Christian student challenged a school history lesson on Islam and lost in court

[guillaumeb]

From the article:

A

s a high school junior, Caleigh Wood refused to complete a history lesson on “The Muslim World” that she said forced her to embrace Islam in conflict with her Christian faith — and the Constitution.
A federal appeals court this week disagreed, saying school officials in Southern Maryland had not violated Wood’s First Amendment rights because the curriculum did not endorse a particular religion “and did not compel Wood to profess any belief.”....

“Religion is an integral part of history. You can’t ignore it,” said Scott, who argued the case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. “The key is to teach it from a secular perspective — and not to proselytize.”

To read more:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/christian-student-challenged-a-school-history-lesson-on-islam-and-lost-in-court/2019/02/12/2a7d78fa-2ee4-11e9-813a-0ab2f17e305b_story.html?utm_term=.6f13252e21e0

[barbtries]

1. good.

bringing a lawsuit that just screams i want to be ignorant should lose. hope they don't appeal of course, since this SCOTUS might reverse the decision. blargh

[guillaumeb]

5. The statement that taking the course amounted to a forced conversion

is illogical.

[Major Nikon]

10. Not really any winners here

Taxpayer dollars had to be spent on lawyers defending against that nonsense. A real win would have been the government’s ability to recoup legal costs.

[exboyfil]

2. This statement is sloppy

and I would like to see the reference supporting it. It seems a very difficult thing to demonstrate.

“Most Muslim’s [sic] faith is stronger than the average Christian.”

You would also have to see the context for the statement about Islam. Christianity has comparable statements that should have been in the assignment for that religion.

[marylandblue]

3. According to article, the school district's content manager testified that it was inappropriate.

The school stopped using it and provided training to teachers on content development.

[elleng]

7. Good.

Am pleased they've done it, as I live nearby (AND 'managers' should ALWAYS be rational; sadly, they're not always such.)

[guillaumeb]

4. Describing it as "sloppy" is being far too polite on your part.

In full, it reads:

One was a slide contrasting “peaceful Islam” with “radical fundamental Islam” that included the statement: “Most Muslim’s [sic] faith is stronger than the average Christian.”

First, we have the improper spelling of Muslims' as Muslim's.

Second, we have a statement with nothing offered in evidence to support it.


And absent a link to the test, and context, the reference to the shahada seems puzzling.

But I see nothing wrong with generally offering a brief overview of different faith traditions as part of a history curriculum.

[elleng]

8. Doing such is entirely appropriate,

and in fact necessary to provide a well-rounded education.

[guillaumeb]

9. It went far beyond sloppy.

It was ridiculous. And speaks badly of whoever designed this course.

[Major Nikon]

11. It's not an improper spelling

It was a punctuation error.

Just sayin’

[trotsky]

12. guillaumeb has shown a consistent willingness to jump on other people's typos.

Therefore I don't believe it is inappropriate to respond in kind.

[Major Nikon]

14. Normally I wouldn't give a shit, but...

the element of unintentional humor was worth noting.

[msongs]

6. lets make a list of all things this kid does that are violations of alleged xtian

beliefs.

[trotsky]

13. Good, religious bigots lose again. n/t