St. Mary's education in the news

2ndAmendment

2ndAmendment

Just a forgiven sinner
PREMO Member
and ... you deside.
Students Free to Thank Anybody, Except God
Monday, November 22, 2004
By Laurel Lundstrom
FOX News

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland public school students are free to thank anyone they want while learning about the 17th century celebration of Thanksgiving (search) — as long as it's not God.

And that is how it should be, administrators say.

Young students across the state read stories about the Pilgrims (search) and Native Americans, simulate Mayflower (search) voyages, hold mock feasts and learn about the famous meal that temporarily allied two very different groups.

But what teachers don't mention when they describe the feast is that the Pilgrims not only thanked the Native Americans for their peaceful three-day indulgence, but repeatedly thanked God.

"We teach about Thanksgiving from a purely historical perspective, not from a religious perspective," said Charles Ridgell, St. Mary's County Public Schools curriculum and instruction director.

...

Opponents of censorship worry that by omitting such religious material from lesson plans, educators are compromising their students' education.

"School administrators need to get a backbone," said Joel Whitehead, president and lawyer at the Rutherford Institute, a constitutional rights defense organization. "We are in real danger of throwing out cultural heritage in our country if we don't know what Thanksgiving is really about."

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complete story
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Tonio

Tonio

Asperger's Poster Child
That's going overboard, I think. I see no problem with teachers mentioning that the Pilgrims' religious beliefs were a part of that first Thanksgiving.
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Dude! We could rewrite history completely! Just delete everything out of the curriculum that we don't like and teach our kids that, I dunno, we came from space aliens or something. :jet:

I just reread "1984" a few weeks ago and it's stunning to see it actually play out IRL.
 
kom526

kom526

They call me ... Sarcasmo
Correct me if I am wrong,

but wasn't freedom of religion one of the reasons the pilgrims made their journey? I realize the colonists who settled in St. Mary's were fleeing religious persecution, I just can't remember if the pilgrims did the same.

:confused:
 
SurfaceTension

SurfaceTension

New Member
kom526 said:
but wasn't freedom of religion one of the reasons the pilgrims made their journey? I realize the colonists who settled in St. Mary's were fleeing religious persecution, I just can't remember if the pilgrims did the same.

:confused:
Click to expand...
Exactly - it's all in how you spin it....Emphasize the "fleeing to avoid persecution of the oppresive State Church" and it'll be included.
:duh:
 
Dymphna

Dymphna

Loyalty, Friendship, Love
kom526 said:
but wasn't freedom of religion one of the reasons the pilgrims made their journey? I realize the colonists who settled in St. Mary's were fleeing religious persecution, I just can't remember if the pilgrims did the same.

:confused:
Click to expand...
They definately did.

Hell, one of my ancestors came over on the Mayflower to flee religious persecution, but he wasn't a Puritan, so he fled the Pilgrims and returned to England, only to flee to Maryland, later. :shrug:
 
itsbob

itsbob

I bowl overhand
2ndAmendment said:
and ... you deside.
Click to expand...

How about that their communal meeting house/ court room, served duty also as their church...

and most were PROTESTants.. escaping religious persecution..

THere was NO such thing as seperation of church and state.. they were considered one and the same.

Most of our laws are based on Christian Values and Morals..

Have to wonder.. I bet if you mentioned a gay couple in the settlement, they would teach THAT Part of if.. and make a BIG deal of how they overcame and were accepted, even though lil Pigrim Bobby had two dads.
 
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