Ontario elementary school crosses a line with Quran lesson, parent says

A Durham mother says she pulled her son out of Colonel J.E. Farewell Public School after discovering that his Grade 4 class was being tested on Islamic teachings.

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A Durham mother says she pulled her son out of Colonel J.E. Farewell Public School after discovering that his Grade 4 class was being tested on Islamic teachings while Christian holidays were reduced to chocolate and cartoons.

Her son’s work folder included a graded assignment on Ramadan that asked students to identify the Five Pillars of Islam, describe what Muslims believe, and explain how they become “better Muslims by praying more and reading the Qur’an.” The teacher marked answers as right or wrong, giving students a grade out of sixteen.

In the same folder was a worksheet about Easter called The Clumsy Easter Bunny, a story about a rabbit painting eggs. There was no reference to Jesus, Lent, or resurrection—just a comprehension quiz about the bunny’s feelings and colours of paint.

The revelation comes after parents at the board were sent a 39-page guide on how to support Muslim students and challenge Islamophobia, produced in collaboration with the National Council of Canadian Muslims.

The mother said the contrast struck her immediately. “It amazes me how my son is being graded on his knowledge of Islam and the Qur’an,” she said, “but for Easter, he gets a multiple-choice quiz on why the bunny is feeling sad.”

At the time, she emailed her son’s teacher, then-Principal Tina Mandal, and later several trustees. “They never answered. Not the teacher, not the principal. It was like they didn’t even consider that a fair question,” she said.

“I’m not against learning about other faiths,” she said. “I just think every religion should be treated the same way. If you’re going to teach about Ramadan, then teach about Easter too…what it actually means, not just candy and eggs.”

Under Principal Mandel, she described a pattern of emphasis on social justice ideology that left her children feeling singled out. “We’re a white Christian family,” she said. “Nothing we said was taken seriously. My kids felt it too.”

After one classroom discussion about residential schools, she said her son came home in tears. “He said, ‘Mom, did you know that we made Indigenous people eat their own vomit?’ He was in Grade 4. That’s not an appropriate thing to tell little kids.”

Her son’s anxiety worsened, she said, when teachers spoke about climate change. “He thought there would be a giant tsunami,” she said. “He couldn’t sleep at night. Once I pulled him out of that school, the anxiety stopped.”

She now pays for private schooling—an expense she hadn’t planned for. “It was never in the books,” she said. “But it’s worth every penny. My son sleeps again, and he’s learning without all the politics.”

The parent believes her family’s treatment reflected a broader shift in prioritise in the public education system. “It’s supposed to be about education,” she said. “But it’s like the system has decided that some beliefs don’t matter. They talk about inclusion all the time, but if you’re a Christian parent who questions something, they shut you out.”

Several teachers, she added, privately admitted they agreed but feared speaking up. “One told me, ‘However bad you think it is, it’s worse.’ That says it all.”

After Mandel’s transfer to another Durham school, the mother says conditions at Colonel J.E. Farewell improved, though she has no plans to return. “We’re done with the public system,” she said. “It’s not about academics anymore. It’s about ideology.”

The Durham District School Board and Colonel J.E. Farewell Public School did not respond to requests for comment.