Thank you, New Jersey
For the last 10 days I have been wavering in my committment to home schooling. Two and a half weeks ago we took custody of a 2 year old and an infant whose parents are unable to care for them. Managing six children under 8 years old has been quite a challenge and I've been doubting my ability to teach effectively with the extra work that two more small children require. After all, what harm could it do to put the boys in public school for a year?
Enter the Burlington, New Jersey school district. The week before Easter, the schools carry out a drill to prepare for violence on campus. In the fictional scenario that provides the backstory for the drill, Christian fundamentalists storm the school. Off duty cops portrayed the right wing religious extremists as students practiced the proscribed response to such an event.
When confronted about the drill's obvious anti-Christian slant, the county school superintendent responded by saying that the schools had to run the most realistic drill possible. REALISTIC? I admit I'm drawing a blank. Can someone tell me when Christian fundamentalists stormed a school because a child wasn't allowed to pray before class?
Beslan? No. Lancaster, PA? No. SLC Mall shooting? No. Maybe the Burlington schools fear Christians from abroad? No, I don't buy that either.
In fact, all the 'Christian' right wing extremists that come to my mind are more interested in hiding in bunkers and drawing fire than storming schoolyards. Ruby Ridge. Waco. These groups suffered at the hands of an overreaching government (for all you 18 year old lefties out there, the invasive fed in these cases was being run by William Jefferson Clinton) not vice versa.
So, I'm posting here a great big THANK YOU! to the Burlington school district. You have strengthened my resolve. You have firmed my wavering faith. My children will be taught at home and somehow, even with the added challenges, I will effectively teach them and they will undoubtedly continue to surpass their state educated peers.
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You know you'll be accused of running a right wing madrassa.
Stay strong Cate...your children will appreciate it in the end. My wife and I are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and one of our friends just grauduated the last of three from their homeschool.
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2007/04/08 @ 06:08 PM — (Reply)
Some people want Christ at the helm, others want secularism, so what? The problem is when the groups endeavor to enforce their beliefs at the point of a bayonet (or from behind the robe of an activist judge).
Let every man worship how, where, and what they may - but let the voice of the people write the law, not the court and not well-funded minorities. That's all I'm asking. When the day comes that the majority of Americans choose evil then the nation will have lost the blessing of Almighty God and its fall will be the natural and deserved consequence.
The two extra little ones are requiring a lot of adjustment, EB. I'm still dedicated to home schooling just having trouble with practical application at present ;-)
Comment by Cate— 2007/04/08 @ 06:31 PM — (Reply)
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Comment by guytnjbw— 2008/03/26 @ 01:39 PM — (Reply)
I support a secular government.
This is a group of people who blame the problems of the world on Christians. I've been doing some reading. It's a virulent form of neo-atheism.
Comment by elmers brother— 2007/04/08 @ 09:42 PM — (Reply)
I've heard the term and read a few references but mostly on sites that use the term as I described.
Comment by Cate— 2007/04/09 @ 06:49 AM — (Reply)
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Comment by gouulnpj— 2008/04/14 @ 01:21 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Ernie Els— 2007/04/09 @ 07:17 PM — (Reply)
The curse of having a very common name- it's easy to be mistaken about identities, and sometimes come off as seeming vain.
If you're talking about me, though, I'm not quite sure what you could be referring to, Ernie. I put my kid into Catholic school for the simple reason that I believe faith is critical to the development of a young mind. Public schools suck in that regard- too many lawyers and too many hypersensitive un-creative educators have left a system devoid of content in that regard.
As for the drill at the NJ public school... asinine. Why provide a back-story at all? They were sure to offend some group or another. "Armed militants take a school hostage" was all that was really required to perform the drill. I've got no problem with the drill (except that it probably constitutes another layer of fear-mongering), but the detail of the scenario was needless.
Comment by Michael— 2007/04/10 @ 07:33 AM — (Reply)
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Comment by owklxvnx— 2007/06/11 @ 12:19 PM — (Reply)
The toughest question has always been, "How do you get your ideas?" How do you answer that? It's like asking runners how they run, or singers how they sing. They just do it!
Comment by soma online— 2008/03/28 @ 03:43 PM — (Reply)