Lisa Rivera said:That's a stellar argument, suggesting that sexual harassment of young girls happens during those unsupervised gaps. I wonder how we ever thought to protest unnecessary scheduling gaps when children might be subjected to THAT while they're unattended...
Religious studies and the church teaching children ethics and morality? What kind of ethics? Discriminating against your neighbor because they don't share your faith, or judging them because they don't feel the same way you do? Or perhaps it's that particular brand of morality where you "sell sheep a bill of goods," telling believers they should live impoverished for earthly riches while being "rich in spirit," all while you drive a brand new Ford and sip wine from a golden chalice—funded by the donations and taxes stripped from the poor and the elderly retirees who can barely afford groceries on the 9th of the month, yet still left $1.75 at the service the other day? Or maybe it's that chauvinistic morality where men rule the planet. A male God, a male Savior, a male priest, a man chosen by God... while women are treated as second-class citizens, mere appendages, deemed unfit to pass down something as "high" as the Word of God. Honestly, please... the very notion of such "ethics and morality" makes me sick...
It’s quite sad to see one self-proclaimed "educator" addressing everyone else with such a condescending tone in every single post, using those question marks... not to mention that this "educator" doesn't seem to care about the welfare of all the children in the school. 🕺 Would you really send half a preschool group out into the hallway for an hour just so you could teach religious studies to the other half?
The Ten Commandments? It’s truly pathetic that a believer needs a deity to instruct them "thou shalt not kill" or "thou shalt not steal" and similar trivialities. For us secularists, we don't require a god to tell us those things are wrong, nor do we need the threat of hell to ensure we behave ourselves. Ethics and morality don't originate from God; they originate from humanity. Studies have shown that children raised within religion tend to be less tolerant and more aggressive toward their peers. One might wonder why... It is because they are indoctrinated from infancy into value systems that insist THEIR god is the only true one, that THEIR believers are the ones headed for heaven, and that THEIR commandments are the absolute truth, rendering all other global religions incorrect. Religious education teaches children discrimination, not morality. True morality is taught by parents and society. And frankly, one has to question the morality of a small believer and their deeply religious parents, who teach the child that non-Christians are destined for hell, telling an innocent child that the devil will torment them simply because they don't believe in a god—that is a lived experience. That is your "ethical and moral" faith and religious education: a foundation for discrimination from the very beginning...
I honestly thought I was the only one who missed this connection. To me, though—and maybe I'm just looking at it sideways—this is actually an argument FOR better supervision for kids during those gaps in class. It’s basically proof that we need to keep a much closer eye on these hormone-driven teenagers... honestly, sometimes even more than the first graders.
Honestly, you could schedule anything you can dream up in the opposite shift—electives, extra credit, drama club, sports, whatever—because all the classrooms and teachers are wide open. The kids usually head home for lunch after their fifth or sixth period, then they just drift back around 2:30 or 3:00 for those afternoon activities and extracurriculars.
Would you really be just as okay with it if, say, your kid decided to wander off to the corner store during a 45-minute gap in their schedule without anyone watching—and then got hit by a car in a crosswalk? Or would you suddenly go dark and start screaming about why the school let them out in the first place, acting like it was somehow your fault for sending them to class instead of letting them roam the streets alone? It’s honestly wild how many parents sing the exact same tune when everything is going smoothly, but the second something actually goes wrong, suddenly it’s all the school's fault, they’re the ones responsible, and they should have been babysitting the kid every second...
Honestly, I’d be just as worked up as anyone else if kids were being stuck out in the hallway just because of some computer science scheduling conflict—assuming they don't actually have to be there. To me, it feels like someone was cutting corners at the expense of the students, and in my book, those kids should be the absolute top priority in any school district.
Look, just imagine if the roles were flipped—and I’m talking about fifteen kids choosing elective computer science instead of just five. If that class happened during third period, and your kids were part of that group sitting out in the hallway because, for whatever reason, you didn't sign them up for the elective... would you really be totally fine with that? Would everything just be sunshine and rainbows?
The way they’ve scheduled this elective—it’s basically a nudge toward secularism since it’s plopped right in the middle of everything else. I mean, look, if they wanted to hold it during late hours or swap the shifts entirely, fine, nobody would complain... but as it stands? It’s just unfair. Anyone who didn't pick this specific class ends up stuck in a terrible spot—spending 45 minutes twice a week just wandering the hallways because there's this massive gap in their schedule. It feels a bit disorganized, honestly.
shadowcrane91 said:Wait, if this were a Catholic country, why wouldn't Catholic symbols be allowed in public institutions? (Okay, maybe that's a bit much even for me) Is it because of that 14% who aren't Catholic????
But look, we live in a secular nation—the United States of America (Rhode Island style logic aside). It’s not the "Catholic Republic of America" (Kansas style logic), even if some people seem a bit confused about that part. 🤷
Though, honestly, once you realize how religious education classes are scheduled right in the middle of everything—I mean, did you know even people from other faiths sign their kids up just so they don't get left out or stuck sitting alone in the hallway? It's a whole thing. And then you have computer science offered in the opposite shift... man, I sometimes wonder if we should just add that 'C' back in for 'Catholic' somewhere, just so everyone finally understands how things actually work. 👍
I actually dig the logic here—it’s wild. We have kids who aren't even starting school yet, sitting in preschool at seven years old, basically under constant adult supervision. Then, on the flip side, you’ve got these kids who get fast-tracked into first grade before they’ve even hit six, and they’re supposedly "independent" enough to wander a hallway alone for two forty-five-minute sessions a week. And you still didn't answer me—what happens when the older, bigger kids decide to pick on the little ones? Especially when there isn't an adult anywhere in sight? Oh, wait, I know... we just blame it on "nature" or whatever excuse the majority uses to justify keeping things the way they are.
Honestly, when are you religious studies advocates going to realize that if this wasn't shoved right into the middle of the daily schedule—but instead offered during the very first or last periods, or maybe on a different rotation like any other elective—the number of people complaining about it would be cut in half, if not two-thirds?
shadowcrane91 said:So you're claiming not all kids are the same, or equally independent, etc... and honestly? They don't have to be. But that’s no excuse for raising them to be total pushovers who are scared of their own shadows.
Teach them stuff... what have you been waiting for?
For them to wander out onto a busy highway? Or for them to start school totally clueless about how to handle themselves or deal with other kids? Real great...
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Look, dear shadowcrane91... speaking as someone who actually works with kids—you really should know by now—there are so many problematic children out there that even adults, or trained educators, honestly don't know how to handle them to stop the bullying, whether it's physical or psychological. I once had a seven-year-old in my class—he was hitting other kids constantly—and he was right there next to me during my lesson. He hit me, he hit the teacher, he even hit the religion instructor. He trashed two of my planners and one textbook, too. Now, just imagine if your child doesn't attend religion class and has to spend that hour unsupervised, just "socializing" with a kid like that. You'd be sitting at home feeling totally relaxed because you taught your own child how to behave, right? Of course you would. ☕
And honestly, kids like that are becoming more and more common. Plus, who can actually guarantee that while your kid is sitting in the hallway without supervision, some eighth grader won't pop out from the restroom and start messing with them, even if it's just "for fun"? At one school where I worked, some eighth graders actually decided to "initiate" a new student by slamming his head into a toilet. Thank God they were caught in time since they tried it during recess—but what if they’d had a free period while the rest of the class was in religion class? Seriously, who is to blame for that boy and his parents not teaching him how to respect others? ☕ Total Christian 👍, maybe even Catholic! 👏
I’m honestly just as curious as everyone else—like, why would there even be a gap in the schedule for younger kids back before religious studies were added to the curriculum? It doesn't really make sense to me. btw, does anyone else realize how many schools are tucked right next to busy main roads without any actual playground space? Or think about the classrooms filled with those little troublemakers... there are just so many variables at play here. Leaving a handful of kids totally unsupervised for forty-five minutes isn't exactly a genius move, is it? I mean, seriously—how happy would you actually be if your kid ended up with a scheduling gap alongside two or three other students, especially if one of them is that specific type of bully who's always picking on people or being aggressive whenever they get the chance? Knowing they'd be left alone like that twice a week... I don't know, it just feels wrong.
briskbison55 said:Just pure propaganda and nonsense. It feels like these poor kids are forced to kneel on broken glass while priests kiss them on the forehead. Religion should be a choice, you know? In a democratic society, people get to choose, but the idea that these teachers are somehow above the law is just ridiculous.
Well, if it bothers you that much, maybe just move away? I mean, in a country that is like 90% Catholic, having an elective called religious studies is pretty standard. You're acting way too aggressive, I guess, jumping straight to calling us a failure of a nation.
And besides, setting up a scheduling conflict like that right in the middle of a normal school day... I mean, for the kids who don't opt for religion, maybe someone watches them, or maybe they don't—they just end up hanging out in the hallway staring at nothing for 45 minutes, twice a week. What a brilliant way to handle it. Truly. It definitely doesn't feel like any kind of subtle pressure being put on parents to force them into choosing religious ed... ☕
Look, I’m telling you—that hour isn't actually part of her paid schedule. It’s just her own free time that she’s choosing to give up—mostly because she doesn't want your kids running around unsupervised and getting into all sorts of trouble.
So, here’s the deal—it’s true that they’ve cut an hour from things like art, music, and... I think maybe English and math? Just so they could squeeze in religion and a foreign language without actually increasing the weekly workload. But nope, there isn't a single word in the guidelines saying that the teachers at RN have to babysit the kids who aren't even taking the religion class. It feels like such a total reach—just this arbitrary interpretation with absolutely zero basis in reality... nowhere to be found.
Don't beat yourself up—it’s not your fault. The article doesn't actually say that, and they didn't even include her full post. They totally left out the intro part:
I really need to get this off my chest, because I am just so incredibly done with people trying to sweep all this American institutional rot under the rug. Honestly, I used to think these poor public school teachers were such sweet, hardworking souls—you know, the kind my parents always insisted we respect and treat like saints. But then last night, I finally worked up the nerve to send my first email to my daughter's teacher with just two simple questions. And the reply I got back was... honestly, just WTF?!?
Man, we can actually push back a little tomorrow. Even if it’s just about this whole thing where we end up babysitting kids during religious studies... in schools where students rely on buses, they basically have these kids sitting around for an hour or two waiting for their ride, and it's all billed under the school's budget. Take the first graders at one of my two schools—they’re stuck there every single day because their classes wrap up after four hours, but the bus doesn't show up until the sixth. The principals just call it "miscellaneous duties and supervision." But honestly, those "miscellaneous duties" feel more like a piece of bubblegum that gets stretched thinner and thinner every year as they cram more crap into it. I’m genuinely just waiting for the day they let half the custodial staff go and decide the rest of us should be the ones mopping the hallways and scrubbing toilets. (Anyway, I'm totally venting now, so I'll back off and head left 😬 )
So, the original post actually popped up on my Facebook feed, and I should probably clear up one little detail: she didn't send him a DM or anything—it was an email. Then, she just took that whole exchange and posted it right on her public wall. (Honestly, I highly doubt she even bothered asking him if it was okay to share. Very classy, right?) His response—aside from being pretty rude and dismissive—is mostly just technologically illiterate. If he’d just put his spaces and punctuation in the right spots, he wouldn't come across quite so uneducated. Personally, I think it's great that a 64-year-old guy is even using email to communicate; we really shouldn't be nitpicking him for that. (It would have been even better if the tone were polite, but hey, you can't always have everything 😁 )
Man, I remember some girls back in my college days mentioning how they had to deal with the weirdest schedules—like, they were stuck with the opposite shift for PE classes just because the campus didn't have its own gym. They’d end up trekking over to some facility in a different neighborhood or something along those lines... it was such a hassle. And if I recall correctly, PE was actually an elective back then too 😉
Larry Walker24 said:Back in high school, we had Latin for the first two years, and both times it was scheduled on Saturdays—which was during wartime, so things were already tense. In our sophomore year, three kids in my class had zero way to get to school on a Saturday, so they’d constantly roll in about 15 minutes late. Our teacher was this incredibly uptight priest who wouldn't stop riding them about it, yelling that if everyone else could make it on time, they should be able to too. Eventually, those three just hit their limit. One Saturday, they basically just walked out of class, told the teacher they were done with Latin, and said "peace out." When the school tried to tell them they couldn't just quit, they stood their ground and said, "Fine, just mark us absent. We aren't coming back, so let's see who blinks first." Unbelievably, the administration actually folded and dropped the requirement for them. It was a total freak occurrence, though.
In our class, three of us skipped religion class entirely. I remember back in '98 when religion was held during fourth period, the three of us would just hang out right in front of the school building instead. Honestly? It was the best part of the day. Back then, they hadn't even introduced Ethics classes yet.
Just a quick correction on what I said earlier: I actually started high school in the 98/99 school year, and back then, they gave us a choice between ethics and religion. 😉 (Though, honestly, our school handled it pretty smoothly—the other class and our class would have religion or ethics at the exact same time, and then we’d all just swap places afterward so everyone’s schedule stayed full.)