September 29th 2008
Our Crumbling Civilization: Too Much Caring Edition
H
eaven forbid that schools should have a caring environment.
No, scratch that. Whatever forbid that schools should have a caring environment. There, that’s suitably secular for this story from the crumbling edges of our civilization. And the story is just the start of the story; bear with me.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation is bringing a lawsuit against the Cherry Creek schools in Denver because some of the principles taught in the district’s “40 Developmental Assets” program allegedly are drawn from biblical teachings.
For example, Asset 5 in the program, a “caring school climate,” allegedly is related by the institute to the teaching in the New Testament book of Mark, which says, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me,” according to a report in the Denver Post.
The program also recommends students spend an hour or more a week in a religious community, and the complaint alleges that is using tax money to promote religion, the report said.
The foundation, based in Madison, Wis., said in an amended complaint in federal court in Denver it has evidence the Cherry Creek program, developed by the Search Institute, is linked to the Bible. (WND)
The Cherry Creek program has been using Search Institute materials for 15 years, not as curricula but “a behavioral framework” promoted by the schools. Search the Search Institute’s mission page and you have to look very hard to find a reference to religion on it (the word “congregation” appears once), although its history page reveals it started over 50 years ago as a Luthern program. This is a program that’s sufficiently un-overt to fit in America’s secular classrooms.
Have we come to the point where merely being “linked to the Bible” is enough to trash something? Are we now at the place where the suspicion that Search Institute’s core beliefs are Judeo-Christian, even if there aren’t Bible verses all over their stuff, alone is sufficient to fire up the book-burning machine?
America just happens to be “linked to the Bible” (here, for example), so what are we supposed to do to please/appease the tiny number of crackpots at the Freedom from Religion Foundation, aka the Whining Shrilly That Most People Don’t Believe What I Believe Foundation? Toss in the towel and become secular fodder for Islamists, like Europe?
Well, before we accept that end, perhaps it’s worthwhile to scan down to the bottom of this article and see what’s going on in schools in the vicinity, since WND’s Web site happily puts together links to related stories; in this case, stories on education:
Teacher falsely tells kids they have fatal disease
Campaign launched to liberate ’speling’
Student says ‘F— off!’ on test, gets better grade
Today’s class: Hating Jews 101
Bilingual, pro-American book ‘unfit’ for L.A. schools
Female teacher arrest for 9 flings with student
6th-grade survey: Classmate most likely to get pregnant
3rd-graders asked to help classmate in gender change
Lord help us! If we want more of these kinds of terrible goings-on where we educate our precious children, then yes, let’s continue un-linking America from the Bible!
hat-tip: Jim
Posted in America, Civilization, Freedom of Religion, Religion, Separation of Church & State | No Comments yet » | 
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