Religion classes in school - Megathread

hiddendriver34 said:I honestly don’t get how a homeroom teacher can just sit there and teach absolutely nothing to their students. It makes it impossible for them to actually bond with the kid. 🤷 On top of that, if the parents are totally at odds with everything that teacher stands for, how is that even supposed to work? What kind of relationship is that?

I’ve seen this happen before with a Religious Studies teacher, but that was strictly within a private religious academy setting. This situation feels incredibly bizarre.

Don't you think those religious instructors are basically a privileged class compared to us "regular" public school teachers? Like they play by a different set of rules when it comes to hiring, promotions, or even disciplinary stuff...

hiddendriver34 said:I honestly don’t get how a homeroom teacher can just sit there and teach absolutely nothing to their students. It makes it impossible for them to actually bond with the kid. 🤷 On top of that, if the parents are totally at odds with everything that teacher stands for, how is that even supposed to work? What kind of relationship is that?

I’ve seen this happen before with a Religious Studies teacher, but that was strictly within a private religious academy setting. This situation feels incredibly bizarre.

And what happens when the homeroom teacher is just some elective language instructor that the kid didn't even pick? It still boils down to seeing them once a week for advisory.

Susan James said:It strikes me as odd that they moved kids around different classes based on language requirements, and I still can't wrap my head around why.😕

You actually reminded me of that point about how a homeroom teacher can't bond with a student if they aren't teaching them... A friend of mine who works in a school once told me how parents sometimes complain when the art or music teachers are assigned as homeroom teachers. They feel like since they only see the kids for one hour a week, there isn't enough time to build a connection. They want someone who will "see" their child more frequently during the week. She actually saw this happen once where parents successfully pushed to change a homeroom teacher because the professor was splitting his time between two different schools, so he wasn't physically present every day. Personally, I thought that sounded like a silly reason, but it mattered to those parents, and the principal ended up respecting their concerns at the time.
The people teaching elective subjects aren't ideal, mostly because their schedules are so hectic, even if they do lead some extracurricular activities.

Back when I was in school, I had a split schedule with English, and I remember it being such a huge downside that the teacher would spend our actual lesson time dealing with administrative issues instead of teaching, which meant we lost out on learning. From that perspective, "elective" subjects seem like better candidates for homeroom than math, history, or foreign languages—but religious studies definitely isn't one of them (especially if you have a kid who won't ever see the teacher except during Religious Studies class).

In my middle school, my homeroom teacher taught shop class. So, it was basically a block period every two weeks and then advisory once a week. Everything worked out fine.

mellowskipper said:And what happens when the homeroom teacher is just some elective language instructor that the kid didn't even pick? It still boils down to seeing them once a week for advisory.

In my middle school, my homeroom teacher taught shop class. So, it was basically a block period every two weeks and then advisory once a week. Everything worked out fine.

Honestly, I’ve never heard of a situation where the homeroom teacher was someone teaching an elective to only a fraction of the class. Maybe that happens in a few specific school districts, but in my experience, I have truly never encountered anything like that.

It’s definitely a thing. You’ve got those teachers who barely pull half a full teaching load, and then there's the one teacher where, out of five kids, maybe two are even actually making progress... Computer Science is the same way. In these smaller rural schools, we’re the ones working ourselves to the bone just to hit our required hours—and then you've got the chemistry teachers looking for any extra classes they can grab to fill the gaps.

hiddendriver34 said:Honestly, I’ve never heard of a situation where the homeroom teacher was someone teaching an elective to only a fraction of the class. Maybe that happens in a few specific school districts, but in my experience, I have truly never encountered anything like that.

It totally happens. Back in my high school, the French teacher was the homeroom advisor for a class where most kids weren't even taking French.

EDIT. It's pretty much the same situation as what Sarah Hall53 mentioned. Small town vibes, similar logic.

mellowskipper said:And what happens when the homeroom teacher is just some elective language instructor that the kid didn't even pick? It still boils down to seeing them once a week for advisory.

In my middle school, my homeroom teacher taught shop class. So, it was basically a block period every two weeks and then advisory once a week. Everything worked out fine.

What year did you graduate?
I used to have three hours of shop class a week. 🤔
I still clearly remember those long block periods during the afternoon shift and just zoning out.

Personally, I don't see any issue with homeroom teachers being from "elective" subjects or classes that only meet once a week. But I'm telling you, some parents really take issue with it. When I first heard people complaining about this, my kid was still in preschool; honestly, there might be even more demanding parents today because people just expect so much more these days.

A lot of the shop teachers nowadays fill their schedules teaching physics or computer science, or running robotics clubs, so they don't really have the extra bandwidth to take on homeroom duties. However, art or music teachers are totally fine candidates—they actually struggle to get enough hours, even with choirs and art clubs.
Actually, it’s probably better if the role goes to someone teaching a lighter subject. Even if they lose their art club time because of the homeroom responsibilities, it's better than a math teacher missing out on extra pay or prep time because they're stuck being a homeroom teacher.
Though, religious studies doesn't really fall into that category.

The whole thing regarding foreign language teachers getting homeroom roles seems a bit odd too, but it makes sense since their class numbers can drop suddenly if students unenroll. That doesn't happen with religious studies because every grade level has that class regardless of how many kids are enrolled.

But a language teacher isn't the same as a religious studies teacher.
They aren't hired under the same circumstances.

mistydrifter73 said:It totally happens. Back in my high school, the French teacher was the homeroom advisor for a class where most kids weren't even taking French.

EDIT. It's pretty much the same situation as what Sarah Hall53 mentioned. Small town vibes, similar logic.

But she used Washington, D.C. as her example.
It’s definitely not a small school (they have classes ranging from A through D).
And being a German teacher isn't really the same thing as being a Social Studies teacher.

I get the feeling not many people actually want to be a homeroom teacher, but I wouldn't want a Religion teacher handling that role for a kid.

Susan James said:What year did you graduate?
I used to have three hours of shop class a week. 🤔
I still clearly remember those long block periods during the afternoon shift and just zoning out.

Personally, I don't see any issue with homeroom teachers being from "elective" subjects or classes that only meet once a week. But I'm telling you, some parents really take issue with it. When I first heard people complaining about this, my kid was still in preschool; honestly, there might be even more demanding parents today because people just expect so much more these days.

A lot of the shop teachers nowadays fill their schedules teaching physics or computer science, or running robotics clubs, so they don't really have the extra bandwidth to take on homeroom duties. However, art or music teachers are totally fine candidates—they actually struggle to get enough hours, even with choirs and art clubs.
Actually, it’s probably better if the role goes to someone teaching a lighter subject. Even if they lose their art club time because of the homeroom responsibilities, it's better than a math teacher missing out on extra pay or prep time because they're stuck being a homeroom teacher.
Though, religious studies doesn't really fall into that category.

The whole thing regarding foreign language teachers getting homeroom roles seems a bit odd too, but it makes sense since their class numbers can drop suddenly if students unenroll. That doesn't happen with religious studies because every grade level has that class regardless of how many kids are enrolled.

But a language teacher isn't the same as a religious studies teacher.
They aren't hired under the same circumstances.

She could just as easily turn the question back on you, because having only three hours of tech class a week is a relic of the past.😳
The reality of modern American schooling is that tech and art teachers rotate through different grades constantly, so most of them are just handling one block period every other week.

Andrew Doyle said:She could just as easily turn the question back on you, because having only three hours of tech class a week is a relic of the past.😳
The reality of modern American schooling is that tech and art teachers rotate through different grades constantly, so most of them are just handling one block period every other week.

Her child is a year older than mine, which is why I was asking.
Yeah, I know tech and art are scheduled for one hour a week. As for the block scheduling, that really depends on the school district; right now, most schools seem to be doing it because of those post-pandemic guidelines, but it's not necessarily the standard everywhere.

Also, I've noticed that a lot of the tech teachers actually teach robotics (they take the kids to competitions), computer science, physics, or even math... their schedules get filled up in different ways, so they rarely get assigned as homeroom teachers anymore.

Personally, I don't mind how many hours a week a homeroom teacher spends with a student—and honestly, I still find it hard to wrap my head around the idea of "getting to know" a kid that way—but if they never see them at all, that’s definitely an issue.
Though, that concern feels a bit smaller when we're talking about electives like computer science in middle school rather than something like religious studies, which falls into its own special elective category. 😬

The real issue here arises when an instructor isn't physically present in the classroom on a regular basis—especially those teaching social studies or advisory courses. Being a homeroom teacher is an incredibly demanding role; when an incident occurs, the responsibility falls squarely on that individual first. It is completely unacceptable for a teacher to be left out of the loop, only finding out about a situation several days after the fact, or being unable to intervene effectively because they simply aren't there to handle things in real-time.

(Regarding those social studies courses, the recommendation for block scheduling isn't some leftover relic from pandemic-era mandates; it’s a professional pedagogical recommendation based specifically on the nature of the subject matter itself.)

Susan James said:Her child is a year older than mine, which is why I was asking.
Yeah, I know tech and art are scheduled for one hour a week. As for the block scheduling, that really depends on the school district; right now, most schools seem to be doing it because of those post-pandemic guidelines, but it's not necessarily the standard everywhere.

Also, I've noticed that a lot of the tech teachers actually teach robotics (they take the kids to competitions), computer science, physics, or even math... their schedules get filled up in different ways, so they rarely get assigned as homeroom teachers anymore.

Personally, I don't mind how many hours a week a homeroom teacher spends with a student—and honestly, I still find it hard to wrap my head around the idea of "getting to know" a kid that way—but if they never see them at all, that’s definitely an issue.
Though, that concern feels a bit smaller when we're talking about electives like computer science in middle school rather than something like religious studies, which falls into its own special elective category. 😬

I can't say for certain, but from what I remember, I wouldn't say we had tech every single week. Maybe I just got used to those block periods back in the day and that's just how the logic worked out.
But I'd say maybe once every two weeks? I guess.

Andrew Doyle said:The real issue here arises when an instructor isn't physically present in the classroom on a regular basis—especially those teaching social studies or advisory courses. Being a homeroom teacher is an incredibly demanding role; when an incident occurs, the responsibility falls squarely on that individual first. It is completely unacceptable for a teacher to be left out of the loop, only finding out about a situation several days after the fact, or being unable to intervene effectively because they simply aren't there to handle things in real-time.

(Regarding those social studies courses, the recommendation for block scheduling isn't some leftover relic from pandemic-era mandates; it’s a professional pedagogical recommendation based specifically on the nature of the subject matter itself.)

In an age where everyone has a smartphone and constant internet access? 😕
Sorry, but that’s a totally weak argument (and honestly, I thought it was weak ten years ago too, even back then when we were talking about physics or chemistry—at that particular school, certain teachers didn't have full schedules, so they weren't physically there every day)

Plus, what happens when the school runs on shifts (which most do)? A homeroom teacher might not even be on shift that day, or they might have a light schedule and head home early.

By that logic, religion teachers should all be homeroom advisors since they're always at school, and they might have known the class since elementary school.🙄

I get that block scheduling lets you squeeze in more than one hour per week, but what if a student is sick for a week, and then there's a holiday the following week? They could go a whole month without the subject! Okay, maybe it’s not the most critical class, but for some kids, art is their favorite thing, and they really miss it when it’s gone. It also makes it easy for them to end up with no grade (and you can run into issues with absences, which is a nightmare if the class only meets twice a month)... based on what is that recommendation even built on? (Though, personally, I'm a fan of block scheduling for those two-hour subjects; during the pandemic, it worked great for things like geography or science. Fewer books to carry and less studying once a week.)
And just to be clear, I'm not being negative—block scheduling is great, especially for religion classes. It makes the master schedule much easier to manage outside of regular hours (plus all those perks I mentioned, like carrying fewer books and having less daily memorization).

Susan James said:In an age where everyone has a smartphone and constant internet access? 😕
Sorry, but that’s a totally weak argument (and honestly, I thought it was weak ten years ago too, even back then when we were talking about physics or chemistry—at that particular school, certain teachers didn't have full schedules, so they weren't physically there every day)

Plus, what happens when the school runs on shifts (which most do)? A homeroom teacher might not even be on shift that day, or they might have a light schedule and head home early.

By that logic, religion teachers should all be homeroom advisors since they're always at school, and they might have known the class since elementary school.🙄

I get that block scheduling lets you squeeze in more than one hour per week, but what if a student is sick for a week, and then there's a holiday the following week? They could go a whole month without the subject! Okay, maybe it’s not the most critical class, but for some kids, art is their favorite thing, and they really miss it when it’s gone. It also makes it easy for them to end up with no grade (and you can run into issues with absences, which is a nightmare if the class only meets twice a month)... based on what is that recommendation even built on? (Though, personally, I'm a fan of block scheduling for those two-hour subjects; during the pandemic, it worked great for things like geography or science. Fewer books to carry and less studying once a week.)
And just to be clear, I'm not being negative—block scheduling is great, especially for religion classes. It makes the master schedule much easier to manage outside of regular hours (plus all those perks I mentioned, like carrying fewer books and having less daily memorization).

The internet and a smartphone can never, under any circumstances, serve as a substitute for having a teacher physically present in an American classroom.

Regarding the suggestion for block scheduling: that recommendation comes directly from the specialists themselves—specifically the art professionals—as well as the agency. It isn't a strict requirement, but whenever it’s feasible, which it usually is, we opt for block sessions.
And let me be clear: if a student is sick or dealing with whatever else is mentioned, they don't just lose the entire subject for a whole month.

How on earth do you think it's easy for students to end up without grades? 🤔 I don't get it. There is a specific allowed percentage of absences over the course of the school year before that kind of scenario even becomes a possibility. How and why would that ever happen? 🤷

I absolutely refuse to agree with the notion that this "isn't a particularly important subject." In fact, saying that is just pure intellectual bankruptcy—but fine, that's beside the point.

Before the pandemic hit, her schedule had one week dedicated to technical studies and the following week focused on art.
Basically, she’d only see those teachers once every two weeks. But since she also had that Monday/Friday block, any time a holiday rolled around, they’d skip an entire session, meaning she wouldn't see them for a whole month. For instance, if there was a long weekend like Easter, art class gets canceled, then PE happens, then the holiday break hits—and suddenly she hasn't seen her art teacher in four weeks. 😁

Honestly, thank goodness the technical block wasn't on Fridays... (it's a good thing, too, because with the technical stuff, they have to cover theory and sit for actual exams, whereas with art, they're mostly just sketching or putting together a quick presentation).

Andrew Doyle said:The internet and a smartphone can never, under any circumstances, serve as a substitute for having a teacher physically present in an American classroom.

Regarding the suggestion for block scheduling: that recommendation comes directly from the specialists themselves—specifically the art professionals—as well as the agency. It isn't a strict requirement, but whenever it’s feasible, which it usually is, we opt for block sessions.
And let me be clear: if a student is sick or dealing with whatever else is mentioned, they don't just lose the entire subject for a whole month.

How on earth do you think it's easy for students to end up without grades? 🤔 I don't get it. There is a specific allowed percentage of absences over the course of the school year before that kind of scenario even becomes a possibility. How and why would that ever happen? 🤷

I absolutely refuse to agree with the notion that this "isn't a particularly important subject." In fact, saying that is just pure intellectual bankruptcy—but fine, that's beside the point.

I think you might be exaggerating a little bit there!
I’ve been thinking about this lately, and I honestly don't see why a homeroom teacher should have to be on call 24/7. They already have their dedicated advisory period during the school day, and there's usually a clear schedule for when information is released. Who exactly needs them to be available at all hours? It feels like we should respect those boundaries a bit more.
What exactly needs to happen for a teacher to be required to be physically present on campus right this second?
If we’re talking about a crisis intervention, you just give them a call and they show up. It doesn't matter if the kid is stuck in a different period at school or just hanging out at home—they'll be there. Most people would step up simply because it's the right thing to do, driven by basic human compassion rather than some official job description. It’s about responding when a child is truly suffering, not just following a manual.

Everything else can honestly wait. This is really something for the professor who was in class at the time to handle, along with the school administration—there’s always someone on campus to deal with these things. As for the homeroom teacher, you can just give them a quick heads-up via phone or email. You don't need to go out of your way to disturb them; just let them know what happened and catch them up when they're back in the building a day or two later. 🤷

Most subjects only meet for two hours a week, which really increases the chances of being assigned as a homeroom teacher. Meanwhile, core classes like Math or English usually have four hours scheduled, and even when they fill up the standard timetable, they often end up running extra tutoring or after-school sessions anyway. Honestly, it feels like a waste to have teachers give up those extra teaching hours just so they can qualify for the homeroom roles. If I were running the school, I’d much rather offer them more supplemental teaching opportunities than push the homeroom assignments.
I know most parents tend to think it’s best to have a homeroom teacher who is easy to get to know—someone they can actually connect with and see more often, especially since that person is basically always right there at the school.

I think you might be referring to fine arts! It’s such a fascinating subject to dive into. I’ve always found that exploring different art movements can be so grounding—it's like a little mental escape. Whether it's visiting a local gallery or just browsing a museum online, there's always something new to discover. Is there a specific style or artist you're interested in?
Take a situation like this, for example: a kid might be constantly traveling for competitions outside of school. They have a legitimate right to miss class, so let's say they end up being out on a Monday. If that happens to fall on a subject they only take once every two weeks—and then, if you're really unlucky, it lines up with a federal holiday or a teacher being out sick—they basically miss the entire unit. It's one of those frustrating coincidences where everything just hits at once.
I really love the suggestion to switch things up—I’m fully on board with the idea of doing two-hour sessions for art projects rather than just chipping away at them for an hour every week. Honestly, some of the kids don't even have enough space at home to store half-finished pieces once they start them! It feels like such a waste to only have one hour of art a week, especially when we're currently jumping between weekly sessions and those bi-weekly block periods. It would be so much better if we could just have that dedicated block hour every single week instead.
Even if we weren't officially off today, we’d still have two hours of religion class every week for all eight grades. 😍

I feel a bit bummed out that those block schedules are gone—though, I suppose, art and technical electives might still stick to a block format. And obviously, computer science is going to be an afternoon class now.
Maybe they should just leave religious studies in a block too.

I’m not exaggerating here, Susan James, I’m speaking from direct experience. In reality, things vary because you can't make everything align perfectly every single time, but if we are talking about actual benefits and quality of education, the homeroom teacher absolutely needs to be physically present as much as possible.
And the fact that students only get one hour of character education a week while religious studies gets two? We can thank certain people from the mid-90s political era for that mess.
But look, we can sit here and vent all we want, but those interests have metastasized deep within the system, and there isn't even a hint that things will change. Honestly, it wouldn't even surprise me if they decided to cut biology hours next. They could just explain all that science stuff during religious studies anyway.👍
As for absences—the specific examples we see in practice are never even up for debate when it comes to grading, so there's really nothing to worry about on that front.

Andrew Doyle said:I’m not exaggerating here, Susan James, I’m speaking from direct experience. In reality, things vary because you can't make everything align perfectly every single time, but if we are talking about actual benefits and quality of education, the homeroom teacher absolutely needs to be physically present as much as possible.
And the fact that students only get one hour of character education a week while religious studies gets two? We can thank certain people from the mid-90s political era for that mess.
But look, we can sit here and vent all we want, but those interests have metastasized deep within the system, and there isn't even a hint that things will change. Honestly, it wouldn't even surprise me if they decided to cut biology hours next. They could just explain all that science stuff during religious studies anyway.👍
As for absences—the specific examples we see in practice are never even up for debate when it comes to grading, so there's really nothing to worry about on that front.

I personally feel terrible that art and music hours were cut, and that kids in middle school end up with less math and English just so they can fit in a foreign language.
Just because religious instructors have spread themselves thin across schools (and their colleges are churning them out in massive numbers), it doesn't mean we should give them extra hours through homeroom duties.
Parents often agree to these setups hoping the instructor will be a good influence. But being a "good person" has nothing to do with the fact that they are major budget consumers. If you look at the cost of their hours over eight years, you could basically fund four biology professors or pay two of them double.
(By the way, science hours were already cut down to just once a week in fifth grade)

Between a religious instructor who works at only one school and, say, a geography teacher who splits time between two, and both need to fill their schedule via homeroom assignments—I’d much rather use those hours to support the geography teacher. They might not be on campus every single day, but they were hired under different circumstances than the religious instructors.
Plus, everyone takes geography all the way through eighth grade, whereas religion isn't necessarily a constant for everyone.

Also, anyone with a full teaching load is physically present. Those who have to pick up extra classes at another school obviously aren't, but that isn't always the case with subjects taught only once a week. Actually, in my experience with math, it's often easier to fill a schedule at your home school with math than with subjects taught twice a week... unless you're teaching specific combinations of classes.

I get what Mad is saying regarding small, rural schools where there's practically no choice, but in a place like Washington, D.C., there are plenty of options.

For periods 5 and 6, they alternate between science and geography. It’s basically 1.5 hours each, so one week you're looking at 2 hours of science and an hour of geography, and the following week it just flips.
By periods 7 and 8, things actually pick up a bit because they have biology, chemistry, and physics all scheduled for 2 hours a week, which honestly feels pretty reasonable.

Michelle Nelson4 said:For periods 5 and 6, they alternate between science and geography. It’s basically 1.5 hours each, so one week you're looking at 2 hours of science and an hour of geography, and the following week it just flips.
By periods 7 and 8, things actually pick up a bit because they have biology, chemistry, and physics all scheduled for 2 hours a week, which honestly feels pretty reasonable.

Yeah, I totally blanked on how it was actually set up.
But even then, it’s still less time than religion class, which gets two full hours every single week.