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| Witchvox Chapter: Wren's Nest News | Chapter Page Views: 54,877,522 |
 In Public Schools, Get Religion Right Before The Fight Author: Charles C. Haynes Source: First Amendment Center Title: IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, GET RELIGION RIGHT BEFORE THE FIGHT Antonio Peck was in kindergarten in 1999 when his family filed suit against the Baldwinsville, N.Y., school district. Antonio is in 10th grade now — and his family is still waiting for the case to be resolved. At this rate, he’ll be a college graduate when the courts finally render a decision. On Oct. 15, the Peck family’s legal marathon took another turn when a federal appeals court heard oral arguments in Peck v. Baldwinsville School District for an astounding third time in 10 years. In the unfortunate history of lawsuits over religion in schools, the Peck case ranks as one of the most wasteful, divisive and unnecessary of all time. This is the kind of case that gives the First Amendment (and public schools) a bad name. | |
| Community Thoughts: There are 6 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| The Problem Isn't The Pendulum.. | Nov 10th. at 9:03:35 am EST |
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me but how far it swings. Freedom can be it's own tyranny, if the standards don't allow for any freedom of expression for fear that one might jeopardize the rest. While I will say that I wouldn't want to be prayed over as part of an audience, we don't need to fall into the "Big Brother" attitude where all forms of expression are unallowable if they do not follow a "Party standard" either- and that seems to be to what we are coming. I do believe that in certain things we should be more tolerant. There is nothing wrong with an occasional choice of music. (I can always stop my ears if I don't want to listen) or a piece of art that happens to have a religious theme. (if one is offended by this-do not-I repeat, do not take Art History, as one will be bombarded with "offensive works"- more than a few by the Great Masters.) I can always look at something else. I don't have to praise it just because it's there. While I like the idea of no religion in schools and toning down any religious rhetoric some seem determined to thrust down mt throat, it does not escape my notice that by doing so, it is leading everyone to a strange bleak totalitarianism, where everything is allowed-but nothing is acceptable. |
| ... | Nov 10th. at 8:52:06 am EST |
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Draken (Bronx, New York) - Email Me - Web Ahh, public education. Can't those teachers do ANYTHING right? Looking at the article, I could've sworn this was a school in NCCo, DullaWHERE?. |
| Painting Pluralism II And "Least Restrictive" | Nov 10th. at 6:57:21 am EST |
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karrie9 (Kenosha, Wisconsin) - Email Me - Web It goes like this. Students have the right of freedom of expression, with some restrictions, and hopefully these restrictions are the **least restrictive.** Sensible, but the least restrictive. I respect that phrase, "least restrictive." It seems that the farther we get from the nexus of "the" civil rights movement, the less i hear it, the more student's rights are gnawed away at and the more ridiculous the adults get. [Web LINK] While a student can't preach the word of God, or whatever their choice of religion is, to a captive audience at a graduation ceremony, or lead a morning prayer during school time, again because of the captive audience thing, students may include religious depictions in their art that **satisfies the assignment** (which Antonio Peck clearly had) and they may wear religious symbols (crosses, pents, and so on) . Public schools or their staff, however cannot promote a religion **to students, their parents, or the community.** I'm not offended by a child expressing their religion if they don't take it too far. I've seen it locally in art on school walls. No one, included my kid, felt uncomfortable with it. I am offended by any move in the direction of theocracy or cryptotheocracy (you know, trying to hide it but it's there) , and that would include the promotion of a religion of branch of religions (like monotheism) by a school or their staff. Our teachers should understand the constitution and the law and how it affects them, their students, and community and national political landscape. If this kid's art was censored because of "Zero Tolerance" policies, then fear Zero Tolerance because, functionally-dysfunctionally, teachers seem to think it alleviates them of their duties to history, the constitution, and some basic law, things they should know if they're in charge of U.S. students. |
| Damned If You Do | Nov 10th. at 6:14:03 am EST |
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Serenity Joy (Glen Burnie, Maryland) - Email Me ...damned if you don't. What seems like common sense 10 years later isn't that simple when you're making the decision. If I let him put up his picture and another parent complains that it's offensive to her religion, then I've screwed up in the other direction. The problem isn't the teacher's lack of common sense, it's society's belief that they have the right not to be offended, ever. |
| Why Do Teachers Not Understand What The Rules Are? | Nov 9th. at 9:29:35 pm EST |
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karrie9 (Kenosha, Wisconsin) - Email Me - Web Sheesh. |
| Right To Fear? | Nov 9th. at 8:25:09 pm EST |
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Ahr-Ohn (Bridgeport, Connecticut) - Email Me The proper decision would be, that schools have the right to censor wrongly. "Of course, there are other times when student religious expression crosses the line and triggers an establishment-clause violation by a public school. Students don’t have the right, for example, to compel a captive audience to participate in prayer or listen to a proselytizing sermon." At what point, do we say students have the right to mention Religion, in their art, but that Schools don't have the right to make others heed prostletizing sermons? The school may have seen any mention of Jesus, in a student poster, as a camel's nose, leading to a campaign that would have made jewish, mohammedan and Wiccan students feel pressured. If they haven't the power to make people hear prosteletizing sermons, what about their power to sneak in a prosteletizing image? It's Public School, that violates the First Amendment, since Teaching is a spiritual practice, and any "Teacher" who doesnt' think so, should be shunned, as well as being reported for Child Endangerment. Would Jesus have neglected Man's place, as custodian of the beasts of the field, and birds of the air? He's smarter son of a Devil than that. Arawn Graalrd |
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