Say What??????

I think this guy needs to be indicted for multiple counts of child abuse. I can only imagine what else went on in this guys classroom. Who is going to defend THIS?

Don’t get me started on creationism.

People are so incorrect when they do not believe that those who call themselves Christians cannoty be oppressed by demons. This is exactly what is going on with Mr. Freshwater.

To Mom and Dad America: If you want your kid to know or learn religion, you teach it to them. It is not the job of any publically funded school to teach topics that are strictly religious, and creationism IS strictly a religious based topic.

My kids know and love God. My daughter just had her First Communion. I am a religious parent and a lover of the Constitution. There is no place for this guy, and I would agree that charges need to be brought up against him. I would not want the tenants of the Catholic Church taught at our public school anymore than I would want to see Islam, Judaism, or Feng Shui taught there. Religious beliefs like creationism are fine to believe if you choose to believe them, but they do not belong in a biology class as a public grade school.

What an amazing story! Religion in a public school, and D.Walker even defended his actions with a story about demons-What??? Hey did Mr. Freshwater get in the news because he was branding students? Obviously, this is not the story, because it was not mentioned until the seventh paragraph. Maybe the author thought his self about being biblical-seven deadly sins, seven days, even revelations has a somewhat poetic amount of seven as a recurring theme, and of course seven paragraphs. In reality, I fought religion almost every day in high school at Francis Howell. From my first football practice and prayer, to prayer before every wrestling meet, all the way until invocation at my graduation.

If you have been a parent, you have probably at one time or another been asked “Why?” in response to a statement you have made to your child. Following your explanation, the kid again asks “Why?” and this sequence repeats itself until you, in exasperation say “Because I said so!”. Because it is a frustrating question, we learn early on not to ask “Why?” beyond one or two sequences.

Life is implicit in the why question because you have to be a decision maker to ask it or to provide an answer. If a school child asks “Why?” too much he or she could get to questions like “Why the Big Bang?” or “Why do stem cells form liver tissue?”. For those questions it is reasonable to say the God of life makes it happen and it is His decision.

The school teacher cannot use science to answer those questions because science will only give you how, when or where. It does not delve into decision making. In fact, the teacher cannot even provide a personal opinion because any such opinion may be politically incorrect and cause a loss of job as Mr. Freshwater has discovered. Incredibly, the only answer the teacher can provide in today’s political environment is no answer and this leaves a gap in education that must be filled elsewhere than in the public schools..

I know of no course of education that studies endeavor, let alone human endeavor, in any comprehensive way. Economics provides an indication of why humans do what they do based on the personal value of money. Physical education gives us examples of what individuals can do when self esteem is valued on the playing field. Christianity shows us the freedom we could have if people, like Jesus the Christ, value love and truth – but it cannot be taught in public schools.

So, if we parents do not make sure our children are taught religious values, lock your doors, secure your valuables, buy a gun and be prepared to be a subject of surveillance and excessive laws.

Dave you’re right on the ‘why’ questions. The BEST scientific answer to the fundamental ‘why’ is “I don’t know”.

I still don’t see how this whole ‘branding’ thing can be justified.

hs

I agree. Even if Freshwater were an art teacher he should not be burning his students with a radio frequency generator. I think, even with parental consent, that is child abuse.

Not that I disagree with davel, but I always answer the why? questions of my kids, because knowledge is the root of all things great…

I wish it were politically alright for the teacher to say to the students that what is about to be said is a matter of opinion and not part of the subject matter they will be tested on. An opinion is, after all, something the student is likely to hear elsewhere. However, if the teacher does express a religious conviction, that episode will prompt a diversion from the subject matter and cause the students to focus on the teacher rather than the course of study. A good teacher should not and will not do it, particularly if it is detrimental to his/her evaluation and pay.

Should we avoid the “Why?” question in public schools? How do you explain Manifest Destiny without saying it was from the frontiersman’s belief in the promised land from the Old Testament?
Seems to me, the teacher should be able to teach about religious influences and about religions in general without being deemed an apostolate.

Davel, I would agree that historical events and ideas that had some kind of religious belief or idea as part of their motivation or reason should have that reason mentioned. As I said earlier the why? is just as important as the rest of the W questions. And let’s face one fact right now: A great deal of the actions of history had religious underpinnings. That is part of their fact.

Teaching the why? is not trying to promote one religion, it is trying to lay the foundation to understand what people were thinking during a particular time…