Pagans in school

[Leander]

I've seen a lot of questions around (all over the internent, not just here) from people wanting to know what to do if they're a pagan in a school environment, so I thought I'd gather up my experience and put it into some posts if anybody would be interested. I'm still in school, but have been a pagan for nigh on two years now, and can offer sound (I hope!) advice to anyone in trouble in this area. :)

[FeatherGoblinglimmer]

I think it's a nice idea Leander. They're are lots of pagans who are still in school on this board. i imagine they're will be plenty of people to share.:)

[Fang of Loki]

I have been out of school for quite a while now, but I would say that Pagans should be open about their religion while they are attending school. Not open to the point where it could bring you trouble, but not hiding the fact that you are proud of your chosen faith.

I think that the ones who go around acting like they belong to some sort of secret faith or society are going to be the ones who are targeted the most by others. People may assume they are devil worshippers or that they belong to a cult of some kind.

What I'm trying to say is: If someone asks you about it, and you fell comfortable telling them, then do. Tell them just what they need to know, don't go in depth at first. If they are interested, they will come back to talk to you again.

[Leander]

I think that Fang has summed up the main thrust of my idea very well, but there are quite a lot of other things I'd like to add. First off, don't get frustrated with people asking about you. They'll be curious. It's very likely that none of them have met a Pagan before, and the only experience they have of them are from films like The Craft and serials like Charmed. I can't count the amount of times people have come up to me and asked me to mix up a love potion, curse their enemies or turn someone into a toad for the fun of it. I even had one guy come up to me and ask for a poppet ("Voodoo Doll" as he called it), with the intent of burning it and then leaving it underwater.

Of course I didn't do any of these things for them, but instead of just refusing them straight off, I told them why I didn't do it for them: "An it Harm None" etc.

You may also get people who keep on asking you the same questions over and over to be annoying. After a while, ignore them. Don't rebuke them, because then it will sound like you've got something to hide, just ignore them.

That's all for now folks, but I'll add more soon.

[Antoninus]

I've seen a lot of questions around (all over the internent, not just here) from people wanting to know what to do if they're a pagan in a school environment, so I thought I'd gather up my experience and put it into some posts if anybody would be interested. I'm still in school, but have been a pagan for nigh on two years now, and can offer sound (I hope!) advice to anyone in trouble in this area.
At my highschool, there ARE Pagans but they stay rather in the broomcloset as it were. Im, not SUPER public, but if someone asks, Ill tell them "Im Pagan". Its not a real in-tolerant environment because people here are, quite frankly, too frickin stupid to be intolerant. It makes some of the teachers nervous but again, no one really does anything. It IS rather sad when you tell someone your Pagan and they ask the classic "Is that like, a devil-worshiping thing?" Thats frighteningly more prevalent than "whats that?"

[Kyra Kismet]

Ive left school in the UK but if I was living in the US i would still be there! In my school there were people who bullied me cause of my religion and called me 'Witch', the one time on a school camping trip they put the Blair Witch symbol on my tent in red paint! :evilway:



**waves at Ant** Hey sweetie! :bigredblu

[Antoninus]

**Smiles and waves back** Hey :)

Well Ive found that the best way to go about doing things is just to do them. If you offend someboddy by doin the things you do, tough bricks. They arent you and they can turn thier head if its that offensive. A very "dont care" atitude comes in handy. A girl in my Keyboarding class once asked me "Dont you ever get like...uncomfortable because your so different than everyone?" No, not really, I do the things I do, and if they dont like it, so much the better, I dont want to be around people who cant take who I am

[Kyra Kismet]

Sarcasm is the best thing to do in school! Oh and winding people up! Tee Hee!




**woohoo my 600 post!!!!!!**

[Leander]

I've never found that sarcasm and winding people up worked for me. It just seemed to make them dislike me even more <=(. I know that some people do wonder if you're a wierd psyched up loony (the word "loony" should be taken literally here), and can't seem to understand that you're not. But when of course you meet someone who does understand (or at least says they do), I feel that they should always be taken at face value, even if they only think they know more than you about it - you should never say "Well, actually..." etc, because who knows, they might be a high-priest or something (especially if they are a teacher).

[purple dragon]

Ok so what do you say if they keep asking you whether you are going to get a broomstick and whether you can fly?!? Oh and can you get either of those?
Blessed be
Purple Dragon

[Shanti]

My kids, when in highschool didnt have to many probs being pagan but grade was impossible. I am homeschooling my grade school age kids because it is impossible to let them attend our public grade school. The school doesnt like pagan tots and the other parents are intollerant pagan tots.

[Antoninus]

Ok so what do you say if they keep asking you whether you are going to get a broomstick and whether you can fly?!? Oh and can you get either of those?
Blessed be
Purple Dragon
Flying oil was made using certain plants, plants that when applied to the skin, or inhaled, would cause a certain "high". Making you feel like you were flying, hence "flying oil".

Whatever you do, if someone asks what a Pagan is, DONT TELL THEM TO LOOK IT UP IN THE DICTIONARY! Maybe its me personally, but I think the dictionary definition isnt complete enough.

[Romani Vixen]

I'm in college. Luckilly I'm in a rather liberal area, and i don't hide my faith. We actually discuss it openly, though not extensively, on occasion in Jewelrymaking (there are... 4 other pagans).

I'm going to be teaching in a few years, and I expect to have to keep it on the downlow at that point though.

I've determined that if I ever win powerball, i'm going to open a Pagan Academy! guess I should start buying tickets huh? :)

[Laurelei]

In my experience, if you don't treat your alternative faith like it's something bizarre, others won't either. I've seen stuff like this from both ends of the spectrum. There's me, the 'open Pagan', and there's a Wiccan girl in the same school who's the 'picketiing, campaigning, don't-be-predjudiced-to-me' sort of girl. She spends so much time trying to make people accept her faith (when they really didn't care in the first place), that they're resentful to her for it. I will be open about my faith, but I don't act like I expect to encounter predjudice and I don't. My religion is like my eye colour. Her religion is like her odd hobby.

[KatCallide]

No one at my high school knows I'm Pagan. I don't think it would go over well because even though I go to a public high school, it's really big on FCA and "Meet you at the poll" which is morning prayer and the flag poll. My school is really big on christianity so yeah. I wear my pentacle ring but no one has said anything about it. I guess because a lot of people are in to 'stars'. Everyones always drawing them everywhere. You guys should see my yearbook, there are stars everywhere! So I guess everyone just thinks my ring is just a star.... lol

[Romani Vixen]

Ok so what do you say if they keep asking you whether you are going to get a broomstick and whether you can fly?!? Oh and can you get either of those?
Blessed be
Purple Dragon
Right next to the mop and I dont' have the money for plane tickets! lol