> Dear Scholar,
> Why didn't you save the millions of people slaughtered by the
> Inquisition?
> Sincerely,
> And a common response to "When can you get pregnant?" is "Only for a few
> days at the middle of your menstrual cycle."
>
> The fact that a response is frequent doesn't make it either accurate or
> justified.
True, true. I never suggested agreement with the statement "Violence
started when they took God" out of the classroom. I simply have had
difficulty formulating an appropriate response to that kind of argument.
The subsequent responses (at least some of them) have provided very
reasonable arguments to refute such a claim.
> Points:
>
> 1. There is _not_ more violence in the schools lately--it only appears
> that way because it is occurring in middle class white schools, not
> poverty level inner city ones as it has been for years. There were _less_
> children murdered in schools last year than there were during any year in
> the preceding decade (check the numbers at http://www.doj.gov for
> yourselves)--but because some (still a very small number of the total
> school killings) were in "decent" schools the public was left with the
> impression that the numbers were increasing.
I thought I heard that before -- about the decrease in school violence -- but
didn't have any data. Again, it reminds me of Richard Pryor...
> 2. If the "common response" is accurate, there should be considerably
> MORE violence in the schools in Russia, China, Cuba, Sweden, and other
> Communist or Socialist nations where any form of religious teaching at ALL
> is prohibited in the schools. That the opposite is true (no first or
> second world nation on Earth has the violence rate in its schools that the
> US has) is pretty strong evidence that the "common response" is a false
> one.
Well, Americans still tend to be pretty ethnocentric, so obviously people who
make the claim that godless schools go nuts probably confine their
boundaries to the good ole US of A.
> Try asking WHICH "God" should be permitted in the schools. Yours? Linda
> Wolfe's? That of a Muslim? A Wiccan? An animist? Who among educators
> claims to have the _wisdom_ to decide which religion offers teachings that
> are appropriate to our children--and which does not? Simply because the US
> is primarily Christian does NOT mean that Christianity should be treated
> any differently than other religions--but of the many people who call for
> "God in the schools," I doubt very many would permit their children to be
> educated with, for example, pagan moral values in the schools.
I didn't mean to suggest promoting religion in public school. I, like some
theologically conservative religious types (sounds so much nicer than
"fundamentalist" for some reason) actually do NOT feel comfortable with the
teaching or or the promotion of religion in the public school. That's what we
have churches and families for...at least for those of us who wish to instill
those kinds of beliefs into our children.
In previous conversations on this list, I've maintained that we should try to
acknowledge its importance to people, and at times discuss it in the
classroom, but please don't equate that with advocating sticking it into the
curriculum.
> "Which God?" may seem a strange response to the response--but it's an
> honest one. And if it can't be answered in a way that shows equal respect
> for ALL religions (including Secular Humanism and those which teach VERY
> different moral values from the ones held by mainstream Christianity)
> perhaps the only valid answer is "NONE."
I actually agree with you. Thanks.
************************************************************************
Jim Guinee, Ph.D.
Director of Training & Adjunct Professor
President, Arkansas College Counselor Association
University of Central Arkansas Counseling Center
313 Bernard Hall Conway, AR 72035 USA
(501) 450-3138 (office) (501) 450-3248 (fax)
"FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!
It comes bundled with the software."
**************************************************************************
