I dropped my granddaughter off at school on Dec. 14 and was shocked, dismayed and offended to see absolutely no Christmas decorations. I understand the "need" to be "tolerant" but feel we have taken it too far.
I have no problem celebrating holidays from other religions. Put up a menorah for Hanukkah. Put up decorations for Kwanzaa. Put up decorations for whatever. But to deny the overwhelming majority of Christian children the celebration of this holiday is unspeakable.
As a child, I looked forward to the "Christmas" party that signaled the beginning of "Christmas" vacation. To deny my grandchildren and all the other children that same feeling is atrocious.
Children don't care about political correctness. They don't care about whose holiday it is. They only know they are denied.
Tolerance to the point of discrimination is no tolerance at all. It amounts to discrimination of the majority, which is a sad state of affairs indeed.
Since it is the tax paying citizens who are paying school salaries, I say take a vote amongst parents. If they side with the discriminatory practice of exclusion, I'll abide by it. After all, majority rules in a democracy.
I hope to see some form of Christmas/holiday decorations when next I enter this school. A tree would not be remiss. I'll even supply it myself.
And, I bet if teachers asked parents to send in a decoration with their child, the majority would.
Merry Christmas.
Michelle Barbay, Lisbon
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would you feel the same?
If you brought your kid to school and there was a menorah on the front lawn, or declarations of allegiance to Allah during one of the Eid celebrations?
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Because we are a nation of predominately Christians. If I was in Somalia, Iran, or Indonesia then I would expext Muslim decorations, or Jewish ones in Isreal.
But we aren't in Somalia or isreal are we?
In America, i expext Christian decorations.
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This is largely a non-issue that some people like to turn into something bigger than what it is. I worked at a Lewiston elementary school last year that was 30% Muslim and Christmas was still very much a part of the school. In fact, at times I even conceded to myself that it did seem a little odd when I'd see small groups of exclusively Muslim students coloring pictures of Santa Claus and reindeer. I of course can't speak for Lisbon schools which are the ones addressed in this letter, but for the most part, there is plenty of evidence all around schools that Christmas is coming.
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Maybe if people weren't trying to push religion into schools they wouldn't be as sensitive towards it. But trying to get prayer in school, trying to get intelligent design taught, ect... had put many people like myself to take a hard line towards anything REMOTELY religious in schools. It's the kind of thing if you give an inch, the other side takes a foot.
Now, I really have no problem with holiday decorations. To me, Christmas is just like Thanksgiving, a cultural holiday. But it's not to you. You see this as a religious holiday, and if I allow you to put up decorations, then your going to want to put up a nativity scene, and it wont stop there.
Hell, people on the right boycott stores for saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". Maybe if you got the burr out of your ass about people celebrating the season they way they want to, we could have wiggle room. But until you act like the season is for everyone, no matter what they call it, no dice.
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Thank you all you intolerant people for bringing some hate into my holiday season.
I choose to celebrate all my holidays with my family and friends, I don't have to force my beliefs on other people and on public property to celebrate any holiday.
That's what the US is all about, the freedom to believe the way you feel, and tolerance to allow others the freedom to do the same.
These are simple legal questions that have been answered on the federal level. You don't spend public money, use public property to support, favor, celebrate however you want to say it, a certain religion. Those who believe in other religions, or no religion, have the same rights. It is NOT majority rule in this nation, if it was women, non property owners and people of color would still not be able to vote, and we'd still have public floggings and hangings as punishment.
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Just out "Today" - Here ya go, Frostie.....
1 in 4 trying to join military can't pass exam
(Excerpt) Nearly one-fourth of the students who try to join the military fail its entrance exam, painting a grim picture of an education system that produces graduates who can't answer basic math, science and reading questions.
The report by The Education Trust found that 23 percent of recent high school graduates don't get the minimum score needed on the enlistment test to join any branch of the military. The study, released exclusively to The Associated Press today, comes on top of Pentagon data that shows 75 percent of those aged 17 to 24 don't qualify for the military because they are physically unfit, have a criminal record or didn't graduate high school.
This is the first time ever that the U.S. Army has released this test data publicly, said Amy Wilkins with The Education Trust, a Washington, D.C.-based children's advocacy group. She said the organization worked with the U.S. Army to get raw data on test takers from the past five years.
"It's really about illuminating the issue of whether our high schools are preparing young people to serve the country," said Wilkins, vice president of The Education Trust. "It's important for national security."
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I wish that the liberals that hate Christmas and everything else Christian would equally hate all of the other religions. I don't hear any complaints about Jewish, Muslim, or Asian religions...just Christianity.
Why don't you guys be more politically fair here and either stop your quest to ban all things Christian, or start demanding the abolishment of the other religions as well.
If you are going to hate, at least be equal opputunity haters.
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Muslim Religion you haven't been listening to Righteous Wing Media lately.
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My son is having a party at school and the teacher actually said it was a holiday party, which is ok with me. A list was sent home asking if we could contribute... and on the list , "Chrstmas cookies" I was so happy to hear that. along with carrots ,juice popcorn etc.I would like to see if the parents of some of the children would contribute anything from their cultures. I would welcome it... as far as wasting money and time kids learn more when happy.
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The cookies are "Christmas", but the party is "holiday"? Even the parrpt's scratching his tail on that one.
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Do you have any opinions of your own, Invidia?
Maybe the students you know are dumb and fat, but my two oldest grandchildren (15 & 13 ) are on highest honors and skinny as rakes because they play sports. And all that's in spite of the fact that most of their teachers are well-educated socialists who never do anything more strenuous than hoisting a laptop.
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- I back up my opinions with facts; unlike many of your buddies.
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lisan180, I agree with you to a certain extent. Why should all of the kids suffer if one or two parents are against the party. If they don't like it, keep their kids home for the day!
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My son's elementary school still celebrates Christmas. There was a giving tree in the lobby for a month *covered* in tags from families in need of warm clothing for their children. Generous people in the community (and it is a poor community overall) emptied that tree as we do every year. Tomorrow is the last day before vacation and there will be a classroom party with drinks and treats. On some levels, these rural schools are a sad place because so many kids come from struggling families without a lot of resources. Who knows what they go home to each day or what their Christmas will be like. It's 30 minutes of laughter and getting sugared up with fellow students who generally work hard all year. And anyone with a young child knows: the kids are focused on school work the last couple of days before Christmas vacation. That said, there is not an *emphasis* on Christmas during school time. They have done a couple of art projects that are Christmas-oriented. Had the teacher decided to do a Hannukah-related project or game as we did when I was a school kid, that would have been good, too. I would not have been outraged if the holidays had come and gone at school without celebration. But as long as all parents are on board and no one feels slighted, it seems to be a happy time for the kids.
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Veritas said: "If you haven't got the memo yet, school is for teaching our children about those areas which will help them succeed in the secular world - and home and church for the spiritual. (Unless you care to send your child to a religious based school)"
Veritas, back when i went to school, we had Christmas parties and decorations. I am also very successful. You cannot blame Christmas parties for our dismal school system.
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And you didn't pick up on that why???
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Also you won't improve test scores by subjecting students to longer days in and smaller vacations from our dismal school system. That will just annoy both students and teachers. Real progress will be achieved only when we break the stranglehold unions have on public education.
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1. Hyperfascination with school sports.
2. 'No Teacher Left Behind' Contracts.
3. School Year based on an Agrarian Society.....
Yours Truly; Scrooge
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1. Students will then be dumb and fat.
2. Get rid of unions and their political enablers who encourage those contracts.
3. Ditto. And get ready for the howls from union teachers when you tell them they can't have a 10 week summer vacation.
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"Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008. The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%.1,2 "
Citing: --> http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/obesity/index.htm
And for losing the Brain Race - refer to my earlier posting.
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Publikwerks, yes, Christmans is a religious holiday. Nothing in the constitution or the bill of rights prevents it from being celebrate in school. Please, do not quote separation of church and state, for if you do, just shows your ignorance!
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Why shouldn't I quote it?
Matter of fact:
"The "establishment of religion" clause of the First Amendment means at least this: Neither a state nor the federal government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or non-attendance. No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion. Neither a state nor the Federal Government can, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups and vice versa. In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect "a wall of separation between church and State."
-Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in Bradfield v. Roberts
Now, lets just say, what the heck, let em put up decorations for Kwanzaa and Hanukkah too. Well, guess what? You just opened Pandora's box.
You let one in, you gotta let em all in. Lets see....Oh, your Christmas decorations have to share space with Kwanzaa and Hanukkah and Muharram(Islam) and Pancha Ganapati(Hinduism) and Freedom Day(Scientology) just to name a few.
No thank you.
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If you haven't got the memo yet, school is for teaching our children about those areas which will help them succeed in the secular world - and home and church for the spiritual. (Unless you care to send your child to a religious based school)
And our schools aren't doing a very good job at math, science, and reading - so I'de consider cutting our multitude of school vacations down until we do. And take care of Christmas at Home and in the Church.
Here's an article that better get your attention much more than a letter about decoraction in the class-room:
U.S. Teens Lag as China Soars on International Test
Excerpts: "Fifteen-year-olds in the U.S. ranked 25th among peers from 34 countries on a math test and scored in the middle in science and reading, while China’s Shanghai topped the charts, raising concern that the U.S. isn’t prepared to succeed in the global economy.
In all, 470,000 students worldwide took the exam. The test also measured countries and regions outside the OECD, or a total of 65 countries and economies. Asian countries and regions, including South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, all outpaced the U.S., as did Finland.
U.S. 15-year-olds had an average score of 487 in math on a 1,000-point scale. Shanghai students scored 600, Singapore, 562; South Korea, Hong Kong, 555; Finland, 541.
The U.S. is traditionally ranked against other OECD countries. On an absolute basis, students from 24 of 34 OECD countries had higher scores than U.S. students, and the Education Department said 17 were better on a statistically significant basis.
U.S. math scores rose from 474 in 2006, when they ranked 25th of 30 OECD countries.
The average U.S. reading score of 500 ranked 14th among OECD countries, which were led by South Korea, Finland and Canada. Only six had scores that were better statistically, the Education Department said. Shanghai students scored 556. Because of an error in printing test booklets, no U.S. reading results were reported in 2006.
Science Score
The average U.S. science score of 502 ranks 17th in the OECD nations, which were led by Finland, Japan and South Korea. Twelve scores were statistically better, the Education Department said. Shanghai students scored 575. The U.S., which scored 489 in 2006, ranked 21st among 30 OECD countries that year."
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Statistics can point in any direction you want them to. In the US we mandate that all our children be in school whereas in other countries sometimes schooling is a luxury or only for the elite. In Shanghai specifically it is a nation with a ONE-CHILD rule and is the most child friendly areas where they make sure that the children in that nation are fully balanced with everything including education, the arts and FUN. If children are not balanced in all those areas then it inhibits the learning experience. What I find interesting is those that quote statistics generally do not often then counteract that data to figure out the anomalies.
I do agree our schools need some serious work but we are cutting off our nose to spite our face when we cut funding for special education, gifted and talented, the music, the arts and all the other programs that help our children become more well rounded.
And to be completely frank I am pretty sure an afternoon gathering to celebrate the Holiday Season is not going to be the make it or break it of my sons education....but what it does do is allow the students to bond with each other more, to have a little fun, and to be a KID.....
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Countries whose educational systems produce better results than ours??
Your excuses for those?
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We all want to talk about celebrating diversity, and learning about other cultures and understanding others belief systems....yet what I find interesting is it (seems to me) that the only ones being held to that standard are the "Christians".
I went to a small school where the majority of the children did celebrate Christmas but their were a couple where the celebrated Hanukkah, and I loved that we celebrated both equally. I have a young son in school and I am heartbroken that they dont have holiday parties where they celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah , Kwanza, Ramadan and any other special holiday festivities. I am heartbroken for all the children that miss out on learning the traditions on all cultures including the ones America, a long time ago, adopted as their own.
As a culture we have become so unbelievably censored and everyone is always walking on eggshells to be "politically" correct. It seems to me that it has become socially acceptable to discriminate against the majority and that is a complete shame. When will it stop, how censoring are we going to become as a society before we decide that is enough?
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Your seriously try to say that Christmas isn't a religious holiday?
The name of the holiday has Jesus's name in it.
Yes, it's a federal holiday, which is probably Unconstitutional, but since nobody minds a day off, it's ignored. If you keep f***ing with it, trying to get Christmas decor in schools and whatnot, your gonna get a burr up some atheists rear and they will make a stink, and then I'm gonna have to work on Christmas.
So leave it be.
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Are you seriously trying to tell me that you think Jesus' last name was "Christ"?
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The word "Christ" comes from Greek and Hebrew words meaing "The annointed one" or more literally, "the Messiah"
Christ is not Jesus' last name, it is His title.
Just like President Obama's first name is not "President", President being his title, same thing with Christ Jesus, or Jesus Christ.
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The problem is that title of Christ is synonymous with Jesus just like the Confederate battle flag is synonymous with slavery.
But apparently you fail to grasp than concept.
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Obama Christ? Gives me the willies.
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Personally, I think it's pretty sad that the majority of Americans are forced to kiss butt to a vocal minority that is h... bent on forcing their ideas of political correctness on them. If you can have a quiet place to go and pray in schools to satisfy one group of people, then you should have the ability to follow other customs as well. Merry Christmas!
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Even though Christmas is a FEDERAL holiday it can't be celebrated due to political correctness for fear of offending others. It only takes one to complain and I am sure there was one who ruined it for everyone else. Threatening a law suit is all it takes to make the school board remove any evidence of a holiday. Pretty sad what the scrooges of the world have done for our children. Bah Hum Bug.
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"I bet if teachers asked parents to send in a decoration with their child, the majority would." And the minority would be contacting the media as to how offensive it is. 1. Real Christmas trees are not allowed in a school so you would need an artificial. Artificial probably are allowed either. Not sure. 2. With all of the negativity against schools not teaching children, some would complain about teaching being negatively impacted by a "Christmas" party. So teachers just say "Enjoy your vacation!" As the title says, you just can't win.
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If you want mob rule, go live someplace else.
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