Need For School Neutrality On Religion
8 May 2008 by StardustThere are many good reasons why religion belongs in the home and churches, and not in the academic setting. One of them being that it violates the law of separation of church and state. Another reason is when public schools get into the business of encouraging or sponsoring prayer, Bible reading and other religious activities, it is usurping a role reserved for churches and religious institutions. But most of all, public schools should stay out of the religion business because it is divisive and counterproductive to a school’s core mission of education.
Things get complicated since this is a diverse nation of many religious beliefs (and many with no religious beliefs or affiliations). When attention is given to one particular belief over another, then resentment ensues and division. How can we teach tolerance for one another’s beliefs while giving special attention to some and not others? And if schools try to balance religious education and to give each religion equal time, academics gets lost. Leave religion to the churches, temples and synagogues, and keep it out of our public school systems.
Discord Among Ohio Students Shows Need For School Neutrality On Religion
Now lines are being drawn at the school. Students are attacking one another on the basis of religion.
Link to full article by Rob Boston
Video update on Ohio teacher who violated 1st Amendment
8 May 2008, on 8:45 pm
If you get a chance go to the article linked in the Rob Boston article to the Mt Vernon News and read the comments. Some of them are great.
As to the bullying that certainly is not all that surprising. Religions have been using peer pressure successfully for thousands of years.
What I love is how the “anonymous” parents are called Christians more times then the teacher. They are so scared that their good Christian neighbors will think they are evil. It’s frickin’ hysterical.
8 May 2008, on 9:19 pm
The teacher had a “healing prayer session” at school?” Why the fuck didn’t he pray to have the cross that he burned on that kids forearm healed? (Oh yeah, that’s right, because prayer is nothing more than wishing really hard to yourself.)
Why is this even a first amendment issue?–the crazy fuck intentionally burnt a kid in his classroom. If it’s found to be true, he should be thrown in jail for felony abuse and lose his license to teach for the rest of this life (and into the next, since he insists in believing in such non-sense.)
This monster has no business being around children.
8 May 2008, on 9:30 pm
When you abuse children in the name of religion it is not called abuse, just fervency of faith. F-ing religion always gets a free pass!
8 May 2008, on 9:32 pm
Agreed, Fritzy.
How this ass isn’t behind bars on felony assault charges I don’t understand. I’m glad I never had to put up with this crap in school.
Although I did have one teacher hand out some material around easter. It was optional reading, but it was mostly about the similarities between Jeebus and other mythological figures. Even at the time I was fairly certain he could get in trouble for that (he never did, that I know of), but it was rather amusing. Interesting that something with a slightly anti-religious tone at my school here in the bible belt didn’t get comment. Perhaps evidence that my generation is starting to realize what a load of BS they’ve been getting fed from the pulpit.
Wishful thinking, probably.
8 May 2008, on 9:34 pm
I love it! In the article, apparently a girl was wearing a T-shirt that read “You don’t need a special T-shirt to be a Christian” in the wake of Freshwater-gate. And, what do the loving Christians do? Harrass her, accuse her of the high crime of atheism, and shove her in a locker! Apparently, some Christians are very adamant about the necessity of proving their faith through T-shirts!
Also: this Freshwater guy may be bad, but his supporters are much worse. I mean, people jeered the girl who brought in the Torah on “Bring ur bibble to skool” day! How low on the intellectual totem pole are these rabid children, anyway?
8 May 2008, on 10:24 pm
Freshwater actually burned the cross shaped welt onto a kid while demonstrating some kind of electricity in class.
For the eleven millionth time, unless it’s a philosophy or comparative religion class, any discussion of religion- any religion, in a public school classroom is out of bounds. If Freshwater wants to dispense his virulent ignorance, he’s free to sign up for the appropriate Sunday School class at his local House of Hokum and bloviate the Sabbath away ’til the cows come home. How hard is that to understand?
School = Science
Church = Religion
It’s quite simple but, then, asking the demented to apply logic…?
9 May 2008, on 1:34 am
I’m glad that this story has gotten at least a little attention from some mainstream media.
When there is murder, copious incest, or other flagrant abuse in a highly religious environment, it gets some press, but cases like this don’t usually get too many headlines. I would bet money that there are tens of millions of Americans who would dismiss the kid as a whiner trying to make trouble for that nice but quirky Christian fellow.
Until something similar or worse happens to their kid, and then Freshwater was never a True Christian, right?
I am not a politician, a parent, or a teacher, but I am a voting, tax paying citizen who received a decent basic education from (mostly) secular public schools. It might take a hundred years to get our government to start heading back to its secular roots, but idiocy like this has to be nipped in the bud. Even my most fervently religious school teachers, some of whom were also preachers and Sunday school teachers, would have condemned this kind of bullshit.
9 May 2008, on 7:54 am
I grew up (sort of) in a Cath-O-Lick setting. Thirteen years of sundry nonsense and yet, I never got a cross burned into my arm or anything remotely like that. I feel I was deprived and would sue my former school except that it’s closed for lack of funds(I think they had to pay off all of the altar boys).
I have no children, lucky them. If I did and some fucking GODitiod did what Freshwater did to that young fellow? I would not be waiting for the “Day of Judgment” to even the score. I think a nice, big letter “P” for pervert, branded on his forehead sounds about right.
9 May 2008, on 10:08 am
Another example of the amazing “Dumbing down of America”.
More candidates for “Numb-skulls Anonymous”?
A 1 step program. [12 steps is WAY too complicated?]
Something like…
Step One: “Came to believe I’m a hopeless, mindless, Religious Fucktard…
I’ll go home now, assume a fetal position in the corner of my living room…
and CONTINUE sucking my thumb!…
the one on the arm with the self inflicted, burnt cross mark…of course!”
No “Big Book” either…just a one page instructional pictograph printout on an enlarged, self adhesive, postage stamp!
[Yeah...it's getting too complicated, already!]
Got questions?
Don’t ask! After all…It’s a fucking anonymous program!…
And it’s Friday!
9 May 2008, on 3:29 pm
Doesn’t this place have a Public Prosecutor? He must be a coward more interested in reelection than in doing his job.
Burning a cross onto someone is not just battery; it appears to reach the legal standard of mayhem, “the willful and permanent crippling, mutilation, or disfigurement of any part of the body”.
He not only should be removed from the classroom, he should be prosecuted. He is a child abuser being protected by the system because of his claimed religion.