If the teacher wanted a symbol of harvest, then your son should have brought in a reproduced box of laborer's home brew!
Posted on 12/16/2004 6:30:57 PM PST by nhoward14
Last year, school officials told 9-year-old Jonathan Morgan he couldn't give classmates Christian-themed candy canes at his elementary school's "winter break" party.
On Thursday, a federal judge told him he can.
U.S. District Judge Paul Brown in Sherman ordered the 52,000-student Plano school district to let students distribute "religious viewpoint gifts" at school parties scheduled for Friday.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
I stand corrected. You are right. Forgot about the Kwanza creation scenario.
So bring in Kwanza and let the kids talk about that too, why its not a religion, etc.
The enormous gap in our government educational system combined with student "game-boy" mind numbing apathy and parental abdication of their responsibility to have "homework time" or family discussions leaves me cynical of the students even getting anything out of "sharing" holiday differences.
Bring back Flashcards for math!!
Having the kids talk about religion among themselves may get them to go home and talk about religion with their parents. This is a good thing. When I was a kid I came home from Catholic school and told my Dad that my friend Bernardette said that the Jews killed Christ. My Jewish Dad explained to me that the Romans in fact killed Him, and we read commentary on the subject. Then he told me not to go back and be rude to Bernardette because she was only saying what her parents said and maybe they didn't know any better. He said to explain to her what we'd read in the Bible instead. And by the way, to quit calling her a "mackerel snapper."
If kids talk about religion in school, it can only be good.
They already "celebrate" Kwanza. My first-grader in Frisco ISD, neighboring Plano, was told to make some symbol related to Kwanza in class. The teacher told them it was an ancient Southern African custom to celebrate the harvest. Needless to say, we raised a stink and he was excused from having to do it.
LOL An ancient South African custom??? I hope your son laughed. I sure would and I'm not even South African.
If the teacher wanted a symbol of harvest, then your son should have brought in a reproduced box of laborer's home brew!
I thought you would find that funny :-) They use words from Kenya in Kwanza, that's about as close as it gets.
The issue with kids'problems in high school is the fault of parents who do not have time to talk and be involved with their kids; with our materialistic and narcissistic culture, with lack of spirituality a part of home life.
Religious teaching, spirituality and values are the role of parents/family/houses of worship....NOT the schools.
Religious teaching is not the role of the schools, unless they are parochial schools. Keep church and state seperate. Do you want the schools to teach about Allah?
To place the ills of society today because "God is not in our schools" is a real cop-out.
Pretty atheistic too
Kwanzaa is not an African holiday.Kwanzaa is a secular seven day holiday beginning on December 26th. This holiday was developed by Dr. Maulana Karenga and is observed by African-Americans. Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966.
Many elements of Kwanzaa come from African harvest celebrations. The word Kwanzaa is taken from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza meaning first fruits.
Each day of the Kwanzaa celebration is dedicated to one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamma (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), Imani (Faith). These words along with mkeka, muhindi, kinara, mishumaa saba, kikombe cha umoja, zawadi, and karamu and many others used in the Kwanzaa celebrations are Swahili words. Interestingly, the word Kwanzaa is not a Swahili word, kwanza is.
This has nothing to do with schools teaching religion. Students are not part of the state. By the way, there is no seperation of state and church. Nothing in the 1st amendment says churh and state should be seperated. What it states, in plain english, is that the state has to stay out of religion. It says nothing about religion staying out of the state. This was put in to protect peoples rights to worship whatever religion they want without interference from the Government, not so the Government could ban religion which is what the so-called seperation of church and state is really about. There is nothing in the constitution about displaying religions icons, commandments or any other part of religion in government institutions such court rooms, schools etc.
Good description, I would just include that those harvest celebrations regularly include praying to the spirits of the forefathers. That part apparently did not make it into Kwanzaa, as far as I could determine.
Good idea. But a better idea is to abolish government schools and all this BS goes away.
And never take any government money at all for schools, no vouchers, no grants, no loans, no scholarships, no interference. None.
Money comes with strings, cut the strings, live free, and praise God without apology.
And let the "inclusive" people start their own schools.
I can count the number of black Americans I know that celebrate kwanzaa. People who already are self sufficient, charitable towards the place where they live,etc. don't need a holiday telling them to do so.
Actually I know of only one person who celebrates kwanzaa. Two people if I count the freeper that I know that celebrates kwanzaa.
It's a hate America, hate white people, communist indoctrination vehicle.
And "Dr" Karenga is also a made up name. He changed it so people wouldn't know who he really is and look into his criminal past. He is a convicted, sexual deviant, woman torturer.
My aunt went to CUNY and hung out with a lot of black revolutionary types and met Maulena Karenga. My mother cussed him out and that's why I love my mom *LOL*
Protagoras
(c.480-411BC)
Philosopher from Thrace who taught in Athens and was a friend of Pericles. He was the first Sophist, and taught grammar, rhetoric as well as the interpretation of poetry.
Protagoras believed nothing was exclusively good or bad, true or false and that man is his own authority, saying that "man is the measure of all things". This has in later times sometimes been misintrepeted. What the philosopher ment was that each man's opinions differ, and what is true for one person can be false for another. Therefore, he concluded, there is no general or objective truth.
According to Plato, Protagoras stated that the punishment for a crime is executed in order to prevent the same crime from happening again, and not for revenge. Although a celebrated teacher, Protagoras was finally charged with atheism and drowned fleeing to Sicily. Fragments of his works Truth and On the Gods have survived.
Yea heres a great thinker ! HA !
ACCORDING TO COURT DOCUMENTS, Karenga's real name is Ron N. Everett. In the '60s, he awarded himself the title "maulana," Swahili for "master teacher."
Protagoras taught that there are two sides to every story.
Kinda like, the one you swallowed hook, line and sinker,,,and the real one about the criminal Ron Everett.
ACCORDING TO HISTORY Protagoras drowned as an athiest who really gives a crap what either one did they were and are both legends in their own minds !
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