specialmama Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 The following "joke" was sent to my email by a PS teacher friend. What are your thoughts on it? I'll share mine later... After being interviewed by the school administration, the prospective teacher said: 'Let me see if I've got this right. 'You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning. 'You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride. 'You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job. 'You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the final exams. 'You also want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents in English, Spanish or any other language, by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card. 'You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps. 'You want me to do all this and then you tell me....................I CAN'T PRAY?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BridgeTea Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I think your friend has a great sense of humor about her job, and I think that all of my ps teacher friends and relatives would nod agreement with what their job entails. PS teachers have a tough, tough job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarbourLights Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I think your friend has a great sense of humor about her job, and I think that all of my ps teacher friends and relatives would nod agreement with what their job entails. PS teachers have a tough, tough job. :iagree: God Bless them!! I worry about achieving all that (and more) with my two here at home, let alone a full room that rotates to a new group of faces and backgrounds each year! They have my respect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatCyndiGirl Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I think that the "joke" is a not-so-subtle way of trying to insinuate that teachers should be able to foist religion on the pupils. Of COURSE teachers can pray. Even (gasp!) in a classroom in a public school. (I am thinking about a SILENT prayer as the kids are working quietly. When I was in school we would have periods where we were working on worksheets or some such and the teacher was at her desk grading papers, working on lesson plans, whatever. If she had been praying quietly to herself, how would I have known?) Teachers are allowed to be christian in school, they are even allowed to pray in school. (silently) They are NOT allowed to push their religion on someone else. Which is as it should be. (I have had that same "joke" forwarded to me, too.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsrevmeg Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Teachers are allowed to be christian in school, they are even allowed to pray in school. (silently) They are NOT allowed to push their religion on someone else. Which is as it should be. I have teacher friends who have been told they cannot have their Bibles at their desks. Not they can't read it out loud, they can't have it at school. Teachers are not allowed to wear Christian T shirts, play music of Christian artists, or wear "Christian jewelry" on school grounds. They can't give coloring sheets with Baby Jesus at Christmas(uh, excuse me, winter holiday season. It is not about trying to push religion on someone else. It is ridiculous that so many teachers are told they can not be Christian on school grounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatCyndiGirl Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 (edited) I have teacher friends who have been told they cannot have their Bibles at their desks. Not they can't read it out loud, they can't have it at school. Teachers are not allowed to wear Christian T shirts, play music of Christian artists, or wear "Christian jewelry" on school grounds. They can't give coloring sheets with Baby Jesus at Christmas(uh, excuse me, winter holiday season. It is not about trying to push religion on someone else. It is ridiculous that so many teachers are told they can not be Christian on school grounds. They CAN be christians. They just can't go around trying to PUSH it on others. Some people might feel like religious jewelry, t-shirts, coloring pages, etc. IS a form of coercion. Teachers are there to TEACH school subjects, not to push their POV. I'm atheist. If I were a teacher would you appreciate me pushing a POV that was anti-religion? The more time teachers waste trying to push their religious point of view the less time they are actually TEACHING school subjects. Edited October 24, 2009 by ThatCyndiGirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 At first read, I snickered. Then I thought about it. It struck me that 'teachers' are being asked to 'parent', because everything that's listed is pretty much parent domain. Reality is, a lot of teachers are forced into the position of parenting, due to the way school is set up, and the not so subtle brain washing that happens in society...'school will take care of it. Teachers are the experts'. Unfortunately, some parents seem to hand their children completely over to School and forget to parent. The idea that a teacher cannot pray is ridiculous...but an insidious attempt to encroach upon a person's inner thoughts, dialogue, personage. Anyone can pray, silently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Some people might feel like religious jewelry, t-shirts, coloring pages, etc. IS a form of coercion. I am a Christian, and I am very much against coercion in religion. I agree that a public school should focus on academics. Having said that, I do take issue (gently) with what I have highlighted here. I wear my religious jewelery because it is deeply meaningful to me. If I wear a tee shirt with a Bible verse on it, it is because those words are deeply meaningful to me. My entire existence is centered upon my relationship with God, and those visual reminders bring me joy and remind me of who I am, and of the one whom I believe loves me. It has nothing to do with coercing anyone else to believe what I do. Frankly, I do not think people are likely to change their worldview based on my jewelery or mode of dress. I should have the same freedom to wear these things that Muslim women should have to wear a head covering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lulubelle Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I think it is simply stating that a public school teacher would need a miracle to accomplish all those things! I don't see anyone pushing religion in that at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsrevmeg Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 They CAN be christians. They just can't go around trying to PUSH it on others. Some people might feel like religious jewelry, t-shirts, coloring pages(my kids have brought home coloring pages from secular povs, and non Christian/Jewish religions, I have never called it coercion)etc. IS a form of coercion. Teachers are there to TEACH school subjects, not to push their POV. (Most teachers push agendas. Not all are bad. It might be "recycle to save the earth" it might be "eat healthy and exercise" but it is an agenda.It would be impossible to do away with all POVs)I'm atheist. If I were a teacher would you appreciate me pushing a POV that was anti-religion? (All my teachers in college were atheists. I have never experienced a teacher push Christianity {or any other religion} with as much fervor as the atheist professors) The more time teachers waste trying to push their religious point of view the less time they are actually TEACHING school subjects. We do not agree on this subject. I think a teacher should be allowed to wear a cross necklace. I think they should be allowed to wear head coverings if their religion suggests it. I think it becomes a shame when someone is told to choose their career or their faith, if they are not trying to indoctrinate anyone. I will say that I do not think teachers should push their faith on anyone. That goes for every faith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacie Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Some people might feel like religious jewelry, t-shirts, coloring pages, etc. IS a form of coercion. Teachers are there to TEACH school subjects, not to push their POV. I think there's a huge difference between a teacher wearing a cross, or a star of David, or a headcovering, or (insert religious symbol), and foisting the same on her students. If the teacher is only wearing it and not teaching about it, how is that coercion? If she's wearing a wedding band, is she pushing a same-sex marriage agenda? Not hardly! It's symbolic to her, not representative of her classroom. Just because "some people might" feel it doesn't make it so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanne in MN Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 I think it is simply stating that a public school teacher would need a miracle to accomplish all those things! I don't see anyone pushing religion in that at all. :iagree: It's not about pushing religion. A Christian would need prayer to be able to pull all that off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialmama Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 Well I'm glad there were so many views on this. It truly echoes what was going through my mind as I read it. I know teachers have a huge job, and I have much respect for them. When I read this, I experienced such a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts. My experience went like this: 1. slight knot in stomach as it is (yet again) confirmed that PS teachers spent a large amount of time in Teacher's College learning how to control the masses and to be a spy for child abuse*, 2. then the knot grew larger in my stomach and I started to get angry as I saw again, that many parents give up the reigns so to speak, they hand over all these parenting rights (ha! I should say RITES) to teachers, and teachers in turn must parent these kids and teach them things that ought to be taught at home.... 3. and finally, at the punchline, all the anger blew up in my face and I was smiling. They can't do it all without praying! It was just such a roller coaster for me, with so many thoughts going through my mind. I just knew the Hive would experience that too. * not saying that I don't believe they ought to keep an eye out for abuse, because we are all called to do that. But it brought to mind (perhaps by the wording) that public school could be nothing short of a sneaky ploy by Big Brother to ensure control. It made me feel watched, and all too aware of an alterior motive, a wolf in sheep's clothing. Again, not knocking protection of kids who need it, I'm just sharing what my thought process was as a parent who does not abuse their kids, but has heard some horror stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Then I thought about it. It struck me that 'teachers' are being asked to 'parent', because everything that's listed is pretty much parent domain. Reality is, a lot of teachers are forced into the position of parenting, due to the way school is set up, and the not so subtle brain washing that happens in society...'school will take care of it. Teachers are the experts'. Unfortunately, some parents seem to hand their children completely over to School and forget to parent. Yup, BTDT... and the NEA idea is that the govt knows better than you on how to parent your child. There would be some lost souls whose parents did not give a rip about them. It broke my heart. But, I would pray -- not aloud -- but silently while grading or moving or supervising the students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 I think it is simply stating that a public school teacher would need a miracle to accomplish all those things! I don't see anyone pushing religion in that at all. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 It struck me that 'teachers' are being asked to 'parent', because everything that's listed is pretty much parent domain. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 I think a teacher should be allowed to wear a cross necklace. I think they should be allowed to wear head coverings if their religion suggests it. ...or a Star of David necklace or a yarmulke... :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GESTEP Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 It just made me glad that I am not a teacher in the schools. Pretty funny IMHO.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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