What should a 5 year old be taught?

[Anewbe4u]

Hey,

Do you think I need to say something to the school where little girl goes? She has just turned 5 and I asked her what she learnt at school on friday.

She went on to tell me that she learnt about drugs and how they are dangerous if you take them. She then went on about how they can kill you if you take them and she let me know how she had learnt about death. Specifically the death of Michael Jackson releating to drugs.

I find it really inappropriate that she has been taught about drugs and death at that age. We have had no information that thats what they would be teaching and I can't imagine its on the curriculum. In fact, she also learnt that Michael Jackson was the best singer of all time and its a real shame that he died.... Maybe the teacher just has a thing for him.

I'm going to speak to the school about it on monday, do you guys think I'm overeacting or if your child was taught about things like this would you be annoyed?

 

[Feek]

You're overreacting.

 

[meghatronic]

I would speak to the school before overreacting... "From the mouth of babes".

I would flip though, it is a parent's place to teach children about such things imho.

 

[Anim]

Its a bit much for a 5 year old, my opinion is they should be learning;

1) Maths
2) English
3) Another european language

Drugs and Michael Jackson are not life skills that need to be taught at a young age.

 

[Anewbe4u]

I would speak to the school before overreacting... "From the mouth of babes".

I would flip though, it is a parent's place to teach children about such things imho.

Well this is what I was thinking. She was quite specific though but I will find out all the facts before getting angry with them.

I was thinking about it, she now relates drugs to death, if she see's us taking tablets or anything, it will terrify her.

Feek, who should be the one to teach children about death? Parents or School?

 

[Chimerical]

Why is learning about death and drugs a big deal?

 

[The Halk]

I'm not a parent, but I do look after my (nearly!) 2 year old niece... When watching kids TV with her I noticed a lot of moral lessons being are being shoved down kids necks.

I'm wondering if by the time she's an adult she'll be so sick of everything having a moral lesson behind it that she'll make the wrong choices.

Specifically on drugs I'm dead against the moronity that is telling kids that drugs are bad, don't take them. No child is stupid enough to believe that someone will take drugs which have no positive effect, just negatives. They'll just reject that and want to try it themselves - I know that's why I did.

At 5 years old there's just no sense in trying to educate kids about drugs. It's stupidity. I am sure it's well intentioned though. And sadly these days it seems kids are being exposed to drugs earlier and earlier. You see the odd story in the papers about 9 year olds smoking hash, or 12 year olds on pills.

I guess at some stage kids do need to be told about drugs. But I'm absolutely certain that at 5 years old warning kids about drugs being bad is just stupid. What I don't know is if it'll have a negative effect or not.

As for over reacting, I really don't know, I don't have kids so I'm conscious I perhaps don't know enough about it to say. What I can say is that youy shouldn't not speak to the school, if you're concerned you should speak to them. But you should speak to the right person (not the teacher) at the right time, in private and try to be as constructive as possible.

 

[Manics]

Drugs and Michael Jackson are not life skills that need to be taught at a young age.

Debatable.

 

[Anewbe4u]

Why is learning about death and drugs a big deal?

Do you have kids?

It's a big deal because death can be a very sad thing, so when you have little children learning it about it, you would want it to be handled sensibly. I don't think in a school environment that is possible.

Katy(little girl) had plenty of questions about it which wern't answered at school.

 

[Chimerical]

To be honest, this is a little ridiculous. Lots of children go to, say, Catholic schools where they learn about Jesus dying on the cross and are shown an image of extreme brutality depicting a man bleeding to death, nailed to a wooden stand, with a crown of thorns digging into his head.

Do you have kids?

I don't have kids no (I don't ever intend to either to be fair).

It's a big deal because death can be a very sad thing, so when you have little children learning it about it, you would want it to be handled sensibly. I don't think in a school environment that is possible.

Katy(little girl) had plenty of questions about it which wern't answered at school.

You could say the same thing about sex education, teaching certain life skills, etc. There are children out there actually doing drugs so learning about them is hardly the same thing.

 

[Anewbe4u]

Yes but thats the parents choice. If they send them there, they will know that their kids will be taught that.

I have had a look at the curriculum and no where I can see does it mention, death, drugs and MJ.

 

[Tefal]

Surely by 5 you should have already taught them about death?

 

[The Halk]

Do you have kids?

It's a big deal because death can be a very sad thing, so when you have little children learning it about it, you would want it to be handled sensibly. I don't think in a school environment that is possible.

Katy(little girl) had plenty of questions about it which wern't answered at school.

Now that you've written that I do indeed thing you should have a quiet, constructive word with the head teacher.

There's no way those types of issues should be glossed over to a 5 year old at school, who is then sent home with troubling questions.

To be honest, this is a little ridiculous. Lots of children go to, say, Catholic schools where they learn about Jesus dying on the cross and are shown an image of extreme brutality depicting a man bleeding to death, nailed to a wooden stand, with a crown of thorns digging into his head.

Faith schools are child abuse. I know that sounds incredible, but I firmly believe no child should be subjected to religious brainwashing from a vulnerable age. That is exactly and only what faith schools are about. Ensuring that from an early age the child can have the religion hammered into their poor little heads so they turn out to be a believer.

 

[Chimerical]

Faith schools are child abuse. I know that sounds incredible, but I firmly believe no child should be subjected to religious brainwashing from a vulnerable age. That is exactly and only what faith schools are about. Ensuring that from an early age the child can have the religion hammered into their poor little heads so they turn out to be a believer.

Faith schools are bad but whilst there are parents out there that send their kids to them (like me), then they'll always exist.

They're not child abuse though. Child abuse is child abuse. Going to a faith school may have helped ruin my life but then there were many other factors in that.

Plus, most people walk out of secondary faith schools as atheists/agnostics from my personal experience.

 

[^TANK^]

Surely by 5 you should have already taught them about death?

 

[Jokester]

Surely by 5 you should have already taught them about death?

Dunno about that, my first real experience of death was when my actual teacher died when I was about 6. Most young kids don't really learn about death until either a grandparent dies or a pet dies.

 

[The Halk]

Faith schools are bad but whilst there are parents out there that send their kids to them (like me), then they'll always exist.

They're not child abuse though. Child abuse is child abuse. Going to a faith school may have helped ruin my life but then there were many other factors in that.

Plus, most people walk out of secondary faith schools as atheists/agnostics from my personal experience.

Faith schools are child abuse, and child abuse is child abuse. It doesn't need to be physical or sexual.

Just because many people walk out of faith schools as atheists simply means faith schools failed at brainwashing that individual. It doesn't make the school "ok".

I do understand why some parents want to send their kids to faith schools. The school can be selective about who they admit, and thus go some, or all of the way towards being a private school.

 

[semi-pro waster]

It sounds a little curious but depending on the context it might be perfectly natural - supposing for a second that a child raised the issue of Michael Jackson's death then it might well be appropriate to spend a bit of time dealing with it. If it was apropos of nothing then it becomes a bit harder to explain although again it might still be suitable depending on the situation and what the lesson is/was aimed at teaching.

 

[LeJosh]

She has learnt that drugs can kill you and in turn she will avoid them later on in life?

I first experienced death when my Teacher died in primary 5. I can't remember what age that is though, complete mind blank. She was a lovely person.

 

[Chimerical]

Faith schools are child abuse, and child abuse is child abuse. It doesn't need to be physical or sexual.

No its not. Teaching kids in a class about a magical man in the sky and how they're all going to burn in hell for the sins they were born with is not child abuse. To say such a thing is to simply water down actual child abuse which is truly horrific.

Just because many people walk out of faith schools as atheists simply means faith schools failed at brainwashing that individual. It doesn't make the school "ok".

I agree that it doesn't make the schools okay, what it does mean is that they are ineffective.

I am agreeing with you on the basic points but even with the adverse effect I experienced from attending a faith school, it still does not equate to the level of mistreatment that you are suggesting. The best thing would probably be to get rid of faith schools altogether though.

However, to me, it also shows that parents don't always know what is best for their children because its them who send their kids to these places.