The "unholy" row about

private religious schools being able to "discriminate" against students and teachers who do not adhere to their teachings and beliefs is puzzling me. Why would you want your child to attend a school which did not support your beliefs if there was an alternative? Why would you want to work in one which did not support your beliefs?

It brought me around to thinking about another issue as well. How, as a parent, do you face the fact that your normal, average, taxpayer funded state school is almost certainly teaching your child things you do not believe and may find offensive?

I have been to both state schools and a fee paying school. I attended the latter only because it was not possible to complete my education at the state school the Senior Cat was then the principal of. Nobody could. It only went so far. Students who wanted more had to go elsewhere. My parents wanted us to finish our schooling so off we went. 

At the school I attended there was an attempt to make me attend confirmation classes for that particular brand of the Christian faith. I remember sitting in the headmaster's office as he explained the importance of all this. I listened to him and then told him politely that arrangements had already been made for me to attend confirmation classes elsewhere. The way he had been putting the need for me to be confirmed could hardly prevent that. 

I know now he was not happy about it but there was no "unholy" row about it. I was the only student who was not going to be confirmed in his church but I was going to be confirmed. It was a compromise on his part I suppose. 

But what if I had simply refused to be confirmed at all? What if I had said that I didn't believe any of the Christian teachings of the school? What if I had actively tried to disrupt what was a major part of the school's teaching? (We had a "religion" lesson every day at that school - forty minutes of it.)

I think at the latter point the headmaster would have been within his rights to say I would not be welcome there. I know there are people who will disagree with me about this. They will say the school should still have accepted me and accommodated my beliefs. They will say it is "discrimination" not to do that but I don't believe it is. There may have been an alternative. Perhaps I could have gone to other schools. That one was chosen because it happened to have a place for me as a boarder.  (It was not a good school and I was very unhappy there but it was not because of the religious teachings.) The decision had to be made quickly because of the circumstances at the time. It was a compromise. (My mother wanted me to go to another state to a school for "Christian Scientists but the Senior Cat opposed that strongly. He was right to do so. It would have been a disaster.)

Adults have choices denied to children but they come with responsibilities.  There are times when people need to compromise. The proposed legislation does not allow for that and it may do more harm than good for that reason.