Get Your Flyers Ready!
Thursday October 2, 2008
That is, if you'd like to pass out stuff in public schools for your non-profit group of any flavor. In a San Leandro school district, lawyers have advised teachers that they do have to distribute flyers from a local church group that is sponsoring a class on a Christian approach to peer pressure. When school officials raised concerns about the separation of church and state, attorneys advised them that if one non-profit group -- such as Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts -- was allowed to distribute flyers, then everyone had to be afforded the same privilege.
Ayesha Khan of Americans United for Separation of Church and State said, "We are very troubled by the efforts of proselytizing religious groups to access young, vulnerable schoolchildren through a reliance on mandatory attendance laws."
A big question here is, do they really mean it when they say they want to be inclusive of all religious groups in the area? Because I gotta tell you, if I was a Bay Area Pagan, I'd totally be putting together a class right now on how to help kids cope with stuff using earth-based spirituality and the wisdom of the Goddess, and then pass out announcements all over San Leandro's schools just to see what happened. After all, look at the case in Virginia last year that ended up biting the conservative Christians in their own butts. Let's face it, it's pretty easy to be a champion of free speech when that speech supports your side of things -- not everyone is as accomodating when the other guy wants his rights, too.
Ayesha Khan of Americans United for Separation of Church and State said, "We are very troubled by the efforts of proselytizing religious groups to access young, vulnerable schoolchildren through a reliance on mandatory attendance laws."
A big question here is, do they really mean it when they say they want to be inclusive of all religious groups in the area? Because I gotta tell you, if I was a Bay Area Pagan, I'd totally be putting together a class right now on how to help kids cope with stuff using earth-based spirituality and the wisdom of the Goddess, and then pass out announcements all over San Leandro's schools just to see what happened. After all, look at the case in Virginia last year that ended up biting the conservative Christians in their own butts. Let's face it, it's pretty easy to be a champion of free speech when that speech supports your side of things -- not everyone is as accomodating when the other guy wants his rights, too.
Comments
We’re actually working on sending our flyers in our school district since we received information on the Good News Club, which is meeting in our school after hours. We have been shot down in the past, but I think they’d be hard pressed to do it now.
Government sponosored education should have kept it’s primary purpose in mind instead of allowing ANY corporate power access to our children. Ask anyone who has homeschooled and they will tell you the ‘education’ part of the day is about two to three hours long… so what are THEY doing to students in public school that other 5 to 6 hours?? Learning to be bored and aimlessly fritter away time is all too often what’s going on!
Go spend a day, and I mean the ENTIRE day with your children in school and get your eyes opened!!
Next, informally survey a group of public educated teenage girls and see if any one of them can tell you the specific circumstances of when/how women got the vote in USA.
Ask a group of teenage boys when did draft end? and when did an eighteen year old get to vote?? See if you can help them understand that WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam wars were drafting eighteen year old males BUT only allowing 21 yo and up to vote!
Ask BOTH groups just when child labor and sweat shops were finally legislated into extinction, too.
Yeah, I am a tree hugging proud pagan and teaching others who are interested is best way for me to learn myself (you teach what you most need to learn yourself.) BUT, heck if you want to start a not for profit school club, start one that’s about teaching REAL history and herstory!!!
Donna
A practicing Celtic kitchen witch