Jacob Lewis5 said:Look, the link is the Bible; that's where love and Moses meet. Some folks find their answers in the Old Testament, others in the New—basically sticking to the core ideology of Christianity—but it all traces back to the Bible and religious studies. It's tough to find things like love and friendship in our public school system, even though they really should be at the heart of everything we teach. Parents ought to be the ones teaching their kids about spiritual values through faith, rather than relying on scripts from Walt Disney.
It's not like anyone is stopping parents from teaching their kids spiritual values through Christianity. It would actually be pretty great if that kind of teaching happened where it belongs—in churches and at home. ☕
Personally, I'm not looking for my kid to learn specific Christian "values." I just want her to grow up to be a tolerant person who respects everyone.
If outside groups didn't keep sticking their noses where they don't belong—kind of like someone trying to force their way into a crowded elevator when there’s clearly no room—and just stayed in their own lane instead of meddling with our public schools, we wouldn't be dealing with all this nonsense right now. Don't get me wrong, though. I'm not letting our local politicians off the hook for getting us into this mess in the first place.
Nancy Kelly31 said:🤔 But whose employee are they supposed to be, for heaven's sake?! I had simply assumed we were talking about a layperson serving as a religion instructor. If some random volunteer just wandered in off the street and started patrolling the halls and playing judge and jury in the school, then yes, I absolutely agree—that is a serious issue that needs to be addressed, and such a person should be removed from the building immediately.
Don't you realize that every single religious educator is under a microscope, being pulled in two different directions by two separate superiors, both of whom have their own legitimate demands? The first superior is the principal, who expects pedagogical expertise, monitors lesson plans, observes classroom instruction, and scrutinizes every little detail regarding professional teaching standards. Then, the second superior is the Bishop, who ensures the instructor is teaching and living in strict accordance with Catholic doctrine. Two bosses. And that’s not even mentioning all the parents who would love nothing more than to swoop in and try to boss them around too... whether it's for the students enrolled in their specific class or those who aren't. 👏 Honestly... ☕
Honestly, I don't even care who she works for. She isn't a teacher, a professor, a psychologist, a principal, or even a janitor. She isn't even a full member of the school staff. She isn't there for the kids; she's there specifically to divide them, separate them, and teach intolerance and hypocrisy... By the way, she isn't even officially on duty; she's just playing "authority figure" in the hallways. It’s already too much how they push certain kids—like the ones in choir, drama, or dance—to participate in everything. They don't even ask if the kids actually *want* to join in on stuff with religious themes... Honestly, it's just classic aggressive behavior from the church and its people in our society... 😢
Look, the school nurse isn't an administrator. Period. She shouldn't be patrolling the halls telling kids what to do, let alone trying to play hall monitor and "enforce order."
If it were just about that, I’d say it's not even a big deal. But then you’ve got the mandatory stuff—all those school ceremonies packed with religious mumbo-jumbo, or school plays that can't seem to happen without some religious spin thrown in (even though they're supposed to be for the kids). I actually thought it was hilarious when my daughter told me that this one teacher who teaches religion patrols the hallways during recess, threatening any kids running around or joking too much that they won't get their snack. And parents are the ones footing the bill for those snacks, by the way. I told my girl that if that teacher ever tries to corner her for any reason, she should just ignore that total penguin, because Mom will handle it.
Don't get your hopes up too high. Honestly, I've got this nagging feeling it was just a little stunt to make the new principal look good and check a box on her schedule. It reminds me of back when we had that fancy French language program at the local elementary school—it vanished without a trace right after first grade ended. From second grade on, things just went completely off the rails, and the kids hardly get offered anything worthwhile anymore. :-(
It’s not even private, just your run-of-the-mill local school... :-) Back in first grade, they actually introduced computer science classes just to scrap them by second grade because the teacher's schedule was totally slammed. Now that they're in fourth grade, they're offering it again, but it's treated like some exclusive ExxonMobil corporate program—only a tiny handful of kids can actually get in.
Lawrence Torres56 said:If that computer science class is happening on a Saturday when school isn't even in session, then you better believe they’re gonna charge extra for it. I mean, seriously, if they're making us show up on a weekend, why wouldn't they try to squeeze some more cash out of us? So, just to clear things up for anyone wondering—computer science as an elective isn't even on the table until fifth grade. I mean, come on, you can't exactly start teaching advanced tech electives when the kids are still in first grade, right? It just doesn't make sense to jump into that kind of curriculum that early.
Let’s be real—people still act like abortion is this massive, disgusting taboo, even though we're living in a world where kids are basically hitting milestones involving intimacy by the time they're in fourth or fifth grade. It’s wild, right? Yet for most parents out there, it remains this huge, heavy subject that everyone just avoids at all costs. I mean, let’s face it, nobody in their right mind is going to try to sugarcoat it or make it sound pretty when the reality is what it is. Honestly, wouldn't it be pretty useful to actually dig into what sparked this whole thing in the first place when we're talking about abortion?😉
I actually had computer science as an elective back in 1st grade, so please don't lecture me on what I do or don't know. The church's stance on human sexuality is also pretty offensive.
Alexander Ortiz3 said:Religious studies were integrated into the school system because of international treaties. Look, I’m generally all for referendums and letting the people have their say, but that just isn't an option for this particular issue. The reality is that most parents opt into religious instruction for their kids, which I assume is an indirect way of showing where they stand on the matter. Any citizen can file for judicial review, which the Supreme Court is legally obligated to resolve; they don't have the option to just ignore it. If you think you actually have a shot at changing things, stop waiting and start drafting that petition immediately.
But wait, why was that international treaty even signed in the first place? 😛
Parents "choose" religious ed because being a believer since the nineties has become just as much of a social default as being a member of the old Communist Party used to be. It's just different membership cards. Honestly, if we ever truly flipped the script, I'm pretty sure half the kids in those classes today would be the very first ones lining up to join the Junior Pioneers again.
I really want to tackle this one specific cliché people keep throwing around—this idea that because a majority supposedly voted for religious education in the past, it should stay. But here’s the thing: religious ed wasn't brought into schools through any kind of democratic process or by the will of the people. It was pushed through via pure political trickery and sold out for a Judas kiss. It's unconstitutional (no matter how much our esteemed Supreme Court tries to pretend otherwise), so there shouldn't even be a need for a referendum to scrap it. If we actually lived in a real rule-of-law nation, religious ed would have been kicked back to the churches long ago through a simple legal procedure.
Honestly, this is all getting a bit ridiculous. It feels like we’ve finally hit that predictable loop where everyone starts attacking poor believers and crying about intimidation tactics. (Seriously, you’d need a massive imagination and even more effort to spin those posts into a manipulation attempt)
Then you have Tanita claiming that us non-religious parents don't care about those twenty kids in religious studies—that we're just looking out for our own little ones instead of "everyone else." As if that's a bad thing! Truth be told, I care about those twenty kids exactly as much as those parents care about my kid while they're busy flaunting their supposed moral superiority. :-P
So, is everyone who tries to stand up against something unfair just being a total drama queen? Like, they don't actually know what they want, they have no clue how to raise a kid, and they basically just freak out over nothing by default? Honestly, you should just be a good little sheep and stay quiet. If your kid ends up kicked out on the sidewalk, just explain to them that it’s their fault because they were part of a group of bad guests who didn't follow the homeowner's rules...
I’ll just say one thing: I didn't come here as a guest. I was born right here; this is my home. I live here, I pay my taxes (including those for people who earn way more but dodge them—you know the type, always sitting in the front pews at church), and I even give to the church... On paper, at least, I have the exact same rights as you, and I’m just as much a part of this country. My kid deserves the exact same treatment as yours. My child has the right to their own "diversity"—honestly, I hate using that word in this context—just as much as your child does. And I really wonder how you'd react if someone tried to stop your kid from praying or tried to convince them that God is just some imaginary friend. Would you actually apply what you wrote to me to your own situation? Just something to think about...
Everything you just said is exactly why I would never let my child attend religious education classes.
Lawrence Torres56 said:😁 you're building prejudices and judging others while barely even skimming the surface of what you claim to believe😉 so who’s really projecting onto whom here?😁
Just being real, tell me, is it actually okay for my kid—and most kids in his position—to be deprived of something just because I have the nerve to say, "Hey, I don't want this"?
Are the kids attending religion class because they actually want to, or is it just because everyone else is going? And is it somehow my fault, or the fault of other parents who mention opting out just because it's the norm, that schools can't seem to figure out how to structure a classroom without these sessions?🤣 Do we really need to make such a massive scene just because I, as a parent, don't know how to tell my kid to spend that hour reading a novel or finishing some homework instead?
Is it seriously fair to expect twenty students and twenty sets of parents to bend everything to fit my specific preferences?
sorry, but if you ask me, the issue here isn't even about religion in schools; it’s more about how inconvenient the current setup is and people performing this little act just to look "progressive."
I'm not skimming the surface. You're just getting tangled up in your own words and rambling just to spin things in a religious direction. My kid is a girl, by the way, and I don't get why she's being denied anything or why I have to make a public statement about it. If you think I'm disagreeing with having religion in school, I've already made that clear plenty of times. But honestly, in this country, being a believer is almost trendy...
Setting up a separate class for kids who don't take religious studies sounds a lot like those segregated buses down in the Deep South.
It's pretty rude to suggest that parents "don't know how to guide their kids." The issue isn't about guidance. If anything, this lazy government should at least organize an actual alternative—like an elective course—instead of just telling kids to "figure out" how to kill an hour of time.
And when there's no real argument left, we always fall back on complaining about the minority having to adapt to the majority. Like I said—it's such a typical Christian thing to do. 😛
I honestly find this whole religious logic thing just fascinating—you know, parents freaking out because their kids aren't following the script, instead of actually teaching them how to embrace diversity or be tolerant. It’s wild. They basically just project their own issues onto everyone else without a second thought.
I had a good laugh once when people tried to ban the Teletubbies just because one of them was a "threat" simply for carrying a purse. Honestly, I'm not even laughing anymore. In a country where you have guys like Mark leading a bunch of mindless followers, I really have to wonder what our future holds.
Lawrence Torres56 said:Are you actually raising your kid to just swallow everything anyone tells them and build their entire worldview on it? Or are you teaching them to listen to everything, process it, and then decide for themselves what fits their life and what they can just ignore?
Sorry, but if I'm being totally blunt, it feels pretty pointless to vent about what someone said and how our kids took it, especially when you immediately pivot to talking about diversity... because look, if we're teaching our kids at home that everyone is different and that every single person has inherent value regardless of what they believe in, then that kid isn't going to see "non-believers go to hell" or "pray before eating" as a personal attack; they'll just see it as someone else's way of life... Which basically means the fault doesn't lie with the people saying those things—they're just living their truth and sharing their faith—it lies with us for being so inconsistent with the values we claim to teach our children.
Religious ed isn't mandatory in American schools; we all have the choice whether to enroll our kids or not, and that's where our diversity is respected. Trying to purge it from the system completely just undermines everything we say about embracing differences, and honestly, that says a lot more about us than it does about the people preaching about hell or pre-meal prayers.😉
Sorry, but this feels so typical of the religious crowd... My daughter's reaction to all that nonsense about hell and prayer was basically just, "You can write me a ticket," and that was the end of it. She gets that these kids aren't fundamentally different from her; it's just that adults raise them differently. It wouldn't even cross her mind to tell her friends in religion class that heaven isn't real or that they'll end up as worm food, or to tell someone they aren't allowed to pray. So much for "blindly accepting" everything people say and all this teaching about respecting diversity.
Lawrence Torres56 said:Honestly, before I signed my little one up for her religious studies at school, I made sure to ask if she actually wanted to go, much like how we handle after-school activities or any other extracurricular stuff. I gave her a rough rundown of what she’d be learning and emphasized that if she chose to do it, she couldn't just quit halfway through... just like how she has the choice to opt out entirely, which would mean getting home an hour earlier since it's during that last period of the day.😁
Look, anyone judging people based on their faith isn't actually practicing that faith, just like someone shouldn't be picking their friends based on what they believe... that's pretty much the golden rule in every religion, isn't it?😁
Not really. If you look at what faith actually teaches, it’s kind of the exact opposite. From a theological standpoint, the whole idea that non-believers end up in hell definitely holds water. But honestly, whatever. My daughter just thinks the whole thing is hilarious anyway... 😉