Teaching our children in schools that the fairies will take care of them, wtf?

LightlyGo

In the last few days there's a video on facebook from the Fairy Door Company featuring Irish school principals talking about how great use of the Fairy Worry Plaque is in schools. Over 5000 people have commented in the hope of winning a plaque for their school. Among them I see many of my friends whose kids are in Educate Together schools who purposefully did not want their kids receiving a religious education but are willing to fill their heads with this nonsense.

Here's a video of what a Fairy Worry Plaque is https://youtu.be/1BLxwNlh708

Here's the video of Irish school principals waxing lyrical about how great they are : https://www.facebook.com/TheIrishFairyDoorCompany/videos/670991263103207/

A Worry Plaque is a piece of plastic rubbish a child places their hand on and sends their worries to the fairies to take care of. A light flashes to indicate that the fairies have received your problem and are now taking care of it.
Sound familiar at all ??(...minus the flashing light which a prayer rarely produces!).

My friend who is a teacher has told me most teachers in her school are using the plaque and finding them brilliant for young kids with anxieties in school who all mostly have a Fairy Door at home and do now believe in fairies anyway. I asked a few friends with small kids and they do indeed seem to be big fans of fairy doors and talking to their kids about fairies.

Is it me or is worrying that Irish school principals are advocating use of use such a concept ? And that grown adults are feeding their kids this utter nonsense?
Would we not be so much better off trying to relate to our children in a way they could talk to us and not pieces of plastic or statues or tiny wooden doors? How has this evolution of the fairy even happened in our present culture?
So what do you think boards? If you have kids are you ok with Fairy Plaques?

accensi0n

LightlyGo wrote: »

So what do you think boards? If you have kids are you ok with Fairy Plagues?

Absolutely, let them all die off.

Surreptitious

Boards is gay friendly dude.

Cheerful Spring

LightlyGo wrote: »

In the last few days there's a video on facebook from the Fairy Door Company featuring Irish school principals talking about how great use of the Fairy Worry Plaque is in schools. Over 5000 people have commented in the hope of winning a plaque for their school. Among them I see many of my friends whose kids are in Educate Together schools who purposefully did not want their kids receiving a religious education but are willing to fill their heads with this nonsense.

Here's a video of what a Fairy Worry Plaque is https://youtu.be/1BLxwNlh708

Here's the video of Irish school principals waxing lyrical about how great they are : https://www.facebook.com/TheIrishFairyDoorCompany/videos/670991263103207/

A Worry Plaque is a piece of plastic rubbish a child places their hand on and sends their worries to the fairies to take care of. A light flashes to indicate that the fairies have received your problem and are now taking care of it.
Sound familiar at all ??(...minus the flashing light which a prayer rarely produces!).

My friend who is a teacher has told me most teachers in her school are using the plaque and finding them brilliant for young kids with anxieties in school who all mostly have a Fairy Door at home and do now believe in fairies anyway. I asked a few friends with small kids and they do indeed seem to be big fans of fairy doors and talking to their kids about fairies.

Is it me or is worrying that Irish school principals are advocating use of use such a concept ? And that grown adults are feeding their kids this utter nonsense?
Would we not be so much better off trying to relate to our children in a way they could talk to us and not pieces of plastic or statues or tiny wooden doors? How has this evolution of the fairy even happened in our present culture?
So what do you think boards? If you have kids are you ok with Fairy Plagues?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebor_Gab%C3%A1la_%C3%89renn Just saying Irish people have forgotten their history. Tuatha de Danann mostly like were the fairies they were here before the Celts.

LightlyGo

accensi0n wrote: »

Absolutely, let them all die off.

Haha, fixed it. That did make me laugh though.

kippy

The only issue I have is that I didn't think of it first.
Epic business.

Pretzill

I wouldn't be too worried about a faerie plague (don't think they carry diseases?)

Fostering/ encouraging imagination is a good idea -

Edit to add: not quick enough

dreamers75

This is in primary schools yeah?

LightlyGo

Cheerful Spring wrote: »

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebor_Gab%C3%A1la_%C3%89renn Just saying Irish people have forgotten their history. Tuatha de Danann mostly like were the fairies they were here before the Celts.

I know and I appreciate that. However learning about your cultural history and what people believed in times gone by is very different than actually regressing back beyond all sane logic and believing it yourself and teaching children to believe it.

ThisRegard

Nothing wrong with it. People for centuries have been using all sorts of methods for such things and if it makes things easier for kids let them at it.

You'll be wanting Teddy bears and other such comforters along with pets banned next as they perform the same function.

Grayson

I'm fine with it. It's not like they'll believe it when they grow up.

Harry Palmr

Fecking pagans and their superstitious culture

It seems some people just want to yell "your all gonna die" at small children.

The Backwards Man

Some people have little to bother them

freshpopcorn

It's a nice thing for kids to believe in they grow out of it in about 3rd class. It's a fun class activity writing notes to fairly and getting the kids to use their imagination.

Stephen15

LightlyGo wrote: »

In the last few days there's a video on facebook from the Fairy Door Company featuring Irish school principals talking about how great use of the Fairy Worry Plaque is in schools. Over 5000 people have commented in the hope of winning a plaque for their school. Among them I see many of my friends whose kids are in Educate Together schools who purposefully did not want their kids receiving a religious education but are willing to fill their heads with this nonsense.

Here's a video of what a Fairy Worry Plaque is https://youtu.be/1BLxwNlh708

Here's the video of Irish school principals waxing lyrical about how great they are : https://www.facebook.com/TheIrishFairyDoorCompany/videos/670991263103207/

A Worry Plaque is a piece of plastic rubbish a child places their hand on and sends their worries to the fairies to take care of. A light flashes to indicate that the fairies have received your problem and are now taking care of it.
Sound familiar at all ??(...minus the flashing light which a prayer rarely produces!).

My friend who is a teacher has told me most teachers in her school are using the plaque and finding them brilliant for young kids with anxieties in school who all mostly have a Fairy Door at home and do now believe in fairies anyway. I asked a few friends with small kids and they do indeed seem to be big fans of fairy doors and talking to their kids about fairies.

Is it me or is worrying that Irish school principals are advocating use of use such a concept ? And that grown adults are feeding their kids this utter nonsense?
Would we not be so much better off trying to relate to our children in a way they could talk to us and not pieces of plastic or statues or tiny wooden doors? How has this evolution of the fairy even happened in our present culture?
So what do you think boards? If you have kids are you ok with Fairy Plaques?

Jaysus the principal in the video is a complete ride

LightlyGo

ThisRegard wrote: »

Nothing wrong with it. People for centuries have been using all sorts of methods for such things and if it makes things easier for kids let them at it.

You'll be wanting Teddy bears and other such comforters along with pets banned next as they perform the same function.

Grayson wrote: »

I'm fine with it. It's not like they'll believe it when they grow up.

Would you fine with religion being taught to children in the hope of providing them with the same sort of temporary childish comfort?

I just feel like if we have moved beyond teaching religion for those reasons shouldn't we have set our sights higher than teaching our kids to relate to imaginary beings? Shouldn't we be evolving past this ? Shouldn't we be learning to relate to them ourselves and teaching them to talk to us about worries?

ThisRegard

LightlyGo wrote: »

Would you fine with religion being taught to children in the hope of providing them with the same sort of temporary childish comfort?

WTF, "childish comfort"?!? They are bloody children.

Cheerful Spring

LightlyGo wrote: »

I know and I appreciate that. However learning about your cultural history and what people believed in times gone by is very different than actually regressing back beyond all sane logic and believing it yourself and teaching children to believe it.

Our folklore is unique i hate to think we lose it. And don't see the harm in it.

Irish Guitarist

In my day the teachers beat you around the place for sport and you were glad of it.

LightlyGo

ThisRegard wrote: »

WTF, "childish comfort"?!? They are bloody children.

But would you feel we should teach them prayers because Mary and the angels will take care of your worry if you say them? Isn't that how you relate to religion as a child? That's what I mean by childish comfort.

Cheerful Spring

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

In my day the teachers beat you around the place for sport and you were glad of it.

I went to a school that had missionaries as teachers and those guys would kick the s--t out of you if got into trouble.

dreamers75

LightlyGo wrote: »

But would you feel we should teach them prayers because Mary and the angels will take care of your worry if you say them? Isn't that how you relate to religion as a child? That's what I mean by childish comfort.

These same kids believe in Santa.

Shocked it took 2 pages for the atheist god ****e to come out.

/also an atheist just not one of the dickhead ones.

ThisRegard

LightlyGo wrote: »

But would you feel we should teach them prayers because Mary and the angels will take care of your worry if you say them? Isn't that how you relate to religion as a child? That's what I mean by childish comfort.

Childhood must be a barrel of laughs in your house. **** off kids, there's no tooth fairy, Santa or Easter bunny, and bollox to your birthday too, Hallmark are rich enough already.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

LightlyGo wrote: »

In the last few days there's a video on facebook from the Fairy Door Company featuring Irish school principals talking about how great use of the Fairy Worry Plaque is in schools. Over 5000 people have commented in the hope of winning a plaque for their school. Among them I see many of my friends whose kids are in Educate Together schools who purposefully did not want their kids receiving a religious education but are willing to fill their heads with this nonsense.

Here's a video of what a Fairy Worry Plaque is https://youtu.be/1BLxwNlh708

Here's the video of Irish school principals waxing lyrical about how great they are : https://www.facebook.com/TheIrishFairyDoorCompany/videos/670991263103207/

A Worry Plaque is a piece of plastic rubbish a child places their hand on and sends their worries to the fairies to take care of. A light flashes to indicate that the fairies have received your problem and are now taking care of it.
Sound familiar at all ??(...minus the flashing light which a prayer rarely produces!).

My friend who is a teacher has told me most teachers in her school are using the plaque and finding them brilliant for young kids with anxieties in school who all mostly have a Fairy Door at home and do now believe in fairies anyway. I asked a few friends with small kids and they do indeed seem to be big fans of fairy doors and talking to their kids about fairies.

Is it me or is worrying that Irish school principals are advocating use of use such a concept ? And that grown adults are feeding their kids this utter nonsense?
Would we not be so much better off trying to relate to our children in a way they could talk to us and not pieces of plastic or statues or tiny wooden doors? How has this evolution of the fairy even happened in our present culture?
So what do you think boards? If you have kids are you ok with Fairy Plaques?

It's a bit of fantasy. Feck off and leave them alone. You'll be telling three-year-olds Santa's not real next.

Ipso

Cheerful Spring wrote: »

Our folklore is unique i hate to think we lose it. And don't see the harm in it.

Yes, but let's not pass the book of invasions of as real events. The tuatha de danann are more or less the celtic gods with the Fomor being the baddies.

donegaLroad

LightlyGo wrote: »

But would you feel we should teach them prayers because Mary and the angels will take care of your worry if you say them? Isn't that how you relate to religion as a child? That's what I mean by childish comfort.

Its the same concept as going to confession, tell all your sins and say a bunch of hail mary's and your slate is wiped clean.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

LightlyGo wrote: »

But would you feel we should teach them prayers because Mary and the angels will take care of your worry if you say them? Isn't that how you relate to religion as a child? That's what I mean by childish comfort.

There's a difference between teaching a religious ethos (which those who teach it believe is real) and a mythological fantasy (which those who teach it, know is fantasy).

colm_mcm

Mmmm germs!

Are Am Eye

Cheerful Spring wrote: »

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebor_Gab%C3%A1la_%C3%89renn Just saying Irish people have forgotten their history. Tuatha de Danann mostly like were the fairies they were here before the Celts.

Tuatha de Danann is not history but come sfrom irish mythology.
Probably rooted in peoples that migrated here in mid to late bronze age.
"Celts coming to Ireland" is not really history these days either. In the iron age we were influenced through trade, migration and culture by the peoples of northern europe - and that influence left what was afterward referred to as celtic invasion.

Where's Wibbs when you need him.

Tom Mann Centuria

Fairies were not only seen, but photographed a hundred years ago in Cottingley in the UK, so, unless you want homeless fairies everywhere they need accommodation. Give them their doors ffs.

OU812

"Children know such a lot now. Soon they don't believe. And every time a child says 'I don't believe in fairies', there's a fairy someplace that falls down dead". — Peter Pan

1. It's a great idea to make kids feel more secure in themselves.
2. It's a great business extension.
3. I'd rather they had this influence than religion
4. The principle is a ride.

Irish Guitarist

Cheerful Spring wrote: »

I went to a school that had missionaries as teachers and those guys would kick the s--t out of you if got into trouble.

I was joking really. I started school in the early eighties and I think it was just about the time corporal punishment was coming to an end.

My fifth class teacher did once catch me writing on the desk and laid into me by beating my knuckles with a ruler until they bled. That was the one incident of violence I had to endure from a teacher.

Ipso

Are Am Eye wrote: »

Tuatha de Danann is not history but come sfrom irish mythology.
Probably rooted in peoples that migrated here in mid to late bronze age.
"Celts coming to Ireland" is not really history these days either. In the iron age we were influenced through trade, migration and culture by the peoples of northern europe - and that influence left what was afterward referred to as celtic invasion.

Where's Wibbs when you need him.

They came in the bronze age with the bell beaker culture, an offshoot of the yamnaya culture which spread the indo european languages in Europe.

Cheerful Spring

Ipso wrote: »

Yes, but let's not pass the book of invasions of as real events. The tuatha de danann are more or less the celtic gods with the Fomor being the baddies.

Book of Invasions is the christen church view on ancient Ireland. There may be some truth in there somewhere? Unfortunately the ancient people of Ireland did not write anything down, information and stories, got passed on orally over the centuries. I believe the Tuatha de Dannann are likely a real group of people who migrated to Ireland in the past, when they arrived, and who they are exactly too much time has passed to find out.

LightlyGo

dreamers75 wrote: »

These same kids believe in Santa.

Shocked it took 2 pages for the atheist god ****e to come out.

/also an atheist just not one of the dickhead ones.

Are you sure? Usually having to assert the fact yourself isn't the best sign.

I see an enormous hypocrisy between telling your child fairies are real and can alter your reality by touching a piece of plastic and then stamping your foot over them believing in God or angels etc.

It's completely different to Santa. Santa is not an emotional crutch.
Santa doesn't take over the roll a parent should fulfill like dealing with your childs anxieties.

Schools should be teaching your child to verbalize their worries and deal with them constructively not to abandon all their concerns to imaginary beings.

It's by no means an anti God or an anti religion perspective . It's anti vapid fantasy in place of positive and constructive eduction on mental health issues that might serve them all their lives.

Are Am Eye

Ipso wrote: »

They came in the bronze age with the bell beaker culture, an offshoot of the yamnaya culture which spread the indo european languages in Europe.

The Hallstatt culture of north central europe in the Iron Age came to dominate northern european culture. Probably because they were wealthy and the cultural influences spread with trade. It is that culture, art, artifacts etc that are equivalent to Celtic Ireland. Not the bell beaker.

NIMAN

I think it's harmless enough if it gets kids less anxious or worried.

After all, if they are young enough to actually believe it, so what? They'll grow up soon enough and realise it was all BS.

op, why don't you just tell them all Santa doesn't exist too sure

LightlyGo

OU812 wrote: »

"Children know such a lot now. Soon they don't believe. And every time a child says 'I don't believe in fairies', there's a fairy someplace that falls down dead". — Peter Pan

1. It's a great idea to make kids feel more secure in themselves.
2. It's a great business extension.
3. I'd rather they had this influence than religion
4. The principle is a ride.

How does it positively educate on dealing with issues like anxiety that later go on to be fatal for too many young people?
Should that not be the purpose of education? To lay the foundation at an early age for positive mental health in later life and give kids the tools for developing that as soon as we can? To teach them that we don't hope spirits and talismans will protect us from the darker sides of life but that we learn to deal better with those aspects of life?

Maybe it's just parents and teachers happy to abdicate the responsibility of talking to your child about their worries to a chunk of plastic.

Ipso

It's starting to look like the bell beaker people made a massive impact on the isles in the mid bronze age or so. This idea has been around for a while but the iron Age La Tene/Hallstatt idea won out.

http://www.anthrogenica.com/showthread.php?10565-The-Beaker-Phenomenon-And-The-Genomic-Transformation-Of-Northwest-Europe-Olalde
http://eurogenes.blogspot.com/2015/12/ancient-genomes-from-ireland-point-to.html
http://eurogenes.blogspot.com/2013/12/ancient-human-genomes-suggest-three.html

LightlyGo

NIMAN wrote: »

I think it's harmless enough if it gets kids less anxious or worried.

After all, if they are young enough to actually believe it, so what? They'll grow up soon enough and realise it was all BS.

op, why don't you just tell them all Santa doesn't exist too sure

They will grow up to learn that, they'll have missed those pivotal early years of dealing with stresses and worries by talking about them and sharing them. It's nothing to do with Santa.
It's ridiculous it's going on in school where kids really do take their cues on how best to deal with life.

Cheerful Spring

Are Am Eye wrote: »

Tuatha de Danann is not history but come sfrom irish mythology.
Probably rooted in peoples that migrated here in mid to late bronze age.
"Celts coming to Ireland" is not really history these days either. In the iron age we were influenced through trade, migration and culture by the peoples of northern europe - and that influence left what was afterward referred to as celtic invasion.

Where's Wibbs when you need him.

It's oral tradition. We know people have been living in Ireland for thousands of years. They had to come from somewhere else, because 11,000 years ago Ireland was covered in thick ice. There was a culture in ancient Greece called the danoi that might be the Tuatha de dannann and they came to this Island by boat? Danoi were also known as the Dananns.

Tom Mann Centuria

LightlyGo wrote: »

Are you sure? Usually having to assert the fact yourself isn't the best sign.

I see an enormous hypocrisy between telling your child fairies are real and can alter your reality by touching a piece of plastic and then stamping your foot over them believing in God or angels etc.

It's completely different to Santa. Santa is not an emotional crutch.
Santa doesn't take over the roll a parent should fulfill like dealing with your childs anxieties.

Schools should be teaching your child to verbalize their worries and deal with them constructively not to abandon all their concerns to imaginary beings.

It's by no means an anti God or an anti religion perspective . It's anti vapid fantasy in place of positive and constructive eduction on mental health issues that might serve them all their lives.

Sort of see what you're saying but I think this is just a commercialisation of a thing kids have always had. Lots of fairy stories have been about, and read in schools for decades, childhood really is increasingly fleeting these days so I think it's harmless and will be replaced by something else in a couple of years.

The other thing, Santa does take over the role a parent should fill, he brings the kids presents, how else would the kids get the ridiculously expensive "must have" toy every year.

Ipso

Or danoi and dannan have the same root word.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_religion

Noveight

LightlyGo wrote: »

It's ridiculous it's going on in school where kids really do take their cues on how best to deal with life.

Imagine you'd a 5 year old who started Junior Infants last week and at the parent teacher meeting (in November or February or whenever) their teacher was trotting out lines on giving your child cues about how best to deal with life.

Yeah, you'd be right to tell that teacher to catch a hold of themselves. Young children should have their world filled with fairy tales, legends and all things wonderfully imaginary.

juneg

LightlyGo wrote: »

How does it positively educate on dealing with issues like anxiety that later go on to be fatal for too many young people?
Should that not be the purpose of education? To lay the foundation at an early age for positive mental health in later life and give kids the tools for developing that as soon as we can? To teach them that we don't hope spirits and talismans will protect us from the darker sides of life but that we learn to deal better with those aspects of life?

Maybe it's just parents and teachers happy to abdicate the responsibility of talking to your child about their worries to a chunk of plastic.

You are right in fairness. Kids need to learn resilience and how to deal with anxieties. I completely agree. But they learn that a little later on when things make more sense. Fairy doors and plaques are aimed at the younger children who havent matured enough yet to have the coping skills.

Are Am Eye

Ipso wrote: »

It's starting to look like the bell beaker people made a massive impact on the isles in the mid bronze age or so. This idea has been around for a while but the iron Age La Tene/Hallstatt idea won out.

http://www.anthrogenica.com/showthread.php?10565-The-Beaker-Phenomenon-And-The-Genomic-Transformation-Of-Northwest-Europe-Olalde
http://eurogenes.blogspot.com/2015/12/ancient-genomes-from-ireland-point-to.html
http://eurogenes.blogspot.com/2013/12/ancient-human-genomes-suggest-three.html

I agree with you that the bell beaker had a huge and wide ranging influence in Europe.

But that influence isn't what we would call Celtic.

What was originally mistaken as an invasion here that led to the introduction of Celtic language i.e Irish Gaelic, and that distinctive metal work and art etc And is now more correctly known as an integration or movement of ideas, influence and language assisted by some migration, maybe an occasional skirmish.......well that was an Iron Age thing.

Mountainsandh

LightlyGo wrote: »

Are you sure? Usually having to assert the fact yourself isn't the best sign.

I see an enormous hypocrisy between telling your child fairies are real and can alter your reality by touching a piece of plastic and then stamping your foot over them believing in God or angels etc.

It's completely different to Santa. Santa is not an emotional crutch.
Santa doesn't take over the roll a parent should fulfill like dealing with your childs anxieties.

Schools should be teaching your child to verbalize their worries and deal with them constructively not to abandon all their concerns to imaginary beings.

It's by no means an anti God or an anti religion perspective . It's anti vapid fantasy in place of positive and constructive eduction on mental health issues that might serve them all their lives.

You make a good point and I get it OP, but your perspective is skewed as an adult IMO. I think magic is a normal and efficient way for a child's mind to deal with things they cannot yet comprehend. If it's not the fairies it'll be some other magical coping device like a favourite teddy, an invisible friend, ...
I bought a few books for my anxious kids, one came with worry dolls, they got Great use

retro:electro

If it makes even one child think that her problems are being taken care of then I'm all for it. Sometimes it's nice to let kids just be kids, and not expect them to have the intellectual or verbal capacities of an adult and communicate their worries.

Cheerful Spring

Ipso wrote: »

Or danoi and dannan have the same root word.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_religion

Homer called them Δαναοί/ Danaoi; or the The Achaeans. Anything possible i don't know what was happening back then, all i know is there was people in Ireland before the Celt culture arrived and very little of anything is known about them. I would say lot artifacts and archaeological remains are likely still buried underneath us. Ireland is perfect setting to hide evidence, the climate is perfect.

Ipso

Yeah, but feck all happened in the Iron Age in Ireland apart from it seems some elite movements from Britain (most likely escaping Romans and Saxons), at the very least there was a male dominated movement in the bronze age across Europe (and the story of Ireland in this era is an extension of what was happening in Europe). Analysis of ancient DNA is showing this.
Have a look through that forum I posted a link of, there's some interesting stuff that came out in the last few years.

retro:electro

LightlyGo wrote: »

They will grow up to learn that, they'll have missed those pivotal early years of dealing with stresses and worries by talking about them and sharing them. It's nothing to do with Santa.
It's ridiculous it's going on in school where kids really do take their cues on how best to deal with life.

Kids shouldn't have any stresses or worries. And if they do they should be the kind that they think the fairies will sort. Plenty of time to verbalise and analyse your stress triggers when you've acquired the skills needed to.