Correspondent: Was Religious Education Necessary?
Was Religious Education Necessary?
Editor, Times-Dispatch: Chesterfield County pulled every fifth-grade teacher out of the classroom over a three-day period to attend all-day sensitivity training on the Islamic religion.
As a teacher, I am concerned about this intrusion of religion (any religion) into our schools and, more important, the waste of teaching time and money in a county supposedly in financial straits. The county used Title II funds to do this, which is money given to it by the federal government. The county bought every fifth-grade teacher a $21.95 book on Islam and a journal notebook. Also, the county paid substitutes for all these teachers. In many schools there was no grade level person in the school to help the substitutes. What were they thinking?
The very brief overview of world religions taught to 10-year-old fifth-graders hardly justifies this. Elementary teachers for years have dealt with a myriad of cultural differences relevant to the classroom. Must we devote a whole day to one religion alone? Is this just the beginning? Are we going to do it for all the religions? How many more days will we be out of our classrooms? And at what cost?
Susan Nagel.
Midlothian.
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Reader Reactions
I find this very disturbing, on numerous levels, most of which are previously mentioned. This would classify for the “Fleecing of America”. I’m not sure how or why this received approval for anyone’s budget; federal, state or local. I’ll certainly investigate if my county (King William) participated as well.
Teddy Roosevelt once said, “To train a man in the mind but not in the morals is to create a menace to society”. Pretty solid thinking I must say.
Speaking of religion in school, hopefully, our students in Chesterfield won’t be pushed into chanting mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama songs - I mean if one religion is out, all religions are out - even cults.
As Ms. Nagel pointed out, this was sensitivity training that 5th grade teachers were mandated to attend. However, they were given a book on the Islam religion.
Usually sensitivity training may become beneficial when a people group is being victimized by hate or bullied or discriminated against or persecuted. However, I have not found that this is happening against Muslims anywhere. How many hate crimes are carried out against Muslims? I never hear of any such thing. But we do hear about the escalating persecution of Christians, Jews, and Hispanics in our communities. What’s with the swastika graffiti found in Bryan park recently?
So I find it to be ironic that teachers have to be taught to be “sensitive” to the very group of students LEAST likely to be bullied or discriminated against. There would have been a legitimate reason to conduct sensitivity training for Christians, Jews, and Hispanics.
Especially since in CCPS, Hispanics have had a hard time trying to stay out of the line of fire from a predominately anti-Hispanic temperament.
Irony never ends in Chesterfield. Just start walking around on your hands upside down to get the perspective of the school and county leadership.
Ms. Nagel-I cannot thank you enough for your what to me, is a startling letter.
This is astounding.
You write that the sensitivity training was on the Islamic RELIGION.
And it was funded with Federal money.
This revelation certainly merits more than two responses.
I know that I will be looking for some serious answers in all the avenues open to me.
Frankly at the moment I cannot think of one explanation that would suffice.
This just shows how deeply the Muslims have penetrated our society. They know they can not succeed in making the U.S. a Muslim country by force but can accomplish it by covert action and gain their goals before citizens even realize it.
The Chesterfield School system for years has been a radical platform for the liberal agendas of those who wish to destroy and transform our culture.
You can bet if this training involved a christian theme it would not be happening.
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