Separation of Confusion and Bewilderment
Posted on January 9, 2008
Filed under Bordertown, curriculum, education and tagged Bordertown
This was in my daughter’s backpack, discovered as she cleaned it out in preparation for her return to school this morning:
When I asked where the sheet had come from, she replied that multiple copies of it had been passed out during lunch at school before winter break. When I asked who had passed them out, she said “adults” at school. I then asked her if they were adults she recognized from school (teachers, custodians, administrators, volunteers, etc) or strangers visiting. She told me that they were adults she saw regularly, and thought they were teachers though none she has for any subjects this year.
I’m a bit confused, only because our own family life is very categorized. “School things” happen at school, “church things” happen at church. My daughter attends public school, and does NOT belong to any religious youth groups that happen to meet on campus after school hours. I haven’t found religious practice required in any of the curriculum requirements and standards for her grade either. And what is with the “I am also going to pray for this myself: yes, no?” Guilt much?
Explanations? Ideas?
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I find this shocking. If you learn of an explanation for it, I hope you’ll share. Because I can’t imagine any good reason for this in a public school.
It looks as though it was supposed to be turned back in to someone (since it says “prayer request”), which is even more strange. Have you contacted the school to see who might have been handing those out and gathering them back up?
I’m appalled! I’ve seen this done by volunteers in a school and we are currently the “pet project” of a local church…but really!! I would definitely ask someone the why and wherefore of such a questionnaire (for want of a different label) and I would let the office know that I don’t agree with guilt trips laid on children.
You know, I remember when we had an opening prayer every morning during the high school years in your Bordertown, until my senior year. At that time a parent of another senior brought a lawsuit against the district. Even though no-one was forced to pray, the “guilt trip” was still there. And yes, we never had a student read a prayer over the intercom ever again. It seems that 40 years is just long enough for people to forget what happened. Good luck!
The explanation is easy, it’s a 5 letter word — T-E-X-A-S As a yankee living in the Lone Star state these types of things used to shock me, but now that I’ve been here 10 years it doesn’t so much anymore. Here are some examples of things that are the norm in my PUBLIC school district:
Public prayer at school board meetings, led by the supt.
We used to have public prayer at our “general assembly” (back to school pep rally for all staff) until very recently. Hmmm…maybe they finally realized our staff resembles the UN.
Constant religious e-mails from staff sent to whole school- you know the cheesy ppts and poems that people with too much time and not enough common sense send en masse.
After school “Good News” (religious) club meets in the school cafeteria every Wednesday. They offer “free snacks” (pizza, juice, and cake!) until 4:30. Hello! This translates into “free babysitting” and they have more kids than they can handle. Don’t forget to bring your bible! Whatever happened to separation of church and state??? It’s one thing to have these things on high school campuses after school where the kids have some sort of free will, but what little kid can turn down pizza and cake?
That’s just the tip of the iceberg, I could go on and on. And if you haven’t guessed already- no, I wasn’t born in TX and I didn’t get here as fast as I could as all the bumper stickers imply!
It wouldn’t shock me at all if one of the teachers gave your daughter that paper. Texans often think the laws don’t apply to them, only “outsiders”, except they think all the outsiders live to the south- which is why they’re building their wall
As a Texan, I am offended at the generalization that we all think “the laws don’t apply to us”. I recently completed a teacher education program here, and it was stressed repeatedly that we, as agents of the state (in the position of a public school teacher), should NEVER bring our personal views on ANYTHING into the classroom. If any parent learns of any teacher (or any other school employee) in any school in any district doing such things (whether it be religion or politics [to include controversial issues such as Iraq, abortion, homosexuality, illegal immigration]), I think it would be wise to contact someone in a position of authority to get to the bottom of it, and get a lawyer if need be.
If KIDS want to pass things like that around (especially when you get to junior high and high school aged kids), things get a little more murky - the kids still have 1st Amendment rights that need to be respected. But when I hear an adult was passing these “questionnaires” out disturbs me…