(This is a high school teacher, by the way.)
For now, the kids can wear what they want. But teachers? On Halloween teachers can wear costumes, shirts with skulls, even coats with skulls all over them all year if they want to. But teachers are not allowed to wear a cross ona necklace, a Christian t-shirt, or openly read Christian material in front of students. I didn't say that I obey that law, but that is the law.
43 comments
Teachers can so wear a cross necklace. However, being professionals they cannot wear t-shirts period and preaching to students is quite simply wrong. You're there to teach students the facts, not indoctrinate them into your religion.
I sincerely doubt there's a rule that prohibits wearing a cross on a chain. T-shirts are both informal and risque considering the setting. Show some respect for your own profession. Do you mean read Christian material to yourself or to the students. You can see the difference, can't you? And, are you more RDY4HIM in all caps than you would be in lower case?
A high school teacher? Trust me, as a graduate student years ago, I saw how some of them are completely unqualified to water my plants, much less respect separation of church and state. I've respected homeless drunks more than some high school teachers - no surprise here at all.
Yes, seperation of church and state means that you, as a representitive of the state, are not allowed to "openly read Christian material in front of students". There is however, no "seperation of skulls and state" clause in the constitution that i'm aware of, so as long as it dosn't violate the expected standard of dress for teachers at your school, skulls are fine...
...unless you tell the children they have to worship the skulls, or they'll burn for eternity.
religious indoctrination = NO, halloween costume = Tacky, but OK if you must.
Though I believe Christianity is stupid, I still believe teachers should be allowed to wear a cross if they wish, as long as they don't preach or push it on the students. See how that works? Just because I wouldn't like something doesn't mean I try to stop others from doing it. Most Christians needs to try that.
And I am sure that you have no idea why such restrictions are in place, do you? Don't realize at all why they would want to prevent an authority figure in a secular institution from wearing their religion on their sleeve and alienating everyone who isn't of that religion in the process. I am deeply saddened and hope that you do not teach a Government course.
And I'm sure they can't wear any other kind of T-shirt (teachers have a dress code. I know these things) and are discouraged from reading the material of ANY religion or, indeed, something not directly related to their subject. If no religion can proselytize, don't try to make an exception for yours, because then you'll have another fit when everyone else shuffles in under your exception.
And is he seriously trying to argue a skull is similar to a religious symbol? Just because YOU think everything has to do with invisible sky pixies doesn't mean everything actually does.
On Halloween teachers can wear costumes, shirts with skulls, even coats with skulls all over them all year if they want to.
You have a skull in your head. Shut up.
But teachers are not allowed to wear a cross ona necklace
This one has to be a lie.
a Christian t-shirt
In my school, teachers were not allowed to wear any tshirts unless they were school ones, and that was only on fridays.
or openly read Christian material in front of students.
How would you feel if someone read the koran to your children?
What the hell does wearing a skull at halloween have to do with pushing your religion on your students? So, if I can wear a shirt with a shin bone or a pancreas on it to a school, then a muslim should be allowed to teach his beliefs to the same students that see my shirt?
Lying for Jesus. I grew up in the Bible Belt and all of my teachers in my [PUBLIC] junior high school wore small cross necklaces. And they couldn't dress up for Halloween, either. Our county's school system prohibits any outward expression of themes that were considered "Halloweenish" - witches, ghosts, haunted houses, jack-o-lanterns, spiders, black cats, etc. Teachers could wear black and orange clothing on Halloween, but nothing depicting an outright Halloween symbol. Know why? Because it offended fundies.
And you assholes thought you never got your way.
Funny, in my PUBLIC highschool you could wear the world's biggest cross if you wanted to, whether you were faculty or students.
But if you wore a pentagram you better tuck it into your shirt, so said the hall monitors, or else you would be dragged to the office.
I call this lying or at least exaggerating for Jesus.
But teachers are not allowed to wear a cross ona necklace
Lying for jesus to keep your precious persecution complex from shattering into itty bitty pieces.
a Christian t-shirt
Yes, because teachers are professinals, and they should dress appropriately
or openly read Christian material in front of students
Yes, because public school teachers are government employees and that would violate the establishment clause of the constitution of the united states, you know? the ammendment that keeps all the nice crazies at RR from getting burned at the stake for heresy.
Back in here, we had a parade to dress up as Jeebus, Budai, Ganesha, Mohammed and shiva.
But it only would anger fundies, fuck. No-one wants to get shot.
Well, everyone believes we all have skulls, although some are thicker than others. Case in point, you.
Teachers can wear crosses on a necklace. They just can't peddle their religion at school.
But teachers are not allowed to wear a cross ona necklace...
Bullshit persecution complex...
...a Christian t-shirt...
T-Shirts in GENERAL are considered hugely unprofessional...and while a subtly Christian T-Shirt wouldn't raise many hackles, an overtly one may be seen as trying to sneak preaching into the class (Which, given the way you're talking, is likely what you're aiming at...)
...or openly read Christian material in front of students.
So...you wouldn't object to a teacher quoting the Qu'ran to your students, or teaching them about Buddhism? Aside from the fact that public institutions are disallowed from favoring ANY religion, you are paid to TEACH. As in the subject at hand. As in what the curriculum has to say about the subject at hand. Not preach to them about the glory of Jesus. You wanna do that, teach Sunday school.
Guess I should let my old biology teacher know that since she wears her cross to school and has Bible verses around her desk for inspiration. Learn something new every day!
WTF t-shirts? The only time a teacher got to wear a t-shirt was for spirit week (week of homecoming where each day is a different stupid theme), or if there was some god awful function going on, like grad practice. However, most of my teachers would have rather worn a school shirt (we had some kick ass designs) than a religious shirt...Even the ones from the Bible Belt weren't THAT zealot.
That can't possibly be the law. First amendment says you can wear whatever religious jewelry you want. You just can't convert your students. Let them choose what religion, if any, to follow on their own.
I call bullshit. You can talk about a religion if it relates to your subject. No one in my class went anal and turned a teacher I had in just because he told the story of Lot (which he himself agrees to being messed up in this day and age) to demonstrate what he meant by "the ancient laws of hospitality." Not even me, and I'm one of teh eeval athiests you guys are always on about.
"Christian t-shirt"
How would you feel about my Scarlet Letter A tshirt? Oh that's right, you'd throw a snitfit.
"openly read Christian material in front of students"
How would you feel is I started reading from The God Delusion ?
It's about time teachers realized what their job is. You have a set curriculum to teach, you can vary teaching methods to get that accomplished but your religion has NOTHING to do with your lesson plan. You wanna be a priest than get the hell out and do it.
You can't waste yours and others time on things unrelated to your job, if you do you should be fired , not on any religious ground even but on failure to carry out your job.
Dead simple, cut and dried and put to rest. Leave your religion at home or church.
An obvious lie, to push an "anti-Christian" conspiracy theory, that would itself be unconstitutional. As others noted, it's different if you're trying to indoctrinate the students and it's not your job.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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