Religion classes in school - Megathread

3.

Sent from my iPhone via Reddit

Other kids are heading off to church for things related to First Communion, so I honestly thought the whole routine had changed. It’s a whole thing now—they actually participate. They basically get picked up from school by some organized group and driven straight to the church.

Is there any way to "tuck" those 45 empty minutes into another class? I'd love to know if this can be arranged and who I should talk to about it. Even if I have to be a bit of a nuisance, I would much rather my first grader spend that time learning a second language, coding, shop class, drama, or music—anything remotely productive.

frozenmoose19 said:Is there any way to "tuck" those 45 empty minutes into another class? I'd love to know if this can be arranged and who I should talk to about it. Even if I have to be a bit of a nuisance, I would much rather my first grader spend that time learning a second language, coding, shop class, drama, or music—anything remotely productive.

It isn't possible.

To prevent it from just being a "can't do" situation, here’s the reasoning—if they scheduled an extracurricular activity during that slot, half the kids would end up sidelined, unable to join in. So, schools just steer clear of those options to avoid the headache.

In the US, kids aren't just left to wander aimlessly—they usually head to the playground (their go-to), hit the library, or stay in the classroom working with the teacher—I often use that time to knock out my homework and stuff. That said, more than half the class usually skips the religious studies sessions anyway.

frozenmoose19 said:Is there any way to "tuck" those 45 empty minutes into another class? I'd love to know if this can be arranged and who I should talk to about it. Even if I have to be a bit of a nuisance, I would much rather my first grader spend that time learning a second language, coding, shop class, drama, or music—anything remotely productive.

A colleague of mine actually ran into this, and they realized the gym was completely free during that time slot. So, the parents took matters into their own hands and organized sports programs in the gym for those two hours. Of course, that sparked quite a little revolt among the parents whose kids attend religious education classes, because they wanted that same opportunity for them too (and just to be clear, the school didn't organize anything—it was entirely parent-led. But apparently, for those folks, it wasn't enough that the government already pays for their children's classes, while everyone else has to pay out of pocket 🙄).

I suppose what really matters is how many students aren't attending the religious studies portion, as that usually dictates whether there's anything organized for the rest of the kids. In my experience, about a third of the older grades and maybe a quarter of the younger ones don't go, so the school always manages to have something ready for them in the library or a classroom. For the younger ones, they're usually with the teacher watching cartoons, playing quiet games, or working through an extra workbook—honestly, my little one actually loves his "religious studies" time; it's practically his favorite part of the day! 😁

frozenmoose19 said:Is there any way to "tuck" those 45 empty minutes into another class? I'd love to know if this can be arranged and who I should talk to about it. Even if I have to be a bit of a nuisance, I would much rather my first grader spend that time learning a second language, coding, shop class, drama, or music—anything remotely productive.

There isn't actually a specific organized subject just for them.
Honestly, it’s probably for the best. For kids, that time is basically a free period, and they really enjoy the break—especially the younger ones. Even the older students benefit because having one more formal subject on their schedule usually means more tests and pressure to perform.
Plus, if we ever managed to phase out religious education and somehow ended up with those teachers looking for work, I worry the school board might try to protect their jobs by keeping those slots filled anyway. So, religious ed might stick around just to ensure everyone stays employed.

What *can* happen, and some schools actually do this, is that elementary teachers send their students to join other grade levels for different activities. They basically "tag along" with another class. Most often, they get slotted into elective subjects. My little one actually joined a different second-grade class for PE once, and she absolutely loved it—especially since they got to go outside.
(If it’s a core subject, they usually just sit in the back and do their own thing, though she still listened to what the teacher was saying. In fact, she actually picked up on some science concepts from the higher grade that helped her stay ahead later on!)

Our kids usually head to the library or just hang out outside. For instance, they recently had this music assessment—they had to memorize about twenty different songs, which sounds like a nightmare—but they all just sang them together to practice for the entire period. Everyone ended up pulling an A. 🙂

Sometimes they’re just messing around, coloring, playing games, or even bringing their little toys along... stuff like that. My little one actually loves religious studies; honestly, being a bit of a misfit isn't necessarily a bad thing. It’s only a real bummer, I agree, if that child is the only one doing it—then you really have to consider how tough it is to feel like a total outcast.

There’s a lot of teachers and parents in this group. What’s your experience been like—does anyone still run into situations where a kid is the only one skipping religious education class?
I saw that happen once back when I was working, but it was at a tiny little rural schoolhouse. In the end, the kid just ended up sitting in on the religion class with everyone else; he honestly didn't have anywhere else to go except to hang out with the cafeteria lady.

If he were my kid, I wouldn't let him sit through religious studies. Sure, you might find a single student in a class occasionally, but I doubt that happens very often in larger American school districts.

rowdypanther12 said:If he were my kid, I wouldn't let him sit through religious studies. Sure, you might find a single student in a class occasionally, but I doubt that happens very often in larger American school districts.

Exactly! If they aren't attending religious ed, it's precisely because they refuse to listen to it. In my kid's class, about seven out of seventeen students skip it entirely. They’re either tucked away in a different classroom, hiding out in the library, or hanging in after-school care if it's the last period. Plus, since they have first period every other week, they just show up to school later anyway.

My son is actually the only kid in his second-grade class who doesn't take religion class—it’s just how the schedule is set up, where they have a block period for it at the end of the day, so he basically gets out early. We haven't run into any issues so far, honestly. He’s been there for the school celebrations like Bread Day, and when they lit candles at the memorial service for the fall of Memphis, he was right there praying along with everyone else. It’s not like he didn't understand what was happening or anything—he was present, even if he wasn't being super vocal about it. My daughter starts school this fall, and she’ll likely be the only one in her grade skipping religion class too. She’s a bit more sensitive than her brother, so we'll see how she handles being the odd one out, but I have zero intention of enrolling her just for the sake of following the crowd. This is a pretty large school, with at least four different classes per grade level. From what I gather, there are a few others in the second grade who opt out, but in his specific group, he’s totally alone. We wouldn't call ourselves strictly religious people, but we definitely observe the holidays—especially Christmas, mostly because we see it as a chance to just get everyone together and spend quality time with friends and family.

Hey there...
My kids take religion classes at school... but there are always some kids in their class who don't. We’ve got students in both the lower and upper grades, and somehow it’s always a mess—either they have a block period first thing in the morning or the last two hours of the day. So, basically, the kids who skip the religion class don't really have to wait around; they just head home early, which means they get more free time before catching up with the rest of the class. It’s happened that they have the class right in the middle of the day too—which makes sense, since you can't schedule every single grade to have it at the very beginning or end of the day. When that happens, those kids are just... everywhere. They’re hanging out in the library if it's open, or outside if the weather is nice, or just chilling in some empty classroom. Honestly, it’s totally unorganized—they're basically left to their own devices, which I think is pretty lousy, but there isn't much else being offered. Parents are at work, and you can't exactly offer these kids an alternative activity that clashes with other electives or after-school stuff.

Now, looking at my take on religion classes in school—since both my husband and I come from traditional families, raised with the spirit of the Roman Catholic Church and being true believers ourselves, we never once questioned how our family life would look or how we’d raise our kids. Since we decided to raise them with those values, obviously, we signed them up for the school classes and they go to the parish youth programs too, as long as they actually enjoy it. At our local parish, the program is basically designed like a playground (starting from preschool all the way through high school). The priest, the deacon, the volunteers, and the teachers all stick close to our kids—they play games, lead choirs (depending on age), organize field trips and pilgrimages that are actually fun for kids, and even set up sports meets with other parishes. My kids genuinely love it.
On top of all that, during Holy Mass, the kids sometimes wander around the church, and the priest has never breathed a word of complaint about it—so we’re honestly really happy on that front.

That first introductory post mentioned how kids only learn about one faith in school religion classes... which isn't entirely the truth. Maybe it was like that before, but this year, as part of her religion class, my kid actually visited a mosque with her teacher. She wore a head covering, went barefoot, and respected all their customs and ways of behaving inside the mosque.

Jerry Turner5 said:Hey there...
My kids take religion classes at school... but there are always some kids in their class who don't. We’ve got students in both the lower and upper grades, and somehow it’s always a mess—either they have a block period first thing in the morning or the last two hours of the day. So, basically, the kids who skip the religion class don't really have to wait around; they just head home early, which means they get more free time before catching up with the rest of the class. It’s happened that they have the class right in the middle of the day too—which makes sense, since you can't schedule every single grade to have it at the very beginning or end of the day. When that happens, those kids are just... everywhere. They’re hanging out in the library if it's open, or outside if the weather is nice, or just chilling in some empty classroom. Honestly, it’s totally unorganized—they're basically left to their own devices, which I think is pretty lousy, but there isn't much else being offered. Parents are at work, and you can't exactly offer these kids an alternative activity that clashes with other electives or after-school stuff.

Now, looking at my take on religion classes in school—since both my husband and I come from traditional families, raised with the spirit of the Roman Catholic Church and being true believers ourselves, we never once questioned how our family life would look or how we’d raise our kids. Since we decided to raise them with those values, obviously, we signed them up for the school classes and they go to the parish youth programs too, as long as they actually enjoy it. At our local parish, the program is basically designed like a playground (starting from preschool all the way through high school). The priest, the deacon, the volunteers, and the teachers all stick close to our kids—they play games, lead choirs (depending on age), organize field trips and pilgrimages that are actually fun for kids, and even set up sports meets with other parishes. My kids genuinely love it.
On top of all that, during Holy Mass, the kids sometimes wander around the church, and the priest has never breathed a word of complaint about it—so we’re honestly really happy on that front.

That first introductory post mentioned how kids only learn about one faith in school religion classes... which isn't entirely the truth. Maybe it was like that before, but this year, as part of her religion class, my kid actually visited a mosque with her teacher. She wore a head covering, went barefoot, and respected all their customs and ways of behaving inside the mosque.

Can someone walk me through the logic here?
It would make way more sense if electives actually ran concurrently. Like, just have them all during 3rd period—one group hits religion class, another goes to Mandarin, and the rest head to computer science. Simple.

Then why are kids in religious education being left out?

Robert Rodriguez9 said:Then why are kids in religious education being left out?

Shortchanged? Give me a break. Students make their own choices regarding electives, just like any other overlapping course offerings in the public school system.
The only ones getting screwed over here are the religion teachers struggling with their scheduling blocks. Kids can always head to a church on their own time if they want to learn about faith.

Jacob Lopez2 said:Shortchanged? Give me a break. Students make their own choices regarding electives, just like any other overlapping course offerings in the public school system.
The only ones getting screwed over here are the religion teachers struggling with their scheduling blocks. Kids can always head to a church on their own time if they want to learn about faith.

I’m not sure on this one, but if they had a choice, they might pick computer science or maybe a language that aligns better with religious studies. Then again, religious education holds a different status than your typical elective since it isn't slotted into the standard schedule alongside the core subjects (thanks to that specific federal agreement).

Robert Rodriguez9 said:I’m not sure on this one, but if they had a choice, they might pick computer science or maybe a language that aligns better with religious studies. Then again, religious education holds a different status than your typical elective since it isn't slotted into the standard schedule alongside the core subjects (thanks to that specific federal agreement).

That’s true, but if students have the option to simply opt out, then those attending religious classes aren't being disadvantaged—especially since they can attend services at any local church for free. That’s my point.

Jacob Lopez2 said:That’s true, but if students have the option to simply opt out, then those attending religious classes aren't being disadvantaged—especially since they can attend services at any local church for free. That’s my point.

Yeah, but from their perspective, it doesn't work like that.
They don't really seem to care about the kids who skip the religious classes. If you offered them Chinese language classes as an alternative instead, even if they had zero interest in learning it, they'd probably start protesting just because both options are being offered at the exact same time.

Because they know if they actually offered a decent elective during that slot, nobody would bother showing up for religion class anyway.