Bite my shiny rationalist ass
So Mikey says it's free dress day and he needs a gold coin. What's it for? I say. Just curious. Because they often do this at the school for charity. The chaplain, he says.So here it is. Not only does the school have a religious dude who is there to take care of the kids' "spiritual wellbeing" but they have a schoolwide fundraising thing where you only get to go in mufti if you cough up to promote religion in the school.
I'm pretty tolerant of religionists, despite their general intolerance for things I hold dear, but this is disgusting. So I told Mikey, you wear your free dress, mate, but no way are we paying for the chaplain. Tell your teacher we say "no religion please".
It sucks that these people put our kids in the middle. For years, women would cut Lindy dead in the schoolyard because their kids had told them our kids were kept out of religion class. Yes, Americans, believe it, we have classes in our state schools in which children are given religious indoctrination. And you have to opt out, not in. Most parents, even if they're not believers, are too cowardly to say no, so Bill sits outside his class with the Muslim kid and all the others in his class are taught that Jesus loves them.
And yeah, in case you were wondering, Queensland is by far the most bigoted, backward and hateful place in Australia. I'm sure it's pure coincidence that it's the one most infused by the Christian spirit.
posted by Dr Zen @ 2:55 pm
8 Comments:
I assume it's a "donation" - so fine not to donate if you're not supportive of the cause ;-)
And be humiliated in front of your class.
I understand why you don't think there's anything wrong with religion in schools but you'll have to forgive be for not finding it an attractive feature of your religion that you feel you should be welcome to impose it on the rest of us.
And actually, seriously, you can't see anything wrong with making a privilege contingent on supporting a religious cause?
Obviously the way the money is collected at your school differs from ours - there is certainly no humiliation involved.
Also, you assume that I "don't think there's anything wrong with religion in schools". I think you should choose for religion if you wish, and if you don't, then you go to the public school, where "all" religions should be covered at some stage in the curriculum - just as a part of education.
My point was simply that, if your school is in any way like ours - which it appears it is not - you can choose to simply not donate.
I take offence at you suggesting that I feel I should be welcome to impose religion on others - as I absolutely do nothing of the sort.
Yes, you can choose not to donate. But everyone in your class knows you didn't.
And I wasn't talking about you personally, no need to take offence. I said it was an unattractive feature of your religion that people work to push it into schools. The proselytisers in my children's schools are Christians, after all.
And you didn't answer the more salient point, which is that schools should not offer privileges tied in with donating to religious causes. Or have religious officers. I know you don't share my belief that religion is a matter for the home and church. That's fair enough. But I strongly disagree with having religious representatives in state schools.
You obviously misunderstood my response. I said that I agreed with you that there should not be religious representatives in state schools - the only religion I believe there should be is an overview of "all" religions covered at an appropriate age as part of the curriculum
Yes, I agree. I think religious education is fine. We had it at school and it was useful to know what people believe.
I'm glad you agree. Now all we need is for you to agree the state should not fund religious schools and we're on the same page ;-)
Governments spent an average of $5.45 million per public school and $3.8 million per private school.
Private schools are smaller. Pretty sure you get the same per capita.
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