Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Dutchling]

Germany is very different from here then. Public schools do not have to be secular here, and if you can't find a school that suits your beliefs nearby you can home-school your kids. With practically no checks or control on what you actually teach 'em. Or if you teach them anything, for that matter.

[kaijyuu]

This really sounds like something trumped up. I seriously doubt the teachers were encouraging occultism, and even if they were, what's the harm? So long as no one's getting hurt I don't see a problem (so keep the ritual knives away).

Also sex ed better damn well be explicit or it's useless.



I support homeschooling in the US but only because the public schools are terrible. If they got like, 10x the funding (not even joking) then I might reconsider.

[Graknorke]

encouraging occultism

Wat.

As I understand it, some kids were doing occult-y things on the playground. The teachers thought it was funny, so they brought the kids materials and books and whatnot.

I don't see the problem. It's just a school group/club/[word that means the thing I'm trying to say].

The thing is, the teachers were actually encouraging it. In addition, they objected to explicit sex ed, which apparently actually included the German equivalent of the F-bomb. 
It really boils down to this family wanting the freedom to educate their children according to their beliefs. Germany suppresses homeschooling in the first place for anti-religious reasons, and the United States of America supposedly ensures religious freedom.
Actually, they were originally granted asylum. The ICE appealed the case a few years later.

I... don't have any particular sympathy for them. To me they just sound prude and uptight. Being upset over a perfectly fair education system is certainly not something you need to seek asylum from.
It's not like the school is forcing anyone into joining in with the "occult-y things", they're just supporting students who want to explore their spiritual beliefs. That would be part of the "freedom of religion" you think is a good thing.

[tahujdt]

There are, in fact, a few checks. You have to keep a few records, pass a few tests, and submit to an inspection once or twice.

[tahujdt]

Also, five bucks says that the school would come down harder that a five ton bratwurst on any teacher who gave a student a Bible.

[kaijyuu]

Well in reality it's probably a much more dangerous book

[Dutchling]

Definitely more dangerous than listening to dead relatives while being stoned out of your mind.

[tahujdt]

Well, of course it's more dangerous. Some of those hardback copies can do some damage if you get a proper swing.

Seriously, though, I can see this debate is going nowhere fast, so I'll just drop it.

[Furtuka]

IIRC thick paperbacks can actually be more dangerous if you hold them properly since they have sharper corners.

[Descan]

Yeah. I mean, bible tells you to stone people for so much as saying "fuck you dad.". Last bad thing occultism did was... Uhm...

...

Look kind of silly?

Though, really, same thing could be said about the Bible.

wait aren't you the same guy who hates the gay marriaging? >:I

[Sirus]

C'mon folks, tahujdt said he was gonna drop this :/

[Dutchling]

Yeah, discussing religion is theoretically possible, but doing so while derailing a thread is probably not going to end well :x

[tahujdt]

Yeah, I realized a long time ago that I'm outnumbered, so it's not worth the argument.

Also, marriaging isn't a verb. Just saying.

And with a mighty leap, the evil Conservative flies through the window, escaping our heroes once again!

Away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Descan]

WELL IT SHOULD BE A VERB.

[MagmaMcFry]

Also, five bucks says that the school would come down harder that a five ton bratwurst on any teacher who gave a student a Bible.

Nope, not true at all. German schools aren't antireligious at all, but they do have a very strict separation policy regarding religious and nonreligious stuff: Basically, schools have a set of "religion" classes alongside all other classes, and each child goes into the class of his belief (or none if no sufficiently similar class exists). In most smaller schools, the only available classes are Catholic and Protestant, but I've heard of larger schools where they have some kind of Islamic classes too. It's a great way to prevent schools from becoming single-denomination, and it definitely encourages interreligious tolerance.

But there's definitely no antireligious enforcement of any sort, and there is definitely no conflict of beliefs going on (unless, of course, you'd count science as conflicting with your beliefs, in which case we'd rather teach your kids science instead).

PPE: This is not part of any argument, it's just a public service anouncement.