<p>Religious Muslims in the middle east who WANT their religion taught in the schools are no different than the Christian right that WANTS their religion taught in the schools. The Jews would be not be different if they WANT their religion taught in the schools.</p>
<p>How about Jewish rabbis in Israel?</p>
<p>The Jewish rabbis that want to teach their religion in schools are no different than the Muslims that want to teach their religion in schools.</p>
<p>Mr. B, you are a little more open to the idea of relgion being taught in public high schools than I am.</p>
<p>Then,
religious-Christian = religious-Muslim = religious-Jew.</p>
<p>Should I be expecting to see some comments from you like the following in the near future?</p>
<p>I fail to see the difference between the Christian right and religious [Jews]. Brainwashing is alive and well.</p>
<p>Thats progress, I guess, anyhow, Ill keep my eyes open for such comparisons in the future.</p>
<p>The reason why I didn’t include Judaism was Judaism is not the dominant religion in the United States or in the middle east. Christianity and Islam are respectively.</p>
<p>Do you think Americans would support a government in Iraq that was democratic and Islamic?</p>
<p>oh, that’s why;)</p>
<p>Do I have to explain everything? :)</p>
<p>dstark, you are a master of political spin. The DNC could sure use you. In fact, you could have helped Bill Clinton with the definition of “is”.</p>
<p>I wish I was as good as the Christian right. </p>
<p>I saw Bill Clinton give a speech in Oakland Ca before the last election and e-mailed him. I told him that he didn’t mention stem cell research and that the democrats should go after the republicans on this issue.</p>
<p>I got back a form letter asking me for money for the new Bill Clinton library that was being built. </p>
<p>I guess I won’t be hired. :)</p>
<p>dstark, I don’t know that I approve of religion being taught in public schools any more than you do…I am simply pondering a topic. If we agree that it is acceptable to have religion taught in public colleges and universities - and I want public universities to have this range of subject, then what is the argument for keeping it out of high schools, middle schools or even elementary schools. I think you were on the right tangent with the idea of it including critical thinking skills which might be difficult for certain age students… or is it that we do recognize a difference in what these types of schools can and should offer. Even if that difference is in degrees - for example you could take a drawing class in a public middle school and a drawing class in a public college, which one would be most appropriate for nude models?</p>
<p>As for spin, I think the right wins that hands down…especially when it come time to naming things…We know you don’t want us to privatize social security, we will simply have private retirement accounts instead. </p>
<p>One of my favorite classes at college was “Religion, Ethics and the Environment” taught by Dr. Richard Bayer. It allowed many views to converge without any side being declared the winner. You would have liked it.</p>
<p>Just to press this a little further…should any school that recieves any public dollars be allowed to teach religion? This would of course include Yale Divinity and others…</p>
<p>Of course the public schools should teach religions. A mandatory course in comparative world religions would go in helping students to understand world history and politics. Our entire country was founded by those fleeing religious persecution, so US history would benefit from that understanding as well.</p>
<p>Primary and secondary education is compulsory. College isn’t. And I think a lot of people think that too much stuff is crammed into primary and secondary education as it is - I have no problem with leaving religion for weekends.</p>
<p>my daughter had a 3rd grade teacher who loved class parties and holidays- he had the class study all sorts of winter holidays not on Christian holidays from other countries but also Jewish- Kwanzaa and pagan.( and the food to go with)
I thought this was great and much more representative than the teacher the next year who didn’t celebrate any holidays including anyones birthday because there was a student who was a Jehovah Witness ( they dont celebrate any holidays)
Very sensitive Im sure- but a study of different religions would have helped in that class
same daughter was in 9th grade last year and as part of world history ( they were doing eastern hemisphere) she studied religions in India and China and wrote a paper or two on Budhhism.
This year she will be in AP Euro and from looking at past work, I think religon is covered from western point of view as well</p>
<p>Mr B., you ask complicated questions. :)</p>
<p>I would have loved that class. </p>
<p>College students are supposed to be adults. A college education is different from a high school education so I have no problem with religion being taught in college. I have no problem with devil worship being taught in college either. I wouldn’t want devil worship taught in high school. </p>
<p>As far as public dollars being used to teach religion… I’m not in love with Yale, as a private institition, receiving any public dollars. </p>
<p>I will tell you what I would like to see taught in public schools. That people who are homosexual are not evil and should have the same rights as everybody else. We should start this education when the kids are 7 years-old, before they become prejudiced. A couple of homosexual people talking to a classroom of seven year olds will go a long way in showing the kids that homosexuals are people too.</p>
<p>this is something else that Barney Frank spoke on last night
Why is it, that if an adult is assaulted on the streets it is a crime, but if a 15 yr old is assaulted in the halls of his high school, if the 15 year old is particularly gutsy and willing to risk the same thing or worse for the rest of his time in high school, then perhaps some punishment might occur- but realistically, those who are targeted in high school, for being gay or otherwise different just have to pray that life after high school will be better.
Why can’t we protect and why aren’t we protecting students in their own schools?</p>
<p>As far as nude models go- middle schools students think about sex quite a bit already- they are hardly mature enough for a nude figure drawing class- however my daughters highschool includes nude models in their figure drawing classes-</p>
<p>I would have liked that class too. :)</p>
<p>“Our entire country was founded by those fleeing religious persecution, so US history would benefit from that understanding as well.”</p>
<p>Gotta be careful with that one. The Pilgrims were NOT fleeing religious persecution. On the contrary, they were welcomed and doing quite well in Holland, and their elders, specifically John Robinson, feared that the youngsters were fitting in too well, and being corrupted in the process. They had set up their own publishing house, and were heavily employed in the textile industries. </p>
<p>They came to the U.S. not to flee religious persecution, but to set up a separatist, theocratic state. However, the liberalizing effect of the Dutch was evident when the Pilgrims came to America, as they came to believe that folks of various faiths could live together without necessarily killing each other. When Henry Dunster resigned as Pres. of Harvard because he rejected the Puritan doctrine of infant baptism (and was essentially kicked out of town), he found a home in Plymouth. The Pilgrims also believed in infant baptism, but they weren’t about to try, convict, and potentially kill a man for heresy because he rejected it.</p>
<p>Mini, actually I was thinking more of the Quakers than the Pilgrims. I should have made that clear.</p>
<p>some of my relatives were Huguenots who were actually persecuted- and made their way to america because of it- but doesn’t the word Pilgrim * mean* someone who makes a journey for religous reasons?</p>