I need some help re: religious materials at my daughter's middle school

[Mortos]

I am not a Christian. My daughter attends public schools. She has a teacher that writes scripture on the blackboard every day and tells kids, "Jesus loves you," as they are departing class. He also told the kids in his class he is not ashamed to proclaim his love for Christ and that he is an unabashed Christian. I went to pick my daughter up the other day and inside the school, near the office is a poster with a pro-Christian message on the wall near the office. I am fed up with my daughter facing indoctrination every day that she goes to this publicly funded school. The Principal also recently sent an email signed with "blessings." I really feel that this school is overrun with Christian ideology and proponents. We are in the process of taking my daughter out so she can be home schooled but I wonder if other parents realize what is going on here. I live in Oklahoma so this type of proselytizing is tacitly approved by most of my fellow citizens.

They also weekly have kids from another school who give cookies at lunchtime and talk about Christ.

The "proud Christian" teacher, teaches math.

[quinnox]

1. Oklahoma? Good luck

That place is full of bible belt christians. Anyway, not much you can do, they have every right to display their faith as long as its not too much in the kids faces.

[Mortos]

2. I don't think they do

They don't have the right to display their faith in the public school classroom.

[quinnox]

6. huh, don't know the law there so

I'll take your word on it. Anyhow if the community supports the teachers doing this you won't get far trying to change it, law or no.

[Mortos]

17. I am sick of tiptoeing around Christians and there perceived right to

force their beliefs down my child's throat. How long would a Muslim teacher last that wrote scripture from the Koran or a Pagan teacher who proclaimed their love for the Goddess?

[quinnox]

21. you live in Oklahoma. I don't know what to tell you

that's the way of things there, maybe you should consider moving or something. I'm just being realistic, do you think you as one person can change the way an entire community feels about their religion and the role it plays in their every day lives including in school? It ain't happening I'm afraid.

[TalkingDog]

28. Yeah.... Ghandi, Nelson Mandela and ML King Jr. shoulda just stayed home.

I mean, we're just facing the hard truth.

Do we really think that a single individual can change the way a community, much less the entire world feels a deeply entrenched view of social justice, race and humanity? Not gunna happen. No ifs ands or buts.

[RC]

25. It is not a local law! It is settled nation wide law as it is in the Constitution

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Religious posting in public schools IS establishing a religion in a public school. The Supreme Court has said so.

[quinnox]

34. I'll take your word for it but

I'm not sure how set in stone that is, there are probably several shades of gray regarding what could be acceptable and exercising religious freedom.

[piratefish08]

8. no. they do not.

ACLU

[northoftheborder]

3. That school is not in compliance with the law as ruled by the US Supreme Court.

But I understand reluctance to fight this, especially in Oklahoma. Perhaps you could find some like minded parents and work together to make changes. Good luck.

[Marrah_G]

4. I would call the ACLU

[Capitalocracy]

7. With them, you might be able to report it anonymously. nt

[sarcasmo]

26. +1

[MountainLaurel]

31. Also the Freedom From Religion Foundation

They handle cases like this regularly:

http://www.ffrf.org/legal/report/

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Freedom From Religion Foundation

[phone]
http://www.ffrf.org

About Freedom From Religion Foundation
http://www.ffrf.org/about/

[Mazdak]

14. I highly recommend the FFRF

Good pick.

Religion does not belong in the classroom. Personally I think the teacher should be fired.

[no_hypocrisy]

19. Welcome to DU!

And it's more than because I agree with you!

:hi:

[Capitalocracy]

27. I'd say give him a chance...

someone needs to tell him to stop doing that and start obeying the Constitution. Dense MFer might not even understand what he's doing is wrong. If he refuses, fired. Gone.

[MedicalAdmin]

32. Also the southern poverty law center might be of some help.

But I would go with the FFRF as a first line. Then ACLU and then act on their advice.

I have, in the past, had to educate some music teachers (usually choir but sometimes band) about what they could and could not perform. Much of it comes down to intent and balance. Not all of them get it until you ask them to start including muslim, b'ahai, pagan, druidic, and other types of music. There is nothing wrong with performing christian music as long as it is specifically targeted to an educational outcome. I suspect that wasn't happening in this case.

[Scuba]

9. Go to a school board meeting and inform them ...

... that they are putting your school district at risk of lawsuit (not from you, of course).

Ask what they are going to do if a non-Christian demands equal time.

They may come to their senses. Probably not, but it's worth a shot.

[Brickbat]

10. Also, try Americans United.

www.au.org

[wryter2000]

22. +1000

AU is really great at stoping that kind of crap with letters and following up with lawsuits, if necessary. They're on my list of organizations I contribute to, no matter what.

BTW, I'm also Christian. So is Barry Lynn, the president of AU. He's a lawyer and a minister.

[Fumesucker]

11. I've been in a similar situation..

I knew that if I made waves it was my daughter who would suffer the most and I was more concerned with her well being. I grew up more or less an outcast in school and my daughter managed to escape that fate.

If you're in the Bible Belt it's a scenario that's more likely than not.

[sinkingfeeling]

12. You would do best to home school. I think that almost all Oklahoma public schools have the same

conditions.

[HappyMe]

13. They are not supposed to be doing that.

If I were you I would write letters to -
the principal
school board
Board of Education

Keep copies of your letters and any replies you may get. If nothing is done, send the whole thing off to the ACLU.

[exboyfil]

15. We have a strong fundamentalist undercurrent in our

local school district. My 8th grade daughter decided to do evolution for her honors project per my suggestion. In hindsight I am not sure I want her to take on that battle (we discussed it last night). She will stay away from human evolution. I gave her Evolution Exposed to read, and she has gotten a real laugh out of it. She wants to be a doctor, attended some sessions of our Darwin Week activities last year at our local university, and has done Life Science I and Biology I at home with me through North Dakota Center for Distance Education (both cover evolution). I have an ample supply of evolution books at home (a particular interest of mine).

[HopeHoops]

16. Try the principal first. If that doesn't work take it directly to the school board.

If the school board won't do anything, sue the living shit out of the school district. They'll respond to that. You'll probably just end up with an agreement that they'll follow the law and pay your legal fees, but at least it will get that out of the public school. If you wanted your kid to learn about Jesus instead of core subjects, you would have chosen a private Christian school. Good luck.

[MineralMan]

18. Here are some things to think about:

In a place where such things are openly done, your daughter will face harassment if the complaint is made publicly. Further, there's a strong chance that you will receive threats. Consult with the ACLU or another similar organization before taking action. This absolutely needs to be fought, but it may be possible to do so without subjecting your daughter to harassment and humiliation and yourself and family from the noxious retaliation by some.

Working through an organization, you may be able to circumvent such negative actions. They will communicate with the school officials using legal documents that will not name the person who is bringing the complaint. Schools are deathly afraid of lawyers these days.

Don't act without considering all the ramifications, and work through an organization. You'll have better success and fewer problems.

[MedicalAdmin]

35. +1

Mineral man and I often disagree about how to accomplish things, but when we do, you can take that to the (small local community) bank (or credit union).

Ask advice before you act and document EVERYTHING.

[MineralMan]

37. True enough!

[Obamanaut]

20. I am a 'live and let live' person when it comes to people and their religions. I am

a non-believer, but without trying to dissuade others from their beliefs.

With that in mind, the teacher and the school you describe in the OP have gone WAY past a 'live and let live' mode, and they really should be stopped. IMHO.

[CrispyQ]

23. These people fight this kind of shit all the time,

and I do mean, all the time. It never lets up.

http://ffrf.org/

Contact them.

on edit: link goes to Freedom From Religion Foundation.

[WingDinger]

24. Insist on a Mulim presentation for balance. They will balk. Threaten to go public.

[MedicalAdmin]

29. Start here.

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/index.html


This is not an easy thing to deal with. As a former teachers this is an easy line for me to draw, but your local teachers don't agree. Get the fed and the state dept of ed involved.

[Ilsa]

30. Minor detail: the "cookies for Jesus" program might be

in violation of state law regarding nutrition at school. Even in Texas we have rules fir schools about how many parties they can have where sweets are served.

[TBF]

33. Here in Texas it's the same -

my daughter knows all about "God" even though she's never sat through a sermon in her life. Schools, friends, activities - she picks it all up outside the house.

[Arugula Latte]

36. That is outrageous.

And infuriating.

[Odin2005]

38. Get the hell out of Oklahoma.

[arthritisR_US]

39. the minute you make a public complaint you are sure to see the "love"

of jeezus shine through those people....

[NNN0LHI]

40. This boggles the mind

[LynneSin]

41. If you pull your daughter out then they win. Call the ACLU

easy enough!

They did the same thing for a public school in Southern Delaware that was forcing school prayers on the kids.

In the mean time have your daughter give your teacher a note asking that Matthew 6:5-7 as the scripture for the day.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A5-7&version=NIV

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

[MountainLaurel]

42. Any updates?

I was thinking about your daughter last night.