Teacher suspended over Pledge of Allegience

[magley64]

http://news.yahoo.com/teacher-pledge-of-allegiance-us-160820504.html
 

A Florida teacher was suspended last month for forcing a fourth grader to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Anne Daigle-McDonald, a teacher at Explorer K-8 School in Spring Hill, Fla., made the student, a Jehovah's Witness, place his hand over his heart during the Sept. 11 pledge. When he resisted, she said, "You are an American, and you are supposed to salute the flag," the boy told a school administrator.

According to several students, Daigle-McDonald admonished the class the following day. "In my classroom, everyone will do the pledge; no religion says that you can't do the pledge," she said. "If you can't put your hand on your heart, then you need to move out of the country."

Hernando County School District officials investigated the incident, concluding that the teacher "violated a number of state education rules, professional conduct principles and the student's right to free speech and freedom of religion."

Daigle-McDonald, a nine-year veteran of the district, was suspended for five days without pay and instructed to attend diversity training.

"Regardless of the circumstances that may have brought them about, such inappropriate actions on your part do not reflect positively on your position," Hernando County School Superintendent Lori Romano wrote in a letter to the instructor.

The law is on the school's side. A 1943 Supreme Court ruling made it unconstitutional to force a child to salute the flag, giving students the right to opt out of the pledge in public schools, regardless of their religion.

According to the report, Daigle-McDonald claimed she was not discriminating against his religion but was worried "other children might imitate him." She also said her comments the next day were "directed at citizenship."

"I was talking about pledging allegiance to our country," Daigle-McDonald told a district official. "And if you don't want to pledge to our country, you should go to your home country."

It's not the first time the Pledge of Allegiance has been at the center of a controversy in Hernando County. Last year, a high school student was suspended for three days for confronting a classmate wearing a traditional Muslim headscarf who she said did not stand for the pledge.

"Take that thing off your head and act like you're proud to be an American," the girl said, according to a teacher who witnessed the confrontation.

The suspended student later admitted she made up the story to justify the exchange, and that the Muslim classmate stood during the pledge.

 
Thoughts?

 

I know where I am on this issue, just curious where the rest of you are...

[Casper]

My two cents:

 

"Under God" was add to the Pledge of Allegiance on June 14, 1954. I'd rather see "Under God" removed and every child in every classroom saying the Pledge of Allegiance every morning than see it being removed from every classroom. 

[magley64]

My two cents:

 

"Under God" was add to the Pledge of Allegiance on June 14, 1954. I'd rather see "Under God" removed and every child in every classroom saying the Pledge of Allegiance every morning than see it being removed from every classroom. 

 

i don't think that would have helped in this case. Witnesses have strict rules regarding these types of rituals.

[Bad324]

My two cents:

 

"Under God" was add to the Pledge of Allegiance on June 14, 1954. I'd rather see "Under God" removed and every child in every classroom saying the Pledge of Allegiance every morning than see it being removed from every classroom. 

 

Pretty much agree. I think it should just be said the way it is but since we have to be P(ussy)oliticly Correct it probably won't ever be my way

[Pokey]

Say under God or not, should be up to the person reciting it. We said the pledge every morning and sang God bless America, sadly those days are over comrades.

[magley64]

sadly those days are over comrades.

So the antithesis to "Christian" is "Communist"?  McCarthyism is alive and well...

 

I'm glad those days are over. This generation's "Religion" is long overdue to turning into "mythology".

[jbot]

i bet if we turned it into a haiku, it would be way more popular

[C-bus]

.....

Edited November 9, 2013 by C-bus

[Pokey]

So the antithesis to "Christian" is "Communist"?  McCarthyism is alive and well...

 

I'm glad those days are over. This generation's "Religion" is long overdue to turning into "mythology".

 

I am sure you are just giddy about that too. Where do you have me stating or alluding to not being a Christian as a communist? You despise all religions and that is very obvious to me, yet you claim you are all about religious freedom "I don't believe you". You want a society that believes in nothing but science and human reason and logic, I am truly baffled at times about what you do stand for and where you draw the line. Like it or not this country is founded on the Christian faith "as flawed as it may seem at times" does that make much of Europe wrong as well? There is no perfect belief system when it comes to society, but I can assure you that one belief system is for sure growing and being massively catered to here. That belief system is changing the American culture and traditions that we have always had "it offends them", we are becoming the anti America in our own country. Here is a great solution...... lets do away with all things religious when it comes anything that currently is, yet those of us can enter our places of worship and celebrate certain holidays in our communities as we see fit. That puts everybody on the same playing field, no favoritism or conforming to religious beliefs in the workplace, any place public, state or federal government or any of our schools. Yes I believe that would solve many of our problems, but that just is not going to happen. This country is changing in some bad ways, and it has nothing to do with those pesky and hypocritical Christians. I have no problems at all with the pledge of allegiance, heck all countries have a friggin flag. It is a symbol of American freedom and of American strength and unity, so how can that be bad? Take the word God out of everything, heck I can care less because in all truthfulness it won't affect me one bit. 

Edited November 7, 2013 by Pokey

[magley64]

I am sure you are just giddy about that too. Where do you have me stating or alluding to not being a Christian as a communist?

You mentioned singing "god bless america" is now over, then called us "comrades"...

 

You despise all religions and that is very obvious to me, yet you claim you are all about religious freedom "I don't believe you".

I don't care if you believe me... Yes I think religion is a plague upon the human consciousness, but I'd much rather see it willfully abandoned than outlawed.

Fortunately, that is the case, religion is falling out of favor faster than any religion is growing...

 

You want a society that believes in nothing but science and human reason and logic, I am truly baffled at times about what you do stand for and where you draw the line.

Draw the line? I believe things that are testable, repeatable, and have evidence to support them. Where do you draw the line?

 

Like it or not this country is founded on the Christian faith "as flawed as it may seem at times" does that make much of Europe wrong as well?

That's very, very broad. Yes, the founding fathers were mostly "christian" but christian meant a different thing to them, most of them were Deists (look it up, they didn't believe in a living god who listened to prayers, or granted miracles, just in a designer of the natural order of the universe as they saw it), and all of them made it VERY clear that Christianity was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a national religion. So you can stuff that "this is a christian nation" malarkey back in your bag of tricks... it doesn't fly.

 

There is no perfect belief system when it comes to society, but I can assure you that one belief system is for sure growing and being massively catered to here. That belief system is changing the American culture and traditions that we have always had "it offends them", we are becoming the anti America in our own country. Here is a great solution...... lets do away with all things religious when it comes anything that currently is, yet those of us can enter our places of worship and celebrate certain holidays in our communities as we see fit. That puts everybody on the same playing field, no favoritism or conforming to religious beliefs in the workplace, any place public, state or federal government or any of our schools. Yes I believe that would solve many of our problems, but that just is not going to happen. This country is changing in some bad ways, and it has nothing to do with those pesky and hypocritical Christians. I have no problems at all with the pledge of allegiance, heck all countries have a friggin flag. It is a symbol of American freedom and of American strength and unity, so how can that be bad? Take the word God out of everything, heck I can care less because in all truthfulness it won't affect me one bit.

Sounds good, let's do it...

[baptizo]

Say under God or not, should be up to the person reciting it. We said the pledge every morning and sang God bless America, sadly those days are over comrades.

 

Fucking this x infinity.  

[granda080]

Also stop teaching history, it's only relative to perspective...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and go....

[jbot]

we should also teach safe gay sex during health class

[magley64]

we should also teach safe gay sex during health class

Isn't it the same principle as safe hetero sex?

[jbot]

we should teach kids what "burninating the countryside" means.

[Pokey]

Last I checked money says "In God we trust" not in a God we trust or in God's we trust. The pledge says one "nation under God" not...... one nation under a God. So I call malarkey on your statement about the founding fathers being deists, did you Magley or any of your descendants know them personally? Oh the history books and other writings say it to be true, so it must be true "cough, cough BS". Perspective of written history is exactly that, perspective can be said of the Bible as well. Atheism is alive and well, so you have nothing to fear I assure you .I do not berate a person for not being a believer, matter of fact it is quite the contrary, and plenty of non believers have also done some crummy things in the past and in the present "you love to bring up all the terrible followers of God throughout history". We do many things different here in the USA when compared to the rest of the world, at least that is how it used to be. I do not recall ever having creationism, any other religions or God shoved down my throat in school, yet everything else not related to the possibility of God is very much shoved down our throats. Oh the lies....... we must get rid of swearing upon the Bible and God in court, we must also do away with the same concerning the Presidential inauguration.........sure does not sound to me like the President is swearing to some random deity. Oh the damage that the belief in God is causing, oh the principles and values are just horrible for us. How dare NASCAR have prayer to the sky fairy before every race, that is so offensive!!!!! So now back to the topic at hand, I got myself off track again. The pledge of allegiance is all about unity, strength and patriotism in my eyes, all of which are in short supply these days. The almighty dollar is a much worse thing for us all the be pledging to, and that my friends is the great debacle we are in.

[magley64]

I call malarkey on your statement about the founding fathers being deists, did you Magley or any of your descendants know them personally? Oh the history books and other writings say it to be true, so it must be true "cough, cough BS".

 

So wait, you're also denouncing accepted history in favor of your own reviosionist brand...good little christian...keep fucking that chicken...

 

I bet the founding fathers all believed in exactly the same god you believe in, and all said, we should make Brian's religion our official religion of the whole country...

 

No wait, they didn't... They said this country will have NO established religion.

 

http://altreligion.about.com/od/alternativereligionsaz/p/Deism.htm

 

Famous Deists:

A large number of United States Founding Fathers were deists or had strong deist leanings. Some of them identified themselves as Unitarians, a non-Trinitarian form of Christianity that emphasized rationality and skepticism. These deists include Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, James Madison and John Adams.

Incidentally John Adams is one of my forefathers directly, on my mother's side.

Edited November 8, 2013 by magley64

[r1crusher]

It's funny how double edged the religious sword is.  On one hand you can't force a student who practices Muslim beliefs (just as an example here not picking on a specific cult) to say the word "God" or participate in a country's long standing tradition of fostering patriotism.  But we all must make way for that same little Muslim practitioner to take his/her 5 min. four times a day to roll out their little mat and face the east to say a few Muslim prayers.

 

This country was founded on diversity and that was said is what makes it so great, but today it's also what's tearing it apart.  African Americans, Irish Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans...celebrate your heritage, but if you choose to not be a patriot for America then kindly stop calling yourself an American.  You can just be African, Muslim, etc.

 

Just my $.02.

[magley64]

This country was founded on diversity and that was said is what makes it so great, but today it's also what's tearing it apart.  African Americans, Irish Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans...celebrate your heritage, but if you choose to not be a patriot for America then kindly stop calling yourself an American.  You can just be African, Muslim, etc.

 

Just my $.02.

 

So which are you, a christian or an american?

[r1crusher]

So which are you, a christian or an american?

 

I practice no cult so whatever that makes me but I was born in America so I'll go with answer number 2...American.

 

[r1crusher]

If a Christian child has the right to pray in his own way, then so does a Muslim child. Personally, I don't believe your religious practices should interfere with classroom study or education. If you want to pray on your lunch hour or during recess, then knock yourself out. Classroom order and discipline should be adhered to, though. It's school time. Not superstition time. You want Jesus worship in the classroom? Send your kid to a Christian school...like I did.

 

I'm not saying they shouldn't be able to.  My point is if you were born in America, you're American and should support this country not try to make it the US of Hinduism/Christianity/Islam/Buddhism.  American should be the first part of your cultural nicknaming...American African, American Asian, not the other way around.  I don't fly my families roots as part of my American moniker.  I could but then all I'm doing is segregating myself from the whole.

 

But I'm with ya, IP.

[magley64]

I practice no cult so whatever that makes me but I was born in America so I'll go with answer number 2...American.

 

 

I was just confused because at first you were naming nationalities, then you named a religion.

 

I too consider myself an american first, but maybe that's just because I have no strong nationality association.

 

My maternal grandmother is 100% first genration Czechoslovakian, but she doesn't refer to herself as Czechoslovakian American (that would be a mouthful anyway)...

 

"Muslim american" is different than "African american" In my mind. Your religion doesn't in any way interfere with your patriotism in my mind. (because the nation is secular, as much as that pisses off many christians)

As for American immigrants wanting to retain their own culture in america, that's fine, too. So long as that doesn't cause you to take sides against your new home country in conflicts with your  country of origin.

[Pokey]

 

So wait, you're also denouncing accepted history in favor of your own reviosionist brand...good little christian...keep fucking that chicken...

 

I bet the founding fathers all believed in exactly the same god you believe in, and all said, we should make Brian's religion our official religion of the whole country...

 

No wait, they didn't... They said this country will have NO established religion.

 

http://altreligion.about.com/od/alternativereligionsaz/p/Deism.htm

 

Incidentally John Adams is one of my forefathers directly, on my mother's side.

 

Define accepted history, remember that much is still subjective as it is fact. I have no brand, do you have a brand, is Atheism a brand? I never said I wanted Christianity to be the one religion of the country, just that our forefathers who being a mix of Christians used that belief for relevance still to this day. Hey man I agree that no religion should have any factor in government, nor should it allow any special treatment or exemption in the workplace. The President should swear upon the Constitution of the United States, because that is the base and structure for this country "although now not as much as it should be". So we are going to continue our struggles with religious freedoms, but the fact remains that Christianity "Protestants especially" is without any question the religion that rules in this country, There has been an influx over the many years since the founding of this country concerning the freedom of religious beliefs and practices, but the Christian faith "the many variances of it" was in fact first.......and that is a fact. So this is the reason why so many in this country hold the Christian faith so strongly, it played a part in how this country came to be.

 

Good read, pretty self explanatory IMHO.   http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h3787.html

 

Good ole wikipedia as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States

[magley64]

There are "brands" of atheism. IPU and FSM being more whimsical forms, Metaphoric paganism, secular humanism, and laveyan satanism as more serious forms...

Personally I'm more of an "ala carte" atheist. I don't follow any particular life philosophy, I just use my own moral compass, and do what I think is best at any given time. I don't believe in an afterlife or ghosts, or spirits, or luck, though there are atheists who do.

 

And I disagree with another of your assertions, there is no religion that "rules" in this country.

Yes the first english settlers were puritans (very strict protestants), but they are quite distinct and separate from the "founding fathers".

Edited November 8, 2013 by magley64

[Pokey]

There are "brands" of atheism. IPU and FSM being more whimsical forms, Metaphoric paganism, secular humanism, and laveyan satanism as more serious forms...

Personally I'm more of an "ala carte" atheist. I don't follow any particular life philosophy, I just use my own moral compass, and do what I think is best at any given time. I don't believe in an afterlife or ghosts, or spirits, or luck, though there are atheists who do.

 

And I disagree with another of your assertions, there is no religion that "rules" in this country.

Yes the first english settlers were puritans (very strict protestants), but they are quite distinct and separate from the "founding fathers".

 

 

I reckon all the thousands upon thousands of Churches are just mostly empty buildings that are full of people that are hypocrites and do nothing good for their communities and the country? "Rules" may not be a good terminology, so how about personal choice and following instead? The government, media, and any and all other groups of people can try to take the Christian faith out of holidays and anything else that may seem to adhere or pertain to Christianity, but it just aint gonna happen. The roots are just too deep in this country, and that is what I am trying to explain the best I can. Love it or hate it, accept it or don't accept it.....but it is what it is whether right or wrong, or whether fantasy, mythology or reality.