Posts by Chloe Roberts2

Rachel Gray24 said:We dealt with something similar last year at our local elementary school. A teacher, basically being bullied by one pushy parent, started leading prayer before lunch—without even giving the other parents a heads-up.👎
I went straight to her the next day. She tried to play it off, apologizing and claiming she just assumed everyone was religious.
Well, my younger daughter is starting at that same school this year, and guess what? At the parent meeting, that same parent is back at it, asking for prayers again. I made it crystal clear: my kid is not praying, period. The counselor and the teacher just rolled their eyes at me.☕

On the bright side, I'm pretty happy with how they handled religious studies for my older girl in first grade; they just put it in the last period of the day. I'm really hoping when my youngest starts next year, there won't be any awkward gaps in the schedule like this.👍

In the upper grades, they have religion classes twice a week, which feels like overkill. Honestly, the simplest solution would be to just pull religious instruction out of the public school curriculum entirely.

Honestly, some parents and kids end up pretty miserable because of those mandatory religious studies classes. Your kid isn't actually losing out on anything if we just cut religion from the public school curriculum. As for spiritual or moral growth, that’s really on us as parents; we all have our own paths and don't necessarily share the same values, whereas a school can only hammer home one specific set of beliefs. Plus, being an American isn't tied to what you believe in your heart of hearts.

Lawrence Torres56 said:Sorry rustydrifter10, I just can't see eye to eye with you on this one...
Look, let’s be real for a second: "scientific facts" aren't some permanent, etched-in-stone truth, right? What the scientific community is shouting from the rooftops today could easily turn out to be a complete and utter joke by tomorrow. It happens all the time. And don't even get me started on this whole health education movement—it’s got nothing to do with actual science. It’s just pure ideology being shoved down our throats, which honestly isn't any better or worse than someone trying to sell you on religious dogma. It's all just different flavors of the same thing, really.
And why on earth shouldn't we be having this debate? Seriously, what's actually true about those tired old claims that blue is somehow "for boys" or that kids are supposed to act fundamentally different just because of their gender? I mean, sorry, but personally, I find that whole mindset totally unacceptable. We’re living in a world where guys and girls both go for smooth legs, where color preferences haven't mattered for decades, and where we expect both boys and girls to step up and handle household chores equally, right? It's all just so outdated.

Let’s be real for a second—every single thing we think we know about Jesus is basically just high-level guesswork at this point, isn't it?

If you ask me, most of the stuff we tell ourselves—all those little stories we spin to justify our lives and convince our kids that everything is under control—is honestly just pure guesswork, isn't it?😁 I honestly just don't get the desperate need to go full ad hominem all of a sudden... like, is it really that hard to actually address the point being made instead of just taking a cheap shot at the person?

It’s honestly such a ridiculous situation when a kid shows up to school and they’re basically forced into this impossible choice—do they join the school assembly and ceremony, or do they just wander around aimlessly? When my kids were back in elementary school, we had this exact same headache every single year; right at the start of the term, the whole school would head out to a service for a blessing sometime mid-morning. And let me tell you, all the complaining from parents didn't do squat to change anything. The kids were stuck between a rock and a hard place: they could either go to the service along with everyone else, or they could just loiter around the school grounds, which wasn't even fenced in! It was sketchy, really, because they weren't even allowed to stay inside the building since, apparently, "nobody is around because everyone is at the service." It’s just a total mess, especially for those little ones in the lower grades who shouldn't be left to fend for themselves like that.

Look, obviously this kind of stuff is a massive problem and someone needs to step up and put a stop to it once and for all. Even as a believer myself, I can't wrap my head around why any kid would be wandering the streets alone while mine is home receiving a blessing... I mean, kids should be our absolute top priority, right? They’re the ones we as adults have a moral obligation to protect at all costs. But hey, it looks like people actually spoke up because those complaints clearly worked—that issue isn't even around anymore. As far as I know, students don't really have anything to do outside of school hours unless they're supervised by a teacher... and even in the lower grades, they aren't allowed to be left on their own during religious studies classes; there always has to be an adult watching over them. In my experience, it’s usually just their specific classroom teacher handling it, and from what I hear, that seems to be the standard across most schools in the US too.

Look, I get why some people are making a huge deal out of this, but honestly? It’s clearly an issue for at least a few folks. I mean, why on earth would you single kids out like that? Why drag them into situations they don't even have the mental capacity to wrap their heads around yet? Is it really such a massive problem for religious parents to take their child to a local church for a blessing, especially when that’s exactly where they belong?

Of course some people are going to take issue with this—it’s a given that there will always be someone complaining about something, isn't there? That's just how it goes. But what I actually find problematic is the way certain things are being hinted at here on the forum instead of being addressed where they can actually be fixed, especially if we're talking about something that might end up hurting our kids...
And look, we really shouldn't be playing into this whole division regarding blessings either, right? We can't go around stirring the pot and then turn around and try to play both sides when it comes to health education... because honestly, that’s exactly how you leave them feeling completely lost and confused. If we already saw how much resentment and hate those kinds of tactics caused before, why on earth would we want to pull that same stunt on our own children?🤷

Someone once made a pretty sharp point about how the Catholic Church seems obsessed with undermining scientific authority.

JPK said:It’s honestly hilarious how believers always scout out some murky, half-baked corner of science just so they can go looking for God there.
Isn't it a little beneath you to go hunting for the divine in the middle of a swamp?
And then, predictably, you all vanish the moment that field actually gets figured out.

First, it was cosmology, where poor old God eventually got squeezed down into Planck's time at the very dawn of the Big Bang.
Then you guys saw him everywhere in biology, only to end up retreating to abiogenesis.
Now, it looks like you're even trying to twist chaos theory to fit your narrative.

Don't you feel a bit embarrassed dragging God through the scientific landscape like he's some wandering band of nomads?

Michelle Nelson4 said:To wrap this up—basically, those who skip these classes are raised thinking it's "perfectly fine to lie and incite hate" simply because they aren't there to receive "character building," while the religious students are viewed as the only ones receiving proper guidance since they're attending the one place where it's supposedly offered...

And honestly, who is actually spreading hate or prejudice here? All I see is how your religious studies class has successfully instilled a certain "culture of interpersonal communication" in you...

Just more proof that those theology classes aren't doing anyone any favors.

http://www.suddenlyseemore.com/wp-co...ES_ONBLACK.png

😁

I honestly can’t wrap my head around how you don't feel even a little bit embarrassed, Lawrence Torres56, throwing around accusations of hate just because someone offers some basic criticism or makes a standard comparison. You know, in a country built on free speech, a little constructive feedback isn't actually a crime.

slybison88 said:I don't have kids yet, but I definitely want them one day. 😁

My nephew just came home from preschool talking about all their holiday stuff, and now I’m sitting here wondering... honestly, I need some input.
With the holiday season kicking off, how should I even handle this?
Look, at my place, we’ll put up a tree and all that, but let’s be real—it’s mostly just for the vibes and because everything is so commercialized. We actually have two different faiths represented in our household, and I have zero intention of forcing any specific religion on my future kid.
I'm not planning on preaching about God, Jesus, or anything like that.
My nephew came home singing "Joy to the World," and it got me thinking... I get that he's just a kid and Christianity is a huge part of American culture, but I really don't want my child being taught songs about when Jesus was born, or about Muhammad either.

When it comes to school, I can choose religious education or not, and I’m definitely opting out of the religious classes. But what do I do about all this other stuff?

This doesn't bother me at all. It's just basic folklore at this point. It would only be an issue if the teachers were actually trying to teach the kids to say grace before meals.

If kids want to walk to church because they’re big on religious studies, fine by me. But I really think believers should stick to spreading their faith behind closed doors instead of trying to push it onto secular ground that's meant for children of all faiths.

And frankly, the Supreme Court just washed its hands of those Vatican treaties like Pontius Pilate.

Lawrence Torres56 said:I mean, sure, but shouldn't we actually embrace that mindset and act like it instead of getting all defensive over stuff that might end up being proven wrong by tomorrow morning? 😉

yeah😉 just go read the Catechism and you'll see that Catholic teaching doesn't even mention anything like that. 😁

Science is actually a lot more stable than people give it credit for, mostly because the whole thing is built on actual evidence. And no, the facts aren't just going to flip-flop on us every other week.

Just responding to your last post.
The thing about biology is that theories aren't just shifting for the sake of it; it’s because medicine is tucked right inside it, and since medicine is such a young science, it’s evolving at a breakneck pace. It isn't like we're tossing out established facts every other Tuesday—you actually need some pretty heavy-duty evidence before anyone dares to claim the old way of thinking was wrong.

Sure, history is supposed to be built on hard facts and actual evidence. The fact that someone gets offended or that textbooks are packed with ideologically slanted fairy tales isn't some failure of science itself; it’s just a failure of the system and the mindless bureaucrats who write them.

Lawrence Torres56 said:So, get this—apparently, showing up to Mass actually counts toward your grade in church religious ed classes, but it doesn't mean a lick to the school system? Like, seriously? Even though they’re both technically "religious education," there's absolutely zero overlap between the two... it’s like they’re living in two different universes or something. Why does one care about your attendance while the other just couldn't care less?
Quincy:

😲 I mean, honestly, can we even put school and religion in the same category? It’s like comparing apples to oranges, right? You’ve got your standard academic curriculum—math, science, history—which is all about facts and logic, and then you have religious studies, which is an entirely different beast altogether. They operate on completely different wavelengths, so trying to weigh one against the other just feels totally off base. Why would anyone even try to make that comparison? School is mandatory, period. It’s that one universal equalizer where it honestly doesn't matter if you're a devout Muslim, a hardcore atheist, a lifelong Christian, or just someone who couldn't care less about religion if your life depended on it. It's just the baseline for everyone, right? That’s also the spot where you pick up all those actual scientific facts, you know?

Oh, give me a break! Seriously?😁Look, religion class is just another credit on the transcript, plain and simple. You want to talk about whether it’s "equal" to something like math? Just try telling your kid they don't have to show up to religion class and see if the school lets them slide with an unexcused absence. It’s a requirement, isn't it? And if that kid finishes the year without passing, well, that’s a failing grade on their record just like any other subject. So, does it really matter how you categorize it when the consequences for skipping or failing are exactly the same as anything else on the schedule?😁

Quincy:

Religious studies classes are basically just a playground for teaching baseless theories and drilling kids on the idea that they need to go out there and "spread the faith," which is really just a polite way of saying they should be badgering people into converting.

Honestly, if you think about it, theology is kind of just like history, isn't it? It’s basically this massive collection of narratives that might be absolute truths, or they might just be nothing more than unproven assumptions floating around in the ether... who's really to say?
And honestly, if there’s any kind of twist or distortion happening at all, isn't it just baked into the very nature of every single thing we look at? It’s like, you can try to find something pure, but if a little bit of warping exists, doesn't it just seep into everything else too?

Quincy:

I mean, isn't it about time we started asking if a person actually has the right to just stand up and say, "Look, this whole thing isn't mandatory, so I'm officially opting out"? Is it really that much to ask? 😕

Look, nobody's disputing that you have every right to speak your mind—no one’s even going there. I was just trying to get at the bigger picture here... what kind of message are we actually sending to our kids by doing this? And honestly, what happens when tomorrow that same kid walks up to us and says, "Yeah, actually, I'm done. I don't want to go to school anymore"? What then?

What I was trying to get at is that religion classes should be treated as an elective, plain and simple, rather than being given the same academic weight as something like Calculus.

Lawrence Torres56 said:So, get this—apparently, showing up to Mass actually counts toward your grade in church religious ed classes, but it doesn't mean a lick to the school system? Like, seriously? Even though they’re both technically "religious education," there's absolutely zero overlap between the two... it’s like they’re living in two different universes or something. Why does one care about your attendance while the other just couldn't care less?
Quincy:

😲 I mean, honestly, can we even put school and religion in the same category? It’s like comparing apples to oranges, right? You’ve got your standard academic curriculum—math, science, history—which is all about facts and logic, and then you have religious studies, which is an entirely different beast altogether. They operate on completely different wavelengths, so trying to weigh one against the other just feels totally off base. Why would anyone even try to make that comparison? School is mandatory, period. It’s that one universal equalizer where it honestly doesn't matter if you're a devout Muslim, a hardcore atheist, a lifelong Christian, or just someone who couldn't care less about religion if your life depended on it. It's just the baseline for everyone, right? That’s also the spot where you pick up all those actual scientific facts, you know?

Oh, give me a break! Seriously?😁Look, religion class is just another credit on the transcript, plain and simple. You want to talk about whether it’s "equal" to something like math? Just try telling your kid they don't have to show up to religion class and see if the school lets them slide with an unexcused absence. It’s a requirement, isn't it? And if that kid finishes the year without passing, well, that’s a failing grade on their record just like any other subject. So, does it really matter how you categorize it when the consequences for skipping or failing are exactly the same as anything else on the schedule?😁

Quincy:

Religious studies classes are basically just a playground for teaching baseless theories and drilling kids on the idea that they need to go out there and "spread the faith," which is really just a polite way of saying they should be badgering people into converting.

Honestly, if you think about it, theology is kind of just like history, isn't it? It’s basically this massive collection of narratives that might be absolute truths, or they might just be nothing more than unproven assumptions floating around in the ether... who's really to say?
And honestly, if there’s any kind of twist or distortion happening at all, isn't it just baked into the very nature of every single thing we look at? It’s like, you can try to find something pure, but if a little bit of warping exists, doesn't it just seep into everything else too?

Quincy:

I mean, isn't it about time we started asking if a person actually has the right to just stand up and say, "Look, this whole thing isn't mandatory, so I'm officially opting out"? Is it really that much to ask? 😕

Look, nobody's disputing that you have every right to speak your mind—no one’s even going there. I was just trying to get at the bigger picture here... what kind of message are we actually sending to our kids by doing this? And honestly, what happens when tomorrow that same kid walks up to us and says, "Yeah, actually, I'm done. I don't want to go to school anymore"? What then?

Look, just because some rabbi was spinning yarns while Babylon was sitting right there in front of him—which, let's face it, was two millennia ago—doesn't mean those stories actually have any basis in historical fact.
You could honestly make the case that the Divine Comedy is basically built on a foundation of history, mostly because Dante wove in so many actual facts from his own era.

Lawrence Torres56 said:So, get this—apparently, showing up to Mass actually counts toward your grade in church religious ed classes, but it doesn't mean a lick to the school system? Like, seriously? Even though they’re both technically "religious education," there's absolutely zero overlap between the two... it’s like they’re living in two different universes or something. Why does one care about your attendance while the other just couldn't care less?
Quincy:

😲 I mean, honestly, can we even put school and religion in the same category? It’s like comparing apples to oranges, right? You’ve got your standard academic curriculum—math, science, history—which is all about facts and logic, and then you have religious studies, which is an entirely different beast altogether. They operate on completely different wavelengths, so trying to weigh one against the other just feels totally off base. Why would anyone even try to make that comparison? School is mandatory, period. It’s that one universal equalizer where it honestly doesn't matter if you're a devout Muslim, a hardcore atheist, a lifelong Christian, or just someone who couldn't care less about religion if your life depended on it. It's just the baseline for everyone, right? That’s also the spot where you pick up all those actual scientific facts, you know?

Oh, give me a break! Seriously?😁Look, religion class is just another credit on the transcript, plain and simple. You want to talk about whether it’s "equal" to something like math? Just try telling your kid they don't have to show up to religion class and see if the school lets them slide with an unexcused absence. It’s a requirement, isn't it? And if that kid finishes the year without passing, well, that’s a failing grade on their record just like any other subject. So, does it really matter how you categorize it when the consequences for skipping or failing are exactly the same as anything else on the schedule?😁

Quincy:

Religious studies classes are basically just a playground for teaching baseless theories and drilling kids on the idea that they need to go out there and "spread the faith," which is really just a polite way of saying they should be badgering people into converting.

Honestly, if you think about it, theology is kind of just like history, isn't it? It’s basically this massive collection of narratives that might be absolute truths, or they might just be nothing more than unproven assumptions floating around in the ether... who's really to say?
And honestly, if there’s any kind of twist or distortion happening at all, isn't it just baked into the very nature of every single thing we look at? It’s like, you can try to find something pure, but if a little bit of warping exists, doesn't it just seep into everything else too?

Quincy:

I mean, isn't it about time we started asking if a person actually has the right to just stand up and say, "Look, this whole thing isn't mandatory, so I'm officially opting out"? Is it really that much to ask? 😕

Look, nobody's disputing that you have every right to speak your mind—no one’s even going there. I was just trying to get at the bigger picture here... what kind of message are we actually sending to our kids by doing this? And honestly, what happens when tomorrow that same kid walks up to us and says, "Yeah, actually, I'm done. I don't want to go to school anymore"? What then?

The bottom line is pretty simple: if it isn't mandatory, you don't have to do it.
If my kid ever tried to tell me they weren't going to school, I wouldn't just sit there; I’d give them the full lecture on why it’s non-negotiable, how it's actually beneficial for their future, and that if they decide to skip out, there will be some very real consequences waiting for them at home.
If I had a ten-year-old who wanted to quit advanced math just so they could catch a few extra hours of sleep, honestly, I’d probably let them. It wouldn't be the end of the world, would it? Besides, there’ll be plenty of time later on to actually learn the math once they aren't so exhausted.

Lawrence Torres56 said:The truth is, kids only really have to deal with Mass on Sundays during 3rd and 8th grade for First Communion and Confirmation, mostly just so they learn how to actually behave in a sanctuary, right? For any other grade, nobody’s forcing them or even checking to see if they showed up.
Plus, parents can totally coordinate; they can take turns every Sunday, so one parent picks up the kids and drives them to service while the others stay home—nobody expects every single parent to be stuck in a pew with their kids every single week.

Anyway, I honestly don't get parents who go out of their way to enroll their kids in religious education classes and then suddenly find it such a massive chore to drive them to church, or worse, let them drop out of the program the following school year... I mean, what kind of message does that even send to a kid? If they decide they don't want to go to school tomorrow, should they just quit their entire education altogether?🤷

I mean, they clearly didn't realize that showing up to Mass would actually impact their kid's grade, so—get this—now they’re just pulling them out of the class altogether.

Lawrence Torres56 said:The truth is, kids only really have to deal with Mass on Sundays during 3rd and 8th grade for First Communion and Confirmation, mostly just so they learn how to actually behave in a sanctuary, right? For any other grade, nobody’s forcing them or even checking to see if they showed up.
Plus, parents can totally coordinate; they can take turns every Sunday, so one parent picks up the kids and drives them to service while the others stay home—nobody expects every single parent to be stuck in a pew with their kids every single week.

Anyway, I honestly don't get parents who go out of their way to enroll their kids in religious education classes and then suddenly find it such a massive chore to drive them to church, or worse, let them drop out of the program the following school year... I mean, what kind of message does that even send to a kid? If they decide they don't want to go to school tomorrow, should they just quit their entire education altogether?🤷

😲

You really can't compare standard academics to religious studies.

Surely a parent can tell their child, "Look, if you aren't feeling the choir practice anymore, you don't have to go since it isn't mandatory, but you still have to show up for school."😕

Next time you find yourself pregnant, honestly, just keep your mouth shut until you hit that twelve-week mark. It’s really just between you and your husband, and everyone else can spend the rest of the pregnancy assuming you’ve just been hitting the bakery or enjoying too many slices of bacon too often.

mellowridge66 said:God, I am so over all this "unsolicited advice." It’s driving me insane. I don’t even ask for anyone's opinion, yet people just start lecturing me out of nowhere. It starts with the most basic, patronizing stuff—like, "Oh, you shouldn't eat that," or "Actually, you can have this, but not that!" (when I was doing everything perfectly fine before!). Maybe it sounds a little mean, but it’s seriously getting under my skin how everyone treats me like I’m some fragile porcelain doll just because I’m sick. Heaven forbid I try to lift anything heavier than a spoon or a glass without someone hovering... and then, the second I actually *need* a hand with something? Suddenly, everyone’s busy or playing dumb! And now the commentary on driving while pregnant has started. Am I supposed to just stop driving altogether?? Why??? Because nobody can give me a straight answer!!

But honestly, the absolute worst part: I’ll be venting about how pissed off I was earlier that day, and someone will just chime in with, "Hiii! Oh, you shouldn't be angry right now!" Like, excuse me? Who asked you? I just shut up and walked away.

And currently, the entire neighborhood is acting like they’re experts on my due date!! Everyone is convinced I’m going to go into labor at least two weeks early just because my bump is huge, and it’s so incredibly annoying. All their guessing is just adding unnecessary pressure to my life!!!

Just tell them their advice is ridiculous, that you aren't interested, that you have no intention of following it, and to just shut up. Don't listen to them, cut them off mid-sentence, walk out of the room, ignore their questions, or just stop hanging out with them entirely.

To all the other pregnant women out there, I don't know how you put up with it; I'm not pregnant, and I never have been, but I certainly wouldn't let some idiot lecture me, nor would I even bother listening to them. At the very least, I’d walk away or just stop associating with them.
If I'm absolutely forced to be in the same room, I’ll just interrupt them halfway through a sentence and keep doing that until they finally fall silent.

I honestly think hiring a nanny would be a much better way to spend my time than sitting there for four straight hours surrounded by twenty kids, especially now that school's out for the summer. It feels like parents are basically expecting teachers to act like full-time babysitters, even though I don't think after-school programs were ever actually designed to "supervise" whether every single kid finished their homework.

urbantinker8 said:No.

I don't think I ever actually wrote that, so maybe I'm just misreading things again, or perhaps there's some sort of subtext I'm completely missing here... I guess.🤔😕🤷

So, you're basically expecting two different teachers to spend four hours a day babysitting your kid and supervising their homework because both you and your husband are stuck at the office until 5:00 PM.
And I suppose you also expect these teachers to keep their personal opinions to themselves—I certainly had plenty of professors like that back in my high school days—and that they'll raise your child exactly how you see fit, right?

That sounds more like a job description for a nanny to me. Though, I have to give credit where it's due; public schools in this country have really gone out of their way lately to implement after-school programs, so... yeah.

I'm staying in after-school care because both my dad and I work until 5:00. Period.

So, what you're saying is, you think the after-school teachers are just glorified babysitters?

Kate Morgan14 said:Honestly, it bugs me that grading isn't even realistic in first grade...
In my little one's class, it’s nothing but straight A's and B's right now...
The teacher explained that she won't hand out any bad grades yet—she doesn't want to crush their spirits right at the start of their schooling. Apparently, they're too emotionally sensitive, and such a massive shift would be too much for them to handle early on...

In practice, this means if they bomb a spelling test or a quiz, she doesn't actually record a failing grade; instead, she just keeps having them retake it until they get it right, and only then does she finally grade it...

The kids end up with zero clue how they're actually performing. They're going to hit a massive wall in second grade when the grades actually reflect reality—I just hope they're prepared for the shock.

Don't hold your breath; that woman isn't going to develop any backbone, even if she were back in middle school. ☕ It’s looking pretty likely that your kid won't see a decent grade until they hit fifth grade.

Don't go thinking I'm taking a shot at you personally; my beef is strictly with that one teacher. It’s just frustrating how everyone wants to pin the blame on that tiny fraction of aggressive parents instead of addressing the actual root of the problem—this culture of grade inflation driven by professors and teachers who are too afraid to actually grade anything strictly.

Lawrence Torres56 said:Honestly, if that’s how things work at your school, most parents in our district would kill for a teacher like that!😁
But for my kid, even a single mistake on a spelling test means they've already dropped to a B, and there's zero chance for a retake—everything goes straight onto the record...
I feel like in a 30-question test, maybe allowing one or two mistakes is okay, but only if the questions themselves were a bit "fuzzy"... like that recent science quiz they had about circling which tree shows autumn characteristics. They had pictures of trees with leaves, flowers, and one bare tree, and since the blossoms haven't even popped yet, most of them circled the ones with leaves they'd seen outside...

What’s better? Honestly, I have no clue... it's a total double-edged sword.
It's not smart to scare these little kids away from school in their first year, but it's also not great to just hand them participation trophies in the form of grades...

This is already my second extreme case. Making just two mistakes puts you at 93% for the entire test, and three mistakes drops you to 90%. Honestly, they should probably allow for at least three errors, but since we're talking about first grade, a 90% feels a little too brutal.

On this thread:

I'm with you on the idea that the New York Post is basically just running a censorship operation. Since they position themselves as an "alternative" outlet, I really think they should be treated like one—especially considering how much they lie and mislead their readers. It honestly pains me to see people treating Newsbar as some sort of serious authority, but at least Newsbar isn't out there peddling fascism or creationism, nor do they spend their time lying, manipulating facts, or spitting on anyone who dares to have a different opinion.

Thanks, though I actually ended up clearing out everything in the temp folder later yesterday. 🙂

Uh, thanks.