December 4, 2006 9:43 PM
Part 2 - Christmas IS legal in public schools - and so is everything else
In my entry about the legality of Christmas in public schools, Cathy commented on the down side:
Barbara, as always you have offered wonderful advice. I have been exposed to the flip side of the coin, though. The school board in my county -- here in Virginia -- voted to allow religious organizations to use the Friday folders to send flyers out as long as it is for something educational and not just a religious program. I found this out because I spent the weekend researching why in the world a group could send a flyer home with my children inviting them to an educational program which will be followed by a pagan ritual to celebrate Yule.I have never minded the dissemination of Hanukkah or Kwanzaa information. I still don't. I do mind the invitation to a pagan ritual especially since, in my research, I discovered they are concerned about making sure they have enough people to be security against any protestors and against anyone looking around.
What do I do (besides not send my children) to keep my children safe from these influences?
This is indeed a dilemma, isn't it? By permitting freedom of expression for Christianity in public schools, we are bound to permit freedom of expression for other religions. Because let's face it folks, we are in the midst of a transition to a post-Christian culture.
It's really an all-or-nothing kind of thing. So let's think it through: would we rather maintain our freedom to send home notices for the events we want to promote and put up with this kind of stuff, or would we rather clamp down on everything?
In my opinion, freedom of expression is too important to sacrifice for the sake of stifling other voices. And as a follower of Christ, I say bring it on. The light of truth stands up to competition.
The problem for Christians in public schools is making sure that our voice is not stifled while others - in the name of diversity - are allowed. At this point - when there is so much confusion and paranoia about Christianity in the public schools - we have to be vigilant about maintaining our right to free expression.
Funny story: Jesse and Daniel's special Ed class had a little feast before Thanksgiving and invited the parents (I cooked a turkey and cranberry sauce!). The teachers had the table all set and the kids were wearing Pilgrim hats and Indian headdresses they'd made. There were a couple assistants and parents.
We served our plates and took our seats around the table. Their teacher talked about how grateful she was to be their teacher. The parents spoke of how grateful we were for the teachers. Then the teacher said we could eat. But Daniel (who is 10 and has Down syndrome) held out his hands to the people on either side and they took his hands and soon we were all holding hands. I finally said, "I don't think Daniel will eat until we say grace as we do at home."
I looked around the table and said, "I hope no one minds, but we sing and pray to God." Big smile. "It's legal since it's student-initiated." Then Jesse, Daniel, and mostly I sang the doxology, which is one of the three songs we begin meals with at home, and I said a short prayer of thanksgiving to the one we're created to thank.
It makes me smile to remember it - Daniel sitting in complete innocence waiting to thank God for his food before he would eat. And it makes me glad that God called our family from homeschooling to be part of the public schools. Yes, I see a lot of Christian families where I live who are pretty passive and unaware of what's going on. But I've really enjoyed the challenge of getting involved and standing up for what's right.
Of course it's easier when you've got kids like Daniel who are too innocent to be paranoid about expressing their faith!
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Comments
Well done for taking a stand! We have our youngest son in public school here in London, England.
We don't have quite the same issues as you, in that the schools give a cursory nod towards Christianity and they still do Christmas. The vast majority of Christians in this country send their kids to either public school or private school(there are very few Christian schools), homeschooling is really very rare in the UK though I have met one or two families that do it.
Posted by: Sheena | December 5, 2006 3:43 AM
I find it interesting that she objected to paganism, but not Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa was invented in 1967 as an alternative to Christmas for the African-American community to have a holiday to celebrate. Churches were a huge part of the civil rights movement, and the founder wanted something for non-believers too. It is specifically designed to replace Christmas with a secular holiday. (Wikipedia has an excellent synopsis).
That said, I don't have a problem with the flyers, etc. coming home. It gives me an opportunity to explain our values - and why we would not be attending. For my Kindergartner, it might just be along the lines of "They don't believe Jesus is God, and they don't try to please God at their meeting". My older ones might get a little more theological. It give my kids a chance to see us make choices that support our beliefs. Also, it lets me keep an eye on what's going on in the community!
Our SC schools do Christmas - just not Christ. It's all Santa, reindeer, and gingerbread around here. I hope that when the class writes about their holiday traditions, my kids talk about the Advent wreath, or the Baby Jesus bed, or singing Happy Birthday on Christmas morning.
Posted by: Milehimama | December 5, 2006 7:52 AM
I love love LOVE that Daniel story. It's priceless.
Your site was just what I needed this morning.
Suzanne
Posted by: suzanne | December 5, 2006 8:14 AM
I'm coming late to this topic, but I felt I wanted to shed a little more light on the incident Cathy is referring to. Of course, I'm assuming that Cathy is referring to flier sent out by members of Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church. If I am correct in assuming this, then it's important to note that this matter actually started last summer, when Liberty Counsel championed the case of Gabriel and Joshua Rokoski, who wanted to use the same flier system to let all students in the school district know about their church's VBS program. The school district originally told the pair that the flier system could not be used for to distribute literature that is religious in nature. Liberty Counsel convinced the school district to revise their policy to allow religious literature to be distributed. In effect, this is literally a case of Christians opening the door to the pagan-oriented flier by their actions.
Unfortunately, many people seem to be unaware of the earlier matter of the VBS fliers. That or they simply never made the connection between the two.
Posted by: Jarred | January 19, 2007 11:47 AM
Also, I must say that I find it neat that you sing the doxology as part of your pre-meal devotions. I think this is a neat idea, and imagine it must make the song that much more personal to your children. (To me, the doxology has always just been that song we sang in church after the ushers collect the offering.)
Out of curiosity, what are the other two songs you sometimes begin meals with?
Posted by: Jarred | January 19, 2007 11:49 AM
Jarred - thanks for the background information.
The alternative songs we use before meals are
Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart
Let All Things Their Creator Bless (last verse of All Creatures of Our God and King)
The last one is our favorite and the one we use most often.
What's really cool is that our four sons with Down syndrome adore these - it's very moving to hear them sing with such sincerity. It reminds me that unless we can be like little children it is difficult to embrace God as father.
Posted by: barbara | January 19, 2007 1:27 PM
