Bible, ‘Spirit of the Lord’ on school supply list

[trotsky]

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national church-state watchdog with 16,000 members and more than 700 in Texas, sent a letter of complaint Aug. 30 to Superintendent Stan Surratt of the Lindale Independent School District and to Principal Vicki Thrasher at Lindale Junior High School on behalf of a concerned parent in Lindale, Texas.

The parent alerted FFRF about math teacher Amy Priddy's inappropriate list for eighth-grade algebra students. Included under "Classroom Expectations" was "Listen: to the Spirit of the Lord, to all instructions. . ." Another expectation is to prepare "your supplies (notebook, textbook, Bible, pencils, graph paper, spiral notebook, red pen, homework, etc.)"

The list imposes the teacher's religious sentiments on her students, and thus is a violation of the U.S. Constitution, noted FFRF Staff Attorney Stephanie Schmitt in her letter.

...

"It's supposed to be reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic, not religion," said Dan Barker, FFRF co-president. "This algebra teacher needs to be told to calculate the distance between church and state!"

Source: FFRF

[obxhead]

1. Wonder if this would qualify?

[Ian David]

2. How can you find the value of Pi if you can't find The Lord?

:sarcasm:

[wysimdnwyg]

3. Aren't they the same thing? (nt)

[sudopod]

11. They are both irrational? nt

[Goblinmonger]

7. The value of Pi is 3

That's why they need the Bible.

[AlecBGreen]

4. wow...

Its like, "do we REALLY have to tell you NOT to do this!?"

[cleanhippie]

5. Yes, we REALLY do have to tell them, over, and over, and over...

[AlecBGreen]

8. oh I have no problem with telling them

I just never ceased to be amazed that some people NEED to be told. Its like a meeting we had before the school year started about inappropriate (aka sexual) relations with students. I just kept shaking my head, thinking, people need to be TOLD not to have sex with their high school students!? :crazy:

[cleanhippie]

10. I know what you mean. Some people are just unable to see beyond their noses.

[AlecBGreen]

16. Doest thou mock me cleanhippie!?

:P

[LeftishBrit]

6. What exactly is the role of a Bible in an *algebra class*?

To pray that you've got the right answer?

[dmallind]

9. Actually equalizing the genealogies of Jesus mathematically would be a fine class project.

Would take a Fields Medal in a heartbeat of course. Fermat ain't in the same league.

[Critters2]

14. So THAT'S what I was doing wrong!! nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. It's Texas, and I imagine that Lindale is one of those towns

where the religious spectrum runs all the way from Baptist to Pentecostal.

I wonder how the parents would feel if a math teacher required students to buy a Koran.

[LeftishBrit]

13. For algebra, that would be at least as relevant

A Koran and a book about the Greek Gods would at least reflect the history of the subject.

[Critters2]

15. Someone should tell this teacher that "algebra" is an Arabic word.

That should put an end to her wanting to teach it.