Posted on 10/02/2006 11:59:58 AM PDT by 300magnum
A Muslim advocacy group's successful argument that a 9th grade student from a Virginia public high school did not have to wear regulation gym attire because of her Muslim religion, has fired up a critic of Islamic radicalism.
The 9th grader at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va., was "threatened with failing the class if she did not wear shorts," according to a statement released by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).
"The student's family contacted CAIR (of Maryland and Virginia) for assistance in resolving the issue. Following discussions with school officials, the student was moved to a different gym class and will be allowed to dress in attire that meets her religious needs," stated CAIR.
The group stated that initially, the girl's teacher told her "the law required that the student wear the shorts."
In light of the dispute over the gym class attire, CAIR also noted that it would conduct diversity training for Lake Braddock's newer staff, as well as "visit local middle and high schools to review their policies for accommodating the religious needs of Muslim students during Ramadan, Eid and throughout the school year."
But Daniel Pipes, a frequent critic of CAIR and the director of the Middle East Forum, told Cybercast News Service that the gym shorts are part of a "campaign" by CAIR to replace rules in the U.S.
It is a campaign "to adapt public schools in the United States to Islamic norms," Pipes said, and "is an integral part of its effort to adapt the country to the Shari'a, or Islamic law."
"Its success in getting the gym rules changed at Lake Braddock [Secondary] School, plus its success in providing 'diversity training' for school staff, have inspired it to become more bold and to 'review the policies' in other middle and high schools in an attempt to bend them too to the Shari'a," Pipes added.
You on the other hand are willing to impose any unreasonable rule or say no to anything because the request came from a muslim family. It is you who needs to check yourself out, before you get a wedgie from your wedge issue.
PS: What value are those evil muslims pushing on us through this girl? Modesty? LOL.
You probably wouldn't and that's your decision. It's the family's decision to get whatever support they think they need to fight the big bad school district. So what? You are judging by association and not on the merits of the issue.
You're arguing against the ACLU as if you want me to speak for them. You got the wrong guy. Direct your question to them.
I answered your question straight and honest and then asked you some questions that weren't just rhetorical, but you ignored answering them and instead gave a smartass reply. You think I'm unreasonable and I think you are a fool. End of conversation.
"Again, you put your kid in public schools as a last and only final resort.. anything less and you are engaging in neglect and child abuse.
Don't trust the government with your health care, but let them have your kids 8 hours a day... Brilliant."
Of course you do realize that a "kid" is a baby goat. Nothing wrong with suggesting where good people put their young goats I suppose. Are you homeschooling by any chance?
I sure hope you are not being so presumptious and self-rightous as to suggest blatantly or implicitly that good people who choose the public school system for the education of their child(ren) are somehow abusive or neglectful. That wouldn't be very nice now, would it?
Now, if you were to refer to beautiful human children as something akin to young goats, that could be construed as abusive, wouldn't you agree?
You are fighting a monolithic enemy, while I am upholding the rights of the family to have their daughter not dress immodestly. You think I'mn being a smart ass. OK. You already said good-bye. I'll miss you.
Reality isn't nice.
Since you seem to think the word kid only definition is juvenile goat, I have to assume that you either don't own a dictionary, or are patently ignorant, or believe that creating red herrings is the equivalent of coherent thought.
Public education is the education of last resort, if it is anything else you frankly are guilty of abuse or neglect.
It always amazes me how many folks who claim to be conservative, will be adament about no government in their health care, or how government has destroyed this or that... are so vehement about defending giving their children to the state for 8 hours a day 9 months of the year.
They would never live in public housing, or want government control of this or that, but they willingly and willfully pass of their kids to the government to be educated. We don't need to have re-education camps to make sure folks think "right" in this country... most folks mindlessly send their kids of to them every day without so much as a second thought.
No, I don't homeschool my kids, and no they don't go to public schools.. and never will. I'll live in a 1 room shack if that's what it takes to have the resources available for their education.
I went to both private and public schools growing up, and that was a good while ago, and the differences between them were night and day, I learned that first hand.. and it is even more pronounced now.
To this day I work with children, and I can tell within a very short period of time of meeting a child with pretty uncanny accuracy if they are a product of the public school system or not. Yes, even those in the wealthier areas more homogeneous public schools.
One person's "traditional" is another person's "radical". And at the time that picture was taken, was Ireland being overwhelmed by immigrants demanding that Ireland change its ways to accommodate the immigrant traditions?
Now don't go getting all huffy!
As evidenced by the number of grammatical errors, usage errors, spelling errors, and your use of poor sentence structure, I can see that your schooling was deficient in some pretty significant areas too! Can we just get along without insulting one another now?
Regardless of the modality, there are two words that that are most important in a child's education: PARENT INVOLVEMENT. I am fortunate enough to live in a community where the parents are extremely active in their children's lives. In fact, I chose to live in this community for this very reason. We are in daily contact with our children's teachers. They take the time to learn our child's strengths and weaknesses, then use these characteristics to enhance the educational experience for our child. Further, education does not begin when the school bell rings and end when the bus delivers him home. Nor does education stop when we graduate from high school or college. My entire life has been an education, I hope yours has been too.
I see it like this: Different people value different things in life. Those things that you value are most likely not identical to those that another person may value. Where and how our children are schooled are but two of the choices we will make, and sometimes good people don't have any options in this regard.
Personally, I have no gripe with anyone who chooses private, home, or public school. It's their child; it's their choice. I would not be so bold as to accuse another parent of abuse or neglect simply because they enroll their child in a public school. In the end, PARENT INVOLVEMENT is an excellent predictor of outcome.
If you would like to discuss parental involvement, I think we'd have much more in common. :-)
Peace.
The point you miss, and this is a HUGE point... is that, while parental involvement is a plus.. its not the holy grail. Thousands of children a year will be educated in boardings schools (not my choice, but will be educated none the less this way) and they come out by and large far above the public school system as well.
I know my oppinion on this topic offends folks, but reality isn't about guaranteeing you things you like.
Parental involvement does not negate things like homosexual indoctrination in kindergarden. If the state or fed requires your child to have it beaten into them 8 hours a day 9 months a year that homosexuality is not a mental disorder, but just another color of the lifestyle rainbow starting at the age of 4... all the parental involvement in the world won't change it.
The other thing about public schools, and why the are indeed the bottom of the barrel, is that while you may be an active parent, there is absolutely no guarantee the elements your child is exposed to day in and day out do as well. And lets not even get into the dilluded idea that you can truly educate a child in an environment that is openly hostile to morality.
I know there are folks who have no choice, and frankly those are the only folks who should be settling for government schooling.
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