area used violence to stop the Catholic schoolgirls of 4-10 years going there...or maybe it was the other way around :huh: Who's to say this wouldn't happen to Pagan children?)
Also, we have no right to impose a religion on a child. We cannot send them to a Pagan school without their consent. And even if they do chose to attend, they are often infatuated with passing trends, and not committed. However, some children have a natural link with Mother Earth, and may be sincere with their desire to learn about Paganism. We cannot be sure though, and although it may be good to nurture their curiosity in early life, I think it would be better to wait until they are old enough to make an informed desicion. But by all means, I think that children should be taught about Paganism at home if they show more than a passing interest.

Well, that was my $0.02 :D

[Radocs]

To be short and to the point: I went to a Catholic school for six years and really resented my parents for it. They finally decided to put me in a public school which was, in my opinion, the best thing for me. Having said that, I would most likely send my kid to a public school right off the bat than some kind of private school, whatever it's spiritual or religious orientation.

[copperfairy3]

I think it would be a great idea. I don't know about the teaching of beliefs though. Due to the fact that many of us have different beliefs and follow different dieties. As for my child being singled out, he already is. I was caught by another parent from my childs school, celebrating Ostara. This woman has spread vicious lies about me through the community. So I have been outed from the closet so to speak. My sons friends won't come over to play anymore, and I know he feels terrible. He's only in kindergarten and can't understand why his friends call his mommy a witch. I am by no means a witch(yet). I have just begun my journey into the Wiccan realm. Growing up I was an outcast in school and wished that there was a school that only admitted the the nerds and book worms. If believe children should be taught about the old ways. The Basis of my beliefs center around Native American Traditions and I teach these traditions to my children. There should be private schools for Pagan children. Although I also believe the teaching of religious beliefs should fall on the parents shoulders. My child loves to go to church with my mother and even though I don't follow their way of beliefs anymore I encourage my children to explore their likes and dislikes.(withinreason of course) I would never force my child to follow any single set of beliefs, but can teach them what I believe and let them find their own. But there is also so much more out there that I could never teach my children. I know this jumps around a lot but bear with me. And how many of us as parents learn through our children? I know I do. There are things I see differently through my kids eyes that I had long ago forgot about. There are bad schools and good schools out there both private and public. Of course you would have to factor in that there might be a chance your child won't like it. But on the whole I think its a decint idea.

[Earthcup]

The online school uses secular curriculum, religous education is completely optional and up to the child and parent which I like.

They only have two religous classes, Paganism and Comparative Religon, at the high school level and they're both electives.

It's more about a Pagan friendly school than a Pagan Religous School.

So basically all it means is that your child is free to apply their religon/culture to their school work if they wish.

I think it's a good idea myself. I wouldn't push my religous values on my kids but I would want to make sure they felt free to express and show pride in whatever religous beliefs they choose.

[Milamber]

I would absolutely send my boys to a school like that. It's time we came out of the closet!!!! The more you keep things a secret the more people will think you're doing wrong things!!!! The christians have their schools, and shove their religion down our throats on a daily basis, why shouldn't we make a place for our children to feel good about who and what we are ???!!! It's time to stop being soooo paranoid. We aren't doing anything wrong and our children shouldn't have to feel that we are. And no matter how free you are about it in private, to tell a child it's a secret, makes them think that maybe it's wrong. I would wholeheartedly support something like this. I was just asking a group we were talking with why we don't have any Pagan schools nobody really had a good answer, except all the usual paranoid ones. So I say GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for your time and your ear.

Milamber's wife - Fire Storm

[Fire_Crotch132074]

Hmmm..... I don't think school or relgion should be mixed as other people already said but if I saw one I might but I would probably pick a public school instead so my son or daughter wouldn't grow up thinking they're belief is the only one like most Christian kids I've grown up with. So I would most likely choose public. Nice topic though, it got me thinking.

[WillowMoon38]

I think if you were going to teach that much stuff in school the length of the school day would be about 10 hours long!! I agree with most and say that I would rather teach the religion and the holistic stuff at home. Many Pagans choose to home school because their beliefs are varied from that of other pagans. I chose to homeschool for that and for other reasons as well.
It is a nice thought though.....I can understand your thinking, but I cannot see the practicality in it.

[lunawolfespryte]

hmm,... i have some definate ideas about this , but i want to gather them before i spout.

[moon goddess]

personally i would love the idea of pagan school. i can see how others say that they should tech their kids about the religion in their own way, i think that is a good thing too. But i have also wondered why their are Christain schools and catholic schools but no pagan schools. i actually went in search for one a long time ago because i was just starting and i wanted a teacheras a guide and someone to look up to since i grew up in a christian house hold. I like the idea but i think that it shouldn't be just for kids. I think everyone could benefit from a pagan school. And if one is thought about being built you can count me in for any sort of support! :floating:

[Autumn]

We actually have a model we could start from...Waldorf. there are some things I don't like about Waldorf and some I do. When you consider that some parts of Rudolf Steiner's writing played a part in the social movenemnt that brought Paganism out into the world it stands to reason that a Pagan educational system could be built on the Waldorf model. Philosophically the RE portion could be humanist in nature and also provide families with the tools to teach in an organized fashion...If a parent is sending a child to such a school they will likely be laying down a chunk of change so a letter home that says "this week we are discussing Mabon, this is what we are doing and why...please discuss your families tradiotions with your child" will be well recieved. especially if that kind of thing is laid down in advance.

[Mau]

I went to Catholic school for 3rd to 8th grade. And do you have ANY idea how hard it is to leave the beliefs that I did not CHOSE to believe..but had pounded into me for years as a child? If you really want your children to have the opportunity to chose what they believe...keep religion OUT of school. Otherwise..later in life, trying to change religious paths is the equivalent of them trying to unteach themselves their multiplication tables. That 2x2 is actually 8, not 4. In any Parochial school..they have religion pounded into them in one reserved class..AND in every other class throughout the day through examples. Let them go to a school that has no ties to any religion..and teach them the basics of each at home. As they grow, print them out materials on different religions and let THEM chose what they do and don't believe. If you instill in them basic morals and good nature...that's all that counts, until they can chose their own way of belief.