My dd's teacher is being too policitally correct!

[cstraub]

Well, my kids know that Santa isn't real and Santa is for Christmas, and we don't do Christmas. The Easter Bunny, is...well it is Easter, and we don't do Easter. They watch the the Santa movies on tv, and Rudolph, but that is about it. I am not going to put Santa decorations or Easter Egg decorations in my house, because we don't do those holidays. For the people that aren't Christian, and still do those things, that is great. I can't, and don't see any possible way of fitting those things in my life with my religious beliefs. They just don't mix.

I had a mom in my son's pre-school class get annoyed at me, because my DS4 told her DS4 that Santa wasn't real. I looked at her like she had two heads, and said, our kids go to a Jewish pre-school, and there was nothing wrong with what my son said. And the only time the kids are together are in school, which happens to take place in a temple. I asked her why she has her Jewish sons believe in Santa and Christmas, and she said because she doesn't want them to feel left out. I didn't say anything to her, but to me, that was absurd. Her dh hates that she does it. Everytime my son asks why we don't do Christmas, I tell him we are Jewish and we have Chanukah instead, and you get 8 days of presents instead of just one. He likes the idea.

I would never ask anyone to justify their beliefs.

We have family who are Jehovah's Witnesses (they do not celebrate or ackowledge any holidays) and their kids would never dream of telling my kids that Santa and the Easter Bunny aren't real. They are taught to keep quiet on the subject because other's (my kids included) do believe in them. They are taught that it may really be sad for our kids if they tell them the "truth".

While at WDW would you allow your 4 year old to tell all the kids that Mickey isn't real or how about the princesses to the little girls dressed as one? Come on, there's a whole theme park and beyond devoted to made up charaters that bring us joy just because their fun. Do you think it is ok to tell someone that something they believe in isn't "real"? Maybe someone who has lost a love one and then claims to have seen their ghost which has brought them much comfort. Would you tell them it was not true because you don't believe it?

I can't believe that you would allow your son to say such a thing to the other little boy. I can understand that he is only 4 but maybe you should have told the other little boy that yours was wrong and then explain to your DS in private after why he should not tell other people that Santa and the Easter Bunny aren't real. This just burns me up. Why ruin Santa for the other child because of your beliefs?

Do you wave when you are at a WDW parade to prince charming or Pluto? You know they are not real. Do you tell your son? Isn't fun just to let go and believe that they are real? That's part of the magic and probably the closest to real magic that there is. Everytime I have been to WDW I have never heard a single person say that anything was not real. I have also never been anywhere on earth where everyone is so happy! Santa and the Easter bunny are no different in my eyes.

To me life is to be celebrated. Our family does not believe in any organized relgion yet we are willing to celebrate all cultures and customs (the ones that we think our family can have fun with and learn about others). My kids have dreidels and christmas trees in their rooms durning the holidays. My oldest son has sang in the Messiah and we have taken the kids to see Brundibar. We have statues of Buddah and our dinging room is decorated with Temper dragons.

I just think it is very self righteous to be so caught up in NOT believing in Santa and the Easter Bunny that you would allow your children to spoil it for others.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Wow nellie. Umm...WRONG. This is your belief. This is not a belief by those of the Jewish Faith.

Yes, I agree, this is my individual belief. Therefore, He impacts my life. Those of the Jewish faith choose not to believe this and therefore He does not impact their individual lives.

It isn't a choice for us. It is our Relgions teachings, just as yours is. I guess we can choose not to believe it.


First of all the bible (it isn't the old testatment to us), it is just the bible, since it is the only one that exists for us.

I get this too.


Jesus has no impact on us historically as the Messiah. Jews are still waiting for the Messiah, hence why we don't belive in Jesus.

Right...... individual beliefs.

No, it isn't individual beliefs...it is the teachings of our relgion. You can belive in the teachings of your "church"/"temple" or not. I don't call that indivdual beliefs.


His impact as the Messiah is for Chrisitians.

Thank God


The only impact Jesus has had on those of the Jewish faith is his death as an excuse to hate and persecute those of the Jewish faith as his killers.




It was God's plan for Jesus to die on the cross as a way for our salvation.
This is what Christians believe--There is no reason to hate the Jews for that?????

Well unfortunately those that persecute the Jews, use that as a reason.



Sorry, I don't know how to print part of your quote at a time, but look for comments in the quote box.

 

[Charade]

American culture doesn't celebrate Christmas. American Christians celebrate Christmas. I am an American and I don't consider Christmas part of my culture. Thanksgiving is American culture, mothers day, fathers day, Labor day, Memorial day. Those are American Culture. Christmas is a religious holiday, it celebrates the birth of Jesus, nothing American culture in that.

Christmas is both a religious and secular celebration. Since Christianity is the main religion in America, I don't see how you can say it isn't part of the American culture.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I can't believe that you would allow your son to say such a thing to the other little boy. I can understand that he is only 4 but maybe you should have told the other little boy that yours was wrong and then explain to your DS in private after why he should not tell other people that Santa and the Easter Bunny aren't real. This just burns me up. Why ruin Santa for the other child because of your beliefs?


I just think it is very self righteous to be so caught up in NOT believing in Santa and the Easter Bunny that you would allow your children to spoil it for others.

I am not being self righteous about not believing in Santa and the Easter Bunny. These are my beliefs. WHen my children got old enough to ask questions I told them the truth. They are pretend, and we don't believe in them. My kids know that Peter Pan and Mickey are characters, and not realy people, but stories. That doesn't take away from the magic or their imaginations.

Did you read my post??? My son and the other little boy go to a JEWISH pre-school. It is a religious school. They learn JUDIASIM. They learn about Passover and Chanukah, Purim, Shavout, Rosh Hashonah, Yom Kippur, etc... WHich means they don't do Santa/Easter Bunny. There was no reason for my son not so say it didn't exist. The other boy is Jewish, with both parents Jewish. There was no reason to think that he or any of the kids in my son's class would think Santa was real. If the child asked the teacher if Santa was real the teacher would have said NO. I am not going to lie to my children. They understand to the best of their ability, that non-Jewish children believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny and Christmas. And I would never turn around and tell the other little boy that my son was wrong. I don't lie, and wouldn't do that. And I would not tell him that my son lied, because he didn't. I think if you are going to send your child to a Jewish school, you should be prepared for them to hear that Santa ain't real.

Am I supposed to tell my son that Jesus is the son of G-d, because others believe it, even though we don't?? I don't think so. It doesn't mean I am going to go up to every Christian and say their beliefs aren't so. It doesn't work that way. You have your beliefs and I have mine. But when you are in a Jewish house of worship, you aren't going to learn or hear about Santa, Easter Bunny, Halloween, or Jesus.

So again, I don't feel at all bad or wrong that my son spoke the truth to a Jewish classmate in a Jewish school that Santa isn't real.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Christmas is both a religious and secular celebration. Since Christianity is the main religion in America, I don't see how you can say it isn't part of the American culture.

Yes, Chrisitianity is the main religion in America. Believe me, every American of any other faith realizes that. I don't see it as part of culture. It is a religious holiday. That is how I see it. I actually find it very amusing/ironic that out country is all about separation of Church and State, yet we two of our legal holiday's are religious.

It is apart of American Commericalism though!!

 

[goofy's friends]

It isn't a choice for us. It is our Relgions teachings, just as yours is. I guess we can choose not to believe it.

If you don't choose what you believe, who does??

 

[goofy's friends]

I'm not sure what persecution you have experienced, but I think overall most Christians feel that Jews and Christians worship and love the same God and He loves us.

 

[LadyBears]

We are Christians, & I've never been offended when another faith has been represented at my DS's school. The school he attended in K-2nd grade celebrated religious holidays the week before winter break. They spent a day learning about each religion. It broadened his knowledge, which is what school is supposed to do. I don't understand how anyone could be offended by that. As long as there's noone in the room recruiting, I think it's a good thing.

The only songs I've ever been offended by are those that have vulgar language. I don't want my DS exposed to that. In my experience, it hasn't been Christians that have been fighting to ban other religions from schools. IMHO, it's those who are so closed minded that they think they're opinion is the only relevant one who cause problems.

Well said!!! Since they are at school to LEARN, teaching someone that other people believe in other things & why is a GOOD thing. An example for me - I was raised Catholic. I don't know enough about any other religion to teach my daughter a thing about them. Do I want to shelter her from anything else? NO. Do I want her to be AWARE? YES. If she doesn't learn this stuff in school, how will she learn it? I am not close enough with any Buddist or Muslims, Pagans, or even African Americans, etc to ask any of them to teach her about their beliefs & what & how they celebrate. Knowledge is power. The more she can learn - regardless of her learning from me, the school or CCD class, or the man on the moon - the easier for her to form her own opinions & hopefully grow up to be an unbiased & fair individual who will respect others for not being exactly like her. I could read books & quote them to her, but if I don't understand another religion very well, how can I teach her properly? In a way, it is like the subject of "How did a baby got in Mommys belly?" - either a kids learns the right information from an informed adult, or they learn possibly the wrong information from a peer.

Don't "recruit" me or shelter me, just teach me.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I'm not sure what persecution you have experienced, but I think overall most Christians feel that Jews and Christians worship and love the same God and He loves us.

Me personally, I haven't been persecuted. I have dealt with anti-semitisim. But Jews on a whole have been persecuted for their religious beliefs for over 5000 years. We were persecuted before Jesus was born, and after. That information is all apart of history.

Most wars past and present are over religious differences. Once you have one side saying only there way is the right way, you have a problem. History unfortunately has a way of repeating itself.

Now if the majority of Christians could convice that minority of Christians, we would all be in a better place!!

 

[taeja71]

I guess Country Music singers have been "offending" people for decades.

No, its the other way around. Its the people (listeners and some times the musicians too) who found/find the music offending. Even Elvis sang gospel songs.

I also agree that all here on this thread could read The Case For Christ:A Journalist Personal Investigation of the Evidence of Jesus- by Lee Strobel interesting. Here's a link to what the back copy says, http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/031...0508631?_encoding=UTF8&p=S08I&j=0#reader-page.This is a book dedicated to the prove it to me/where's the evidence group. The book is nice and thick. He also wrote, A Case for Faith. I hope you all are able to read the link, the website would not let me copy the text. Copyrights-who need them! Just kidding!!!!!

I'm all for keeping religion out of the classroom, but frankly,
I'm tired of having to hide the fact that I am a Christian, like it's something shameful or something.

me too. That goes for being on and off the DIS.

...but being asked to not say "Jesus" like it is a dirty word or something is just unreasonable...

Sadly, the day WILL come when those who follow Christ will be carefully watched, it will become risky to have a bible, to speak/mention about God, read Revelation lately? I'm a CHRISTIAN (a follower of Christ) too. I'm not being snarky or flaming you.

 

[goofy's friends]

Me personally, I haven't been persecuted. I have dealt with anti-semitisim. But Jews on a whole have been persecuted for their religious beliefs for over 5000 years. We were persecuted before Jesus was born, and after. That information is all apart of history.

Most wars past and present are over religious differences. Once you have one side saying only there way is the right way, you have a problem. History unfortunately has a way of repeating itself.

Now if the majority of Christians could convice that minority of Christians, we would all be in a better place!!

I don't disagree with any of this. Christians have a long history of being persecuted also. Right now, the persecution seems to be leaning on the Christians pretty hard. The U.S. and Israel have been been allies for many years. This is an example in current times of a "Christian" country coming to the aide of a "Jewish" country. Maybe it'll trickle down and Jews and Christians can stand together against secular, progressive movements to stamp God out altogether.

 

[goofy's friends]

I also agree that all here on this thread could read The Case For Christ:A Journalist Personal Investigation of the Evidence of Jesus- by Lee Strobel interesting. Here's a link to what the back copy says, http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/031...0508631?_encoding=UTF8&p=S08I&j=0#reader-page.This is a book dedicated to the prove it to me/where's the evidence group. The book is nice and thick. He also wrote, A Case for Faith.

Great! Thanks for the link. Anyone who is open-minded should read it. It is at least ,thought- provoking and at most, life-changing.

 

[LukenDC]

I'm not sure what persecution you have experienced, but I think overall most Christians feel that Jews and Christians worship and love the same God and He loves us.

That is a relatively recent, and very positive, development that arose largely out of Christian guilt regarding the Holocaust and centuries of anti-Semitism.

My grandfather was Jewish and had many stories of pre-World War II anti-Semitism in the United States.

 

[bicker]

The old adage, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." applies in this situation as well.

Which applies both ways, in every situation. Does anyone really believe that the Democratic and Republican parties, combined, actually represent the beliefs of more than just a small minority of Americans? Most of us just hold our nose and choose the one that we object to the least.

 

[bicker]

Jesus impacted the Jewish religion in a huge way. That's all I'm saying.

Gosh, that's a comment just ripe for a Godwin reply.

 

[bicker]

American culture doesn't celebrate Christmas.

Unfortunately, this isn't true. In the interest of practicality, the United States imposes the veneration of Christmas on all its people, not just Christians.

 

[momof2inPA]

OP- I don't get it. IMO, there is a clear difference between expressing a passion for religion in an artistic form and teaching the tenets of a religion in a classroom. Unless a non-Christian person was forced to sing a Christian song, there shouldn't be an issue. Obviously, many classical works are religious tributes, should those also be banned from school concerts? Should we ban Handel's Messiah (and his other works)? Should we censor the subject matter of paintings or sculptures made at school? I think these are some points you should discuss with your daughter's teacher.

 

[ford family]

Show me where I used the word "hijacked". I said they can be a distraction from the real reason many people celebrate Christmas- the birth of Christ. I also said that SC didn't offend me personally because my children also get a good dose of the nativity scene and Luke chapter 2 at Christmastime.

Ok, you complain that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are not real and distract attention from the "real" reason for Christmas and Easter. But it could be said that your beliefs are wrong and that Jesus Christ and God are also imaginary characters that distract us from celebrating the original festivals of the shortest day and the beginning of spring.

ford family

 

[Miss Inga Depointe]

What exactly does this have to do with the fact that I was pointing out that the Easter bunny and Santa Claus weren't real people?

I go back to this statement and I for one wondered why you were pointing out the obvious. I'm guessing you do realize that none of us believe in Santa, right? So why did you choose to say that?

The rest of your point, I get, I think. Are you just trying to say that even you aren't crazy about Santa and the Easter Bunny, because they kind of steal the thunder during the holiday season? Because I agree that Christians may tend to focus a little too much on that stuff, but for non-Christians, who cares?

 

[Miss Inga Depointe]

Jesus may not have an impact on individual Jewish faith because that person doesn't allow Him to. BUT, He has had impact on the Jewish faith as a whole historically. He is the Messiah that the Old Testament predicts. This is a huge impact on the Jewish faith AS A WHOLE.

I have a feeling (hope) that we are not so far apart in this discussion, but we are misunderstanding each other. Are you willing to say that Jesus has the same impact for Jews as Mohammed, for example, has for Christians? Because in a way that people just don't think about much that it's true, historically speaking, as you say. Because like it or not we are all connected in that way. We all have Father Abraham. I'm not sure that Jews realize how much we study what we call "the old testament" and how big a part of our religion is can be. (although as a catholic I'm more focused on the Gospels).

I'm not sure that you are intending to recruit for Jews for Jesus with your statements, are you? You are just reminding us of our connection. Am I right (wrong? close? )

That's why, I hope we can come to the day that mere artistic expressions of a person's religion will stop being so shocking and offensive to each other. We do all have a connection, after all.