NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM.....just think about that for a second.....let it sink in. regardless of your political affliation or leaning, really give that statement some thought. MASS GENOCIDE....vs POSSIBLY questionable political policies and motives, depending on your point of view. think for a second about the INFLAMMATORY nature of that statement, and what the people advocating it are trying to accomplish.....and then ask yourself if THIS website is the source of unbiased, fact-based information....."I told her straight up ‘you could take that Muslim-loving piece of paper and shove it up your white [expletive],” Kevin Wood said in an interview. “If [students] can’t practice Christianity in school, they should not be allowed to practice Islam in school.”
http://misguidedchildren.com/domestic-affairs/2014/10/maryland-school-bans-marine-veteran-over-daughters-homework/31915
this article is what started this whole crazy mess. produced by this incredibly flattering website. i can definitely see why all the mainstream news media decided to pick it up. i mean, you definitely can not find ANYTHING remotely disturbing by the source. it seems a completely fair account of what is happening, dont you think?
this past week has been a revelation in our small community. as i'm sure you may have noticed, since we have made the front page many news outlets, ONE parent is very VERY disgruntled with the 11th grade world history curriculum. WORLD HISTORY curriculum. His response to his daughters homework assignment was to A} refer to it as muslim propaganda, B} call the school and VEHEMENTLY scold the vice principal over the assignment, and C} threaten to reign a shitstorm the likes of which they had never seen down on the school if they did not cave to his demands. which resulted in a "no-trespass" order for this parent. and a week of upheaval for the staff and student body, who have been inundated with calls and articles about this "travesty".
i am publishing a few comments, just to put this in some context of why this is disturbing. some of my favorites:"called administrator and made contact with enemy"
"i told her under no circumstances she my daughter learning about some fucked up religion"
"i ended with saying, stop teaching shit about Johnny Jihad and teaching about American History!"
and yes....these are quotes. Starting again with the fact that this is a WORLD HISTORY course, and that this assignment is in the context of the study of the Middle Eastern culture and the formation of its empires. which obviously addresses religion. just as the study of the CRUSADES addresses Christianity, and the study of the REFORMATION addresses Protestantism. among other things, religion is one of the largest influencing priniciples THROUGHOUT history. it is by no means an indoctrination of ANY of these religions. it is simply educating our children within the CONTEXT of HISTORY.
"This is a world history class,” Simpson explained. “We are not teaching religion. Part of those world history studies involves the economics of a region and part of that is the religion which relates to the economy of that part of the world. In the Middle East, Islam is the only religion and it contributes greatly to the economics of the region."
now i am not saying parents are not allowed to question curriculum. but that is what the school board is for. and its also what concepts like PRIVATE SCHOOL and HOMESCHOOLING are for. if you do not like the manner in which your child is being educated, then it is your responsibility as a parent to rectify that. HOWEVER, it is never okay to do so in a confrontational, exploitative manner. it is also not okay to demand a new assignment if you dont like the current one - believe me, if that were the case, the entire CORE CURRICULUM in 8th grade math would be something entirely different in my household. i dont agree with it, i dont like it, i find it confusing and assinine. but until i am willing to homeschool, this is what i am dealing with. and we are addressing our challenges with it AT HOME. as a FAMILY.
"My thought for the day..If you want your children to have a strong Christian faith, then teach them that, go to church, read the bible, and allow them to discover that Jesus is our Savior. It's a parent's responsibility. Once they have their own faith, facts about other religions are intriguing to the intellectual thinker." - (another facebook post, by a local parent)
my biggest issue with the way this has been handled by the parent and the MEDIA is this: the goal seems to be to encourage discord by playing up this mans military career and the religious animosity that exists within our country. these are the headlines:
Parent banned from La Plata HS after Islam homework dispute
Maryland School Bans Marine Veteran Over Daughter’s Homework
Father upset over Islam history lesson barred from school over threats
it seems to me that this parent threatened a shit-storm - and we are accommodating him. which is so sad. because i'm pretty sure that LaPlata High School is not unique. I know our administrators and teachers receive calls EVERY DAY over homework disputes. even assignments. it is because THIS particular assignment addresses the HOT BUTTON of RELIGION, that it is getting national attention. which is utterly ridiculous. and feeding into the divisive underbelly that keeps our country at odds. we spend more time NOT listening to each other. NOT interested in learning about what anyone else believes. NOT compromising. we feed the flames of animosity and then wonder why our government is ineffective.....
it seems to me that this parent threatened a shit-storm - and we are accommodating him. which is so sad. because i'm pretty sure that LaPlata High School is not unique. I know our administrators and teachers receive calls EVERY DAY over homework disputes. even assignments. it is because THIS particular assignment addresses the HOT BUTTON of RELIGION, that it is getting national attention. which is utterly ridiculous. and feeding into the divisive underbelly that keeps our country at odds. we spend more time NOT listening to each other. NOT interested in learning about what anyone else believes. NOT compromising. we feed the flames of animosity and then wonder why our government is ineffective.....
at the end of the day, the one single job of our educational system is to EDUCATE. it is not to make judgements, or teach morality. it is to provide INFORMATION in the applicable context. and then hope that the gaps of perspective, religion, morality and ethics are filled in at home. it is our job as PARENTS to guide our children. it is absolutely within Mr Woods right to object to Islam. it is his right to refuse to let his daughter do this assignment. it is certainly within his rights to create this shitstorm for the community. it is NOT within his rights to create a threatening environment for MY child or any of the other students at LPHS. and it is not within his rights to demand a change simply because he disagrees. take the appropriate actions. hire a lawyer to challenge the school board on the curriculum. but please stop spewing hate and encouraging confrontation. it is not just your child that is affected. and some of us want our children to learn as much about everything as they possibly can.
