Slimy Christian teachers cheating the system

Started by widdershins, February 14, 2013, 10:17:35 AM

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widdershins

I just found out this morning that the grade school music teacher apparently teaches a LOT of religious songs.  So many, in fact, that even my children who've never given a second thought to religion one way or another have noticed.  I thought about it for a while and I realized it's away to get around the separation laws in schools...and it's failing.  They couldn't name one song, though they were able to tell me enough about two of them to identify them as Christmas songs, Away in a  Manger and Silent Night.

Being a business man in a small town I can't raise much of a fuss.  Even if I could, I don't think it's illegal as the laws are written.  She is teaching "music", after all.  Her choice of music just seems to be heavily Christian.

Of course, were I to be able to do something about it I could be just as slimy and quite easily remove here "they're just songs" excuse by asking that she introduce other songs into the classroom.  Off the top of my head I don't know any, but I'm sure I can find a few songs which are "just songs", but which Christians would find deeply offensive.  Perhaps something mentioning "Lord Satan".  If it's okay to mention "Lord Jesus" then it must be okay to mention Lord Satan.  In the list I would have to come up with some songs engrained in our culture so she couldn't use the "part of our culture" excuse.  It would take a couple of hours of research to be able to force her to stop teaching exclusively Christian songs or start teaching songs about other religions as well.

Unfortunately that would alienate my entire family from the entire town, my business would fail and my kids would be picked on mercilessly.  It seems so silly that my family would suffer so much if people found out I didn't believe in magic.  Think about that.  If people found out that I believed that I could fly or make people disappear or heal the sick through magic they would think I was nuts or an idiot.  Possibly both.  But if they found out I didn't believe that the imaginary power of God could make people fly up into heaven, vanish in the rapture or heal in Jesus' name they would think I was evil.  How fucked up is that?  If I claim I don't believe in magic in general, I'm OK.  If I claim I can do it, crazy, stupid fucker (unless I'm talking to a fundie, in which case it may be WITCH!).  If I claim I can do it in Jesus' name, wow, really?  If I claim I don't believe anyone can do it in Jesus' name, SATAN!  When you invoke God it ceases to be magic and the EXACT SAME thing then becomes something else, sometimes named "miracle", sometimes not even named.  Believe in magic, stupid.  Disbelieve in magic by another name, evil.  No wonder Christians can never see a middle ground.  They've had to erase it to keep their logical fuckiness from falling apart.
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Mister Agenda

The middle way would be to suggest some noncontroversial secular songs, perhaps ones that don't mention 'Lord Satan'. I don't see a problem with the occasional Christian-themed song, especially around Christmas, but if she's going overboard, you don't have to point it out, just make some requests. Maybe a few songs from decades past, like 'Wendy' or 'Stand by Me'. Just tell her it's your favorite song and you'd love to hear the kids sing it. The worst she can do is turn you down, and no one would think you had ulterior motives of diluting the religious songs.
Atheists are not anti-Christian. They are anti-stupid.--WitchSabrina

aitm

An anonymous letter is as affective. Send it to the super, simply say my children mention that all the music being presented to them is heavily christian and we feel some secular music for other religions and beliefs would be beneficial to the children and less risky to the schools bank account.
A humans desire to live is exceeded only by their willingness to die for another. Even god cannot equal this magnificent sacrifice. No god has the right to judge them.-first tenant of the Panotheust

widdershins

To tell the truth I'm not that worried about it.  It just pisses me off a bit.  My kids are sufficiently insulated against indoctrination that it does not have the intended effect anyway.  To be honest it's just one of those little things that annoys me because there's nothing I can really do about it.

And the songs about "Lord Satan" were to remove the ability to argue that religion wasn't a motive.  If the teacher refuses to introduce religious songs for religions Christians cannot abide, but which are not anti-Christian, then legal action could be taken.
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Colanth

I'd contact the ACLU and see if they wanted to get involved.  Christians hate them anyway, so they have nothing to lose, and they'd know if there's any back door by which this could be illegal.
Afflicting the comfortable for 70 years.
Science builds skyscrapers, faith flies planes into them.

widdershins

I'm sure it's legal, so long as I don't attempt to introduce non-Christian religious music and have it denied.  Just like it's legal to study the Bible in literature class.
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