Now we get into another related but not directly issue. Let's say we have a christmas play. All the good little christian third graders want to join, but the 10% jewish population is not going to. Suddenly, lo and behold, you have yet another reason for kids to pick on their jewish counterparts. It's the same problem with prayer before class. It may be good for 80% or so of the school kids, but it's hell on the other 20%. In a lovely theoretical world, it would work, but in the real world where bullying happens just cause.. it's not so good.
I also disagree that holy days are about sparing a thought or a deed for someone else. You should not need a holy day for that. You should teach children to always spare a thought for others, to their parents, their community, their friends etc.
Again, I have no issue with teaching children what religion is about, but it should be evenhanded. If you're giving a very drive explanation of Buddhism or Taoism (and I got both, very dryly, only in Global Studies), then Christianity and Judaism should be just as dry. Having said that, again, it's not very likely.
Go ahead and treat all religions, or at least the major religions evenhanded and I won't be having this discussion, but that's not done and it's a whole lot less likely in places like Georgia than in New York. So, if you can't be evenhanded with preference, then it's time to take all religion out of school except in an educational sense.
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Date: 2004-12-21 01:53 pm (UTC)Let's say we have a christmas play. All the good little christian third graders want to join, but the 10% jewish population is not going to. Suddenly, lo and behold, you have yet another reason for kids to pick on their jewish counterparts.
It's the same problem with prayer before class. It may be good for 80% or so of the school kids, but it's hell on the other 20%. In a lovely theoretical world, it would work, but in the real world where bullying happens just cause.. it's not so good.
I also disagree that holy days are about sparing a thought or a deed for someone else. You should not need a holy day for that. You should teach children to always spare a thought for others, to their parents, their community, their friends etc.
Again, I have no issue with teaching children what religion is about, but it should be evenhanded. If you're giving a very drive explanation of Buddhism or Taoism (and I got both, very dryly, only in Global Studies), then Christianity and Judaism should be just as dry.
Having said that, again, it's not very likely.
Go ahead and treat all religions, or at least the major religions evenhanded and I won't be having this discussion, but that's not done and it's a whole lot less likely in places like Georgia than in New York. So, if you can't be evenhanded with preference, then it's time to take all religion out of school except in an educational sense.