Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

From: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/10/echr-swiss-muslim-girls-must-attend-mixed-sex-swimming-lessons

Swiss Muslim girls must attend mixed-sex swimming lessons
Tuesday 10 January 2017

Muslim extremists/fundamentalists are not going to like this one!

Switzerland has won a case at the European court of human rights over its insistence that Muslim parents send their children to mixed-sex school swimming lessons.

The parents in the case argued that their beliefs did not allow their children to take part in mixed-sex lessons.

However, the court rules, that Swiss authorities did not violate right to freedom of religion in rejecting parents’ request for exemption.

Hmmm? Extremely important case this, IMHO. As well as saying how important it is for safety reasons to teach your kids to swim, it sets an example about social integration being more important than religious teaching. Lots of Imams are surely going to be pretty pee'ed off about this.

Exec,

I would also suggest banning of single-sex schools in the UK. (10+% at the moment.)

But read this first :

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/00389-2007BKT-EN.pdf

Make the Imams go to mixed sex swimming lessons then. Just as long as they dont do their peeing in the pool.

Is that what you do!

Silly little boy!

if you go to a mixed sex school then i think all should participate across the board ..... this applies not only to moslems but also to the likes of jehovah's witnesses and plymouth brethren

It's Fred that will do something in the pool ,he can't help it these days.

Manuel.

In what?

all that school's activities, and that includes assembly which may well have aspects of religion that do not coincide with the beliefs of all pupils or that of their parents

When I was a little boy, Jews and Catholics were excused "Assembly" in the school which I attended.

"They could arrive late."

Being an atheist I was a little miffed at not being allowed to skip the "procedure" and thought of declaring myself a "pagan".

But, other than that I can't say it altered relationships.

Same in our school Fred. My best mate was catholic but decided to attend assembly as it was warmer in the hall than the little room they were excused to.

It was also an all boys schools and every year rumours did the rounds that plans were in the pipeline to merge with the girls school. These rumours are still doing the rounds today but on reflection can't think of a reason why we were any worse or better off being an all boys school.

we had all sorts and creeds and all had to go to chapel

Through circumstances that neither I nor my parents ever quite understood, I managed to fool the 11+ examiners and went to a Roman Catholic all boys grammar school. Irish Christian brothers, although most subjects were taught by lay teachers. We did have morning assembly but no going to chapel/church on a routine basis that I can remember. It is now a mixed sex school and had to change the school motto from "Viriliter Age" - act like a man. Fair enough I suppose. As long as it isn't "LGBT Age" .

I hope it was a Welsh Chapel, but reading your postings you weren't that lucky!

8-)

Ps. We had real girls at our school as well as other problems.

Was you a problem child little fred....Did you have a gender identity crisis?

No more than most.

Were your problems phobias which you haven't grown out of?

No phobias, i'm a factual person...Unlike yourself, who appear confused
on a regular basis...

GB.

I try to recognise my confusion when it occurs, and then attempt to simplify and clarify the complexities of the provoking problems. Doing so often allows me not to jump immediately to propose or to advocate implementing false solutions. Also, helps me realise that I don’t have the requisites, or the responsibility to resolve all problems, which present.

Mind doing so needs a degree of self-discipline.

You should try it sometimes.

Perhaps.

This quote may be useful.

"Human life itself may be almost pure chaos, but the work of the artist is to take these handfuls of confusion and disparate things, things that seem to be irreconcilable, and put them together in a frame to give them some kind of shape and meaning".

Katherine Anne Porter

PS.

GB

Many who have phobias believe them factual reasons for their obvious limitations.