How to accommodate students’ religious beliefs?
ANOTHER UPDATE: The mock trial schedule was changed so the team of Jewish students could fully compete.
UPDATE: A member of the State Bar of Georgia board resigned Wednesday after the national organizer of a mock trial event being held in Atlanta refused to rearrange the schedule to accommodate a team of Jewish students.
A team of students from an orthodox Jewish high school says they can’t compete in Saturday’s National High School Mock Trial Championship because the event will be held during their Sabbath.
The mock trial organization has refused to provide the Massachusetts team with an earlier slot, saying it would provide the students with an unfair advantage. The competition will be held in Atlanta.
The team said similar accommodations were made in 2005 when a Jewish team competed.
While it’s easy to understand both sides’ position, this situation raises the question as to what steps organizers must take to accommodate different religions.
How far must schools and other groups go to avoid religious conflicts?
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56 comments Add your comment
Joyce
May 5th, 2009
7:35 pm
Catlady- yes, the baccalaureate is alive and well.
DB
May 5th, 2009
8:22 pm
catlady — the baccalaureate is definitely alive and well in our private Christian school setting. Lots of prayer
Not to mention the special Senior chapel service . . . but that was one of the reasons we chose the school. Our choice.
freemarketeducator
May 6th, 2009
3:21 am
Geeze, you have all overlooked the obvious- this is about future ATTORNEYS! The only acceptable resolution to this dilemma is a LAWSUIT!!!!!
Evil Old English Teacher
May 6th, 2009
6:58 am
I think we all need to go back to our dear old Ninth Grade Literature courses and remember the valuable lessons Ray Bradbury taught us:
“The point is obvious. There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches. Every minority, be it Baptist/Unitarian, Irish/Italian/Octogenarian/Zen Buddhist, Zionist/Seventhday Adventist, Women’s Lib/Republican, Mattachine/Four Square Gospel feels it has the will, the right, the duty to douse the kerosene, light the fuse. Every dimwit editor who sees himself as the source of all dreary blanc-mange plain porridge unleavened literature, licks his guillotine and eyes the neck of any author who dares to speak above a whisper or write above a nursery rhyme. ” ~Ray Bradbury Coda 1979
Yes, here he speaks about books, but the message is the same. If we try to sterilize education (even extra curricular) and prevent it from from offending and excluding anyone, we ruin the possibility of learning through overcoming obstacle. The goal is not grade nor the trophy. It is all of the other stuff that comes along with it. These children have other opportunities and they should enjoy the experience of seeking those opportunities out. Perhaps the debate team? Perhaps academic bowl? Why not Key Club or National Honor Society? If the Sabbath is essential to their identity, why would they want to be part of something that does not take into consideration their needs.
Every group (minority or majority) can claim a day of the week as “their Sabbath.” Should we cancel all extra curricular activities for fear of offending ANY group? There isn’t a day of the week that isn’t sacred to SOMEONE. So how to qualify that one religion/ outlook/ whatever is more important than another. As for the “built-in” exclusions for Christianity, I know some extra curricular activities that take place on Sundays. Students have a choice to attend or not. While the system at its temporal heart relies on a Christian calendar, it is not the fault of the children of schools that attend there now. The calendar is far outdated and is being changed (albeit slowly).
The bottom line is that if we start making exclusions and changes, we open the door to a frighteningly slippery slope. I agree with V for Vendetta. There needs to be a clear line.
You can not stop the world for fear of offending someone. If we did, we would paralyze the system and what should be dynamic and challenging becomes a quivering, frightened dog, too beat down by mass exploitation to provide any chance at learning for anyone. Don’t destroy the hope for the future by exacting upon it the fear of today.
teach1
May 6th, 2009
8:39 am
Another case – Eagles Landing Christian Academy was closed due to the flu. Their girls missed the regional track meet and will not be allowed to compete at the next level. Sounds familiar – circumstances caused their elimination. What are you going to do? It’s just the way things work out.
DB
May 8th, 2009
8:51 pm
OK, Doris — duly noted, come the next time you’re up for reelection.
For the record — no one was standing in their way in the practice of their faith. They had complete religious freedom to practice their faith as they see fit. IMO, what they did NOT have the freedom to do is to force everyone else into their religious beliefs, which is what they are doing by insisting on no competitions on Saturday.
What a crock.