PUBLIC EDUCATION ATROCITIES
Principal has new job after 'Islam 101' controversy

From the Houston Chronicle:

The Friendswood Junior High principal who outraged some parents by allowing an Islamic group to make a 40-minute presentation to students last month is now off the job.

In a two-sentence statement sent late Wednesday, the school district said Robin Lowe "has accepted another administrative position effective immediately."

The news drew relief from some who were incensed by the May 22 presentation and concern from others who considered the assembly a good way for students in the predominantly Anglo Christian school to learn about other cultures.

About 875 seventh- and eighth-grade students attended the presentation given by two women with the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Houston, according to the school district.

The president of the nonprofit council, Tarek Hussein, said he contacted Lowe about conducting an educational presentation after hearing from a father who said his son was physically attacked at the school because he is Muslim.

Click here for the rest.

As far as I can tell from reading the article, the actual issue for which this principal has been forced to resign is both mundane and bureaucratic. That is, she failed to inform parents that the assembly was taking place. But the outrage from these Christian nuts in Friendswood is about having the assembly at all. And really, again according to the article, the information offered by these Muslim women was fairly mundane, you know, this our culture, this is what we believe, that kind of thing, the kind of material routinely covered about numerous cultures in sixth grade geography class.

So this is just plain nuts, and only in these fundamentalist, xenophobic, Muslim-hating times does it become "controversial." And given the school district, which I know because it's not far from the district where I used to teach, it's a wildly hypocritical "controversy."

Here's the comment that I posted on the story at the Chronicle's website:

In a scholastic environment where most students self-identify as Christian, where student/teacher groups such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Christian Students Union regularly use school facilities, where "non-sectarian" but obviously Christian prayers are offered before graduation ceremonies, where "abstinence based" sex education classes are thinly veiled propaganda efforts promoting Christian sexuality, I find it both amazing and absurd that ANYBODY would regard this principal's attempt to educate her students about this major world religion, which plays such a significant role in our bogus "war on terror," as some kind of anti-Christian breach of the separation of church and state.

This woman was doing the right thing. And now she's been thanked with a forced resignation. Her critics understand neither education nor the first amendment. Consequently, they should just shut up.

(Slightly altered for clarity. Also, even though it's rather meaningless in the grand scheme, this is currently on top of the Chronicle's list for "Most Commented On Stories," and, I happily add, my comment, with 220 votes, is the "most recommended" comment. Yay me!)

Anyway, this is disgusting, but not at all surprising: the schools' primary role is indoctrinational in nature, and zealous fundamentalist Christianity and anti-Islam are the latest and best-selling flavors of the month; of course the suburban rednecks in Friendswood are freaking out over a little Islam in the schools--public education is about creating American clone workers, not free thinkers! It is also worth noting that teachers and administrators are just as subject to pro-authority indoctrination forces as their students, in fact, more so. Axing a principal for showing some individual thought and independent action serves as a strong message of propaganda for everybody in the district: obedience has its rewards; disobedience has its punishments.

Sad, sad, sad.

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