#faith schools

[eaglesnick]

Misplaced Faith

Our right-wing Conservative government has issued a press release entitled “Government to Lift Cap on Faith School Places”.

At the moment, faith-based free schools are legally forbidden to select more than 50% of their pupil intake on the grounds of religion. The reason behind this cap is to stop schools becoming isolated islands of a single worldview, thereby disadvantaging their pupils by subjecting them to racial and religious segregation, disadvantage and discrimination. At a time when society is fracturing and increasingly at war with itself we need policies that bring people together not ones that further divide them.

Putting aside the fact that most of the world’s bloody conflicts have their origins in religious differences, is it really correct for Gillian Keegan, the Secretary of State for Education to state that lifting the cap on faith school places will "create more good schools"?

Keegan, a devout Roman Catholic, went to a succession of Roman Catholic schools, of which she says:

“They basically all of them, because all of the teachers, all of those faith schools which were fantastic schools, they got me where I am today, but they also instilled faith in me and it’s a core part of who I am today.”

(www.churchofengland.org/media-and-news/stories-blogs-and-features/rt-hon-gillian-keegan-mp-secretary-state-education : 27/01/23)

As a child, Keegan, by her own admission, absorbed the beliefs and doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church to a point they  became a “core part" of who she is.

 Some might call this brainwashing, and therein lies the problem. Religious education and practice, and I mean ALL the different religions, are very good at indoctrinating children into thinking in a particular and narrow way. If children are denied interaction with children of different faiths and believes, then how will they ever integrate into wider society as adults?  We hear constant criticism of our failure to listen to the other person’s point of view, but if we subject our children to faith indoctrination as part of their day-to-day education, then expect this problem to get worse not better.

Stephen Evans, chief executive of the National Secular Society has stated:

“Our state schools should bring children from different backgrounds together, not divide them along religious lines. Abandoning the cap to pave way for more religiously selective schools will exacerbate the discrimination, division, and disadvantage that faith based schools encourages.”

(www.secularism.org.uk/news/2024/05/nss-appalled-at-plans-for-more-discriminatory-faith-schools (01/05/24)

There are other problems attached to this proposed move by the government. Allowing 100% section of pupils on religious grounds acts as a recruitment sergeant for that particular religion. What’s more,  the taxpayer will fund that recruitment drive, and that is not the best use of taxpayers money. A third problem concern’s Keegan's premise that “high performing faith school providers will be able to create more good school places and create strong multi-academy trusts around the country where there is demand.” (GOV.UK: “Government to Lift Cap on Faith School Places”, 01/05/24)

Whereas many faith schools DO produce good examination results, (and we we leave aside the argument that education is about more than examination results) these schools not only select pupils according to region but also according to the  socio-economic  status of their parents. The Sutton Trust found that 19 of the top 20 most socially selective schools are faith schools, where eligibility for free school meals (FSM) was used as a selective criteria.

The “FSM gap” is the difference between those pupils eligible for FSM’s in a defined catchment area and those who actually attend a school. Faith schools had a “significantly larger” (more negative) FSM gap than did non-faith schools in the same area. In short, faith schools are selecting pupils not only on religious grounds but on perceived academic ability as determined by their families economic circumstances. Is it any wonder they perform better than some non-faith schools!

What Roman Catholic educated Keegan is proposing is a continuation and strengthening of a two-tier state system of education, whereby the best pupils are admitted to  faith schools while the remainder are placed in non-faith schools. The rich and powerful are already insulated from the common herd via their almost exclusive access to private schools. Now we are witnessing the creation of a second layer of social apartheid via the creation of state funded 100% faith schools.

[harmonizingsunsets]

Running Gags in Hatchetfield Musicals pt 10 | Fake Musicals within a Musical

[erinwantstowrite]

will peter be like an older brother to miles in lof ?

absolutely he is

there's about an 11 year difference between them (Miles is 14, Peter is 25), so it's a lot more like the older brother type of relationship that Peter has with Tim (despite Tim being his uncle). Peter has mentored(ish) other young heroes by this point (mostly in the Bats' universe) but since Miles is another Spider-Man, Peter takes up most of the responsibility in making sure Miles is safe and teaching him the ropes. That's HIS sassy child genius, thank you, and he's not a sidekick, he's Spider-Man.

He was also adamant that Miles tell his parents immediately, and gets along great with Rio and Jeff.

Which is HILARIOUS to me because at this point in time, Peter has built up a persona for the public eye just like the Bats did. In Rio and Jeff's eyes, they're gobsmacked that the clumsy, scatterbrained, and "scaredy-cat" kid that Tony Stark adopted a while ago is Spider-Man. (Technically, none of this is a lie. Because Peter is a terrible liar unless it's For the Jokes, and often comes across this way even if he hadn't meant to.) They're wondering how he pulled that off since he's the same age as Spider-Man, who is known to be an Avenger, and associates in the same circles as Peter. It helps that Peter and Spider-Man have been in a social media war, and that Peter works at the Daily Bugle that is known for disliking Spider-Man. Peter's been taking lessons for years atp to keep his identity safe. Which is also bonus points to Peter, because the two can tell that secret identities mean everything to him, but he told them who he was in a heartbeat (literally the very first thing he did when he found Miles).

In other words: Peter was ecstatic to become a teacher for his own matching superhero kid and it's one of the most important bonds in his life. That's his baby brother now!!

[silamander]

I found this again while scrolling and...it hit me a little too hard

So that means it's time to trauma dump :]

Part of why I love Steph so much is because I relate to her a lot (not just personality wise). Back in elementary school/middle school, because of my ADHD I struggled a lot and I was seen as stupid by a lot of my peers. And I didn't grasp that it was just my ADHD so I believed that I really was an idiot. But thanks to some friends I met at my high school (who I love dearly and would gladly die for) I realized that I couldn't be more wrong.

So seeing Nerdy Prudes and Steph's character growth, and seeing her going through the same things I did, AND get a happy ending with Pete who loves her and sees past her self loathing and sees how smart she really is, helped cement that for me that I wasn't stupid and that I shouldn't give a shit if other people think I am, and I shouldn't give a shit how other people perceive me in general.

[keysmashing-bees]

So since Mariah!Ethan is a thing....

Hear me out. Mariah as Chris Kringle.

[feminist-cult-following]

the ezra you wrote stalked five teenage girls, engaged in a sexual relationship with a minor, groomed said minor, then took that girl’s secrets and planned to write a fucking book about it. also for her to say she feels “extremely disrespected” is ridiculous.

how do you think sara shepherd felt when she saw a character she wrote to be a bad guy and a creep be turned into the show’s longest lasting love interest? how do you think she felt when she saw aria, a character she created and loved, be written to end up with the man who groomed her?

if marlene can take such big leaps from the original source material, then pll original sin should be able to do the same with no problem or complaint.

[lyiuli]

Faces

[dollya-robinprotector]

"Hey, with, a ♪ ding ding dan ♪ let's dance! Rougher and rougher, up, down, up, down ♪ heave-ho ♪ Here, until you hit the climax, I'll take good care of you With our school slippers, shall we dance?"

Inspired by Balleriko - Mikito and this art

Part 2 with Fem School LIs...?

[bacchuschucklefuck]

dreaming abt sophomore year class swap bard!riz

[eddis-not-eeddis]

In my early twenties I know more theology than most men in the churches I've attended who are twice my age. This isn't a boast, I am no scholar. I say this in abject horror and despair.

[christ-and-love]

If you start tearing down idols you’ll find more and more and more. And some will hurt to get rid of. But I promise you, you’ll feel so much better

[lovebvffys]

Buffy Meme: [2/2 Locations] The Bronze

[saltpepperbeard]

no because really, i think stede is operating in a way he thinks will win him respect. i think he's operating in a way he thinks is the expectation. i don't think he likes it, and i don't think it's "him," but i think he enjoys the positive reinforcement from everyone around him. he's literally never had that before in his life.

he was bullied as a child for what he enjoyed. he was cast aside by his father for being himself. the crew threatened to mutiny against him or even just flat-out kill him because he was too "weak."

and here he is trying to pull himself up out of maelstrom of mistakes. "he's been a failure his whole life." he's trying to do everything he can to rectify that. he wants to be the lighthouse for his crew. he wants to be a good captain. he wants to be a good pirate. he wants to be a good lover. he wants to be something.

and he was actually getting there himself--he just didn't realize it. listening to his crew more, showing them kindness, leading them when they were lost and had no place to go, putting his own grief on hold and taking back the revenge...

he was getting there! but still, he was surrounded by those haunting expectations, by the fear that it wasn't enough.

the whole conversation between he and ed where ed is encouraging him to command respect/be tougher. the whole conversation between he and izzy where izzy says he's "never met anyone with a total lack of skills." zheng saying that she didn't "conquer china by letting people go on and on about their feelings."

not to mention the goading from ned. "once you kill me, you're a real pirate. you're not an amateur." "see? that's why he likes you. your bumbling amateur status."

it all keeps swimming circles around him, looming above his head like a shadow.

he thinks he has something more to prove. he thinks he has to be more. even though his own methods work, like ned's crew turning on him simply because stede showed kindness and understanding, all these phantoms keep telling him it isn't enough and that the other methods are more effective.

because he kills, and looks visibly shaken by it, but his crew cheers. he grabs ed by the collar despite them wanting to take things slow, and they grow intimate. he walks into jackie'z after it all, a place where he was previously banished from, and is treated like a sort of pirate hero.

it's not him. "we don't just banish people, do we? that's not us."

but it's encouraged. it's celebrated. so he thinks it should be.

[scrumizes]

imagine being british /pos

[genersones]

The devil seems to be a little red man with horns and a tail

[iris-drawing-stuff]

Yeah! Danganronpa Amane! Looking at the DR wiki all the Lil Ultimate titles all seem to correspond to a class subject (Lil Ultimate Homeroom, Social Studies etc.), so I made her the Lil Ultimate Faith studies.

I'm picturing her as the blackened of a case. I think she'll really kill (heh) at that role. Especially since my favorite Amane moments are when snaps (like when she attacked Es with scissors).

I also made a pointing sprite for Mikoto.

I used the cult's symbol from Magic and the balloon in Purge March for her school symbol. Here's the symbols (you can use it if you want)