General Chat

They do, David, but children aren't (yet) told some tosh about it, say, representing the wood the manger was made from!! :-D

The Christmas tree was a gift from the King of Norway to Queen Victoria.
Meant to depict the human race descended from one ie the top of the tree
broadening out to tens, hundreds, thousands, millions at the bottom.
Somehow the idea caught on, now most homes have one briefly at Christmas.

I don't really know what happened to "mine" ............... I left the school the following year, to get married and come over to NA.

I know that she developed a liaison with one of the other teachers, a woman who taught History and was part-time in the RE department, during my last year there. They were still living together in the 2002 Electoral Roll.

The problem was, they did not keep their association secret when they went out on field trips with the girls ................. try explaining their behaviour to 16/17 year old back in the 1960s when it was still rather illegal :-0

One of the things that she did while I was there was to start up a special Pet Club for the girls. We (ie the Biology staff) were forced to take charge of the rabbits and white rats that she was sure our girls would love to keep

The problem was that we were in very much a rural area, about 60% of the girls lived either on farms or in small villages, and I'd guess about 80 or 90% of them had some sort of "pet", whether that was a dog or cat or a calf they were raising.

Her previous post had been in an inner London school ..... and the girls there had "Loved" the rats and rabbits.

Ha bloomin' Ha!

I think the idea of the Pets Club slowly disappeared!

She bought the rats and rabbits before there was any building or hut to put them in. The rabbits were kept temporarily in cages along the wall of the Headmistress's garage at the school. The rats had to be kept temporarily in cages in the Biology Lab ........... and regularly escaped. The Home Ec room was just across the landing, and the Home Ec teacher was certain sure that the rats were getting into her room ...... I'm pretty certain that they didn't, but there was almost open warfare for a time between her and the 3 Biology staff.


I do know she was in court sometime in the mid-1970's for her treatment of one of the girls because a newspaper cutting was sent to me by the Science technician at the school that I still exchanged news with at Christmas. I can't remember the details now, but it was something to do with caning ..............


EDIT:-

just found something online (I've blocked out all names) ...............

------
THE reign of xxxxxxxx as a classroom terror ended when she was caned by the headmistress, a court heard yesterday.

xxxxxxxx, who had a history of bad behaviour, was sent to xxxx xxxx xxxxx for eating crisps during a maths lesson.

But the three whacks given to 14-year-old xxxxxxxx on her bottom landed xxxx xxxxx, xxxxx in court.

[her] parents brought a private assault and beating charge. They claimed that [she] was punished unreasonably.

But after [she] broke down weeping as she told of her classroom antics, the case was withdrawn and magistrates dismissed the charge against the middle-aged headmistress.

------

I knew nothing about the caning .............. I doubt it was going on when I was there.

The head landed up losing her job (not over that) and I was told by a teacher that she is working in a office. I say what go round comes round.

:-D :-D.@Sylvia.

and some in religious orders and ordinary people still belive it just happended........no men in here. :-D

Bob, that is what I learnt.
Linda - very strange. So she didn't stay in a tent in the hall for 3 days to re-enact the death period?
:-D :-D :-D Sylvia!!

Linda ..............

she sounds on a par with the new headmistress we got when I was teaching in a grammar school.

She wanted to keep her hand in by doing a "little" teaching ..... so she decided to teach one of 1st year RE classes just before Christmas.

She told these little 11 year olds that Jesus was born by immaculate conception, and this was a normal way to get pregnant :-0

We had about 30 very worried little girls!

The RE teacher was furious ............. and we, the Biology staff, weren't much happier

I was a dinner lady in my local junior school and we had a new head mistress who I think went well over the top with her Easter story by carrying a full size cross into the hall and recreated the crucifixion, this did not go down well with the parents but the head was a bit strange.

I always understood Easter came from oestrus, a recurring period of sexual receptivity. It is all to do with new birth, spring etc. Of course I may be wrong. By the way, before boiling eggs, wrapping them in the outer skins of an onion will impart a nice marbled colour to the shells.

Cynthia, Joy, Rose, Sue, I attended 6 different primary schools, mostly CofE, was taught to write 3 different ways, made copious Easter cards - and, like you, have never heard the one about the stone covering the tomb being egg shaped!

This also never came up when I was studying Religions at Uni :-S

Like so many others, I was well grounded in the CofE when young ............ I even went to a CofE church school from the age of 4 until 11, where we had the hymn, prayer and reading 4 mornings a week, and RE every day. On Thursday mornings, we walked in procession to the church next door and had a 1 hour service led by the Vicar, including a sermon. I then went to the grammar school from 11 to 19, and had the hymn, prayer and reading every morning, with RE once or twice a week.

We were not taught much about other religions, and I think it is wonderful that this has now changed, and that the festivals and important events of other religions are taught and celebrated in schools beginning in Kindergarten.

What annoys me, and I have no idea as to whether this also happens in the UK, is that the other religious festivals are celebrated under the original names, but not the Christian festivals.

We now have Winter Concerts, not Christmas Concerts, because that might make members of other religions feel discriminated against. Yet, the Jewish Festival of Chanukah (Hanukkah) which occurs in December, is talked about in schools under that name.

We do have Easter Eggs, and the Easter Bunny ................ but the religious aspect is not taught.


I just do not understand why the Christian festivals have lost their names!

when I wuz 6

http://www.essexmums.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=19674

Ping :-D

A light's gone on in my head.

Imagine all of those children with their hard-boiled decorated eggs, bored out of their minds during the Easter break. Now imagine all of those mothers tearing their hair out, thinking how to get those lively children out from under their feet.

'Go and roll your eggs down the hill to see whose egg rolls the furthest.'

Children entertained, mothers given a few hours peace - yes, a few hours because once children are entertaining themselves outside, most will find even more entertainment.

Yes, not a new one for me. We were taught that at my school back in the 1950's.

My grandson goes to a C of E sponsored state primary and they are doing egg rolling tomorrow.

So, myth or otherwise, it does seem that some think there was a connection to the tomb.

It seems to me that someone's invented it off the top of his/her head. I am at a loss to explain why one would do that.

As I suffered church 3 times very Sunday and went to C of E schools and therefore was taught RE religiously (pun intended) I have never heard any correlation between Easter eggs and tomb sealing.

Do schools come up with an explanation between Bethlehem and Christmas trees? I think not.

Sue

Rose, see my 8.25 posting. I, too, have never come across the stone/egg story and I I worked alongside clergy for several years.

So this morning I spoke with a senior clergyman, one of my colleagues for some years, and I asked him about this.

He replied that the stone/egg story is a complete myth, as you mentioned Cynthia.

He went on to confirm that the Easter egg symbolises new life - so Rose, what you were taught and what you and I believe is true.

That's what I thought Cynthia :-)

It's not a commonly held belief Rose and regarded by some as a myth.

Tombs at that time were generally sealed with either square or round stones apparently. :-)

I was taught religion in school, but neither there nor at home have I ever heard that the eggs have anything to do with the shape of the stone. :-0