Believe it or not...

Submitted by Michele Fisher (United States), Jul 3, 2002 at 10:26

While I do agree that this program goes a bit too far in promotion of religion of any kind (you see, some liberals are quite consistent), I hope that our schools can tone down programs like these to help students to better understand other cultures. As a marketing and sales agent for several foreign companies and the daughter of a man in the same field, I have been very fortunate to be exposed to quite a lot of diverse ideas and practices. This has very much enriched my life and given me a very unique perspective toward people that may not live and think as I do. I cannot count the times where knowledge of customs and religious & societal mores of different cultural groups has been instrumental in bridging the gap that can exist when nobody "gets" each others mindset. Our school children can certainly benefit by learning a bit more about the world around them in preparation for the time when their generation will be called upon to lead our nation.

The addition of lengthy practices that call upon children to follow Muslim practices goes a bit further than exposing them to knowledge. Like the Judeo-Christian promotion that has come before it, it has very little place in the classroom. It is one thing to urge our children to learn about and understand other cultures and the belief systems of those cultures. It is another thing entirely to compel them to act out the practice of those beliefs. I think this is a first; do I actually agree with the Right Wing? Somebody call the folks from Ripley's!!

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