yiri@ucf-cs.UUCP (Yirmiyahu BenDavid) (10/24/84)
Although intervention by a teacher does not resolve the problem of schoolyard taunting in and of itself, it nevertheless displays the 'official' attitude of the 'authorities' on the matter. Further, if the teacher goes to the principal, parents, etc. as needed, to follow up (when appropriate), the problem can be dealt with on the scale needed to get more done. Especially on the elementary level, school children are far more receptive to the attitudes they've picked up at home and then spread among their friends at school. Fighting, vandalism, stealing, and the like are not tolerated. If ethnic/racial taunting were similarly not tolerated, things would improve at least somewhat. The introduction of blacks into segregated schools serves as an example. To let such racism 'run its course' is irresponsible, and results in an environment like Nazi Germany where racism runs rampant. Putting organized vocal prayer in schools is a firing primer which will trigger such polarizations and fuel racial fires which are presently kept below the surface and somewhat suppressed. It is utopian and unrealistic to imagine that a typical class- room would be divided into several religious groups, each having their own prayer session. One problem is that the teacher would be leading - a unifying factor over groups whose religion is often NOT to be unified with the other groups RELIGIOUSLY, and ESPECIALLY not in prayer. Another shortcoming is that there would not be several groups praying is separate spots because you have the numbers wrong for a 'typical' classroom. Of 40 children, you would be more likely to have about 20-25 who would gather as a Christian group to pray, 11-16 agnostics who would join the Christian group so as not to be 'different', and that would leave about 1 dedicated athiest, perhaps 1 moslem who has most likely become non-obervant and would also join the Christian group to avoid peer ridicule. Now we're down to 2 remaining: 1 Jew who has probably become non- observant and would feel pressured to join the Christian group for the same reason, and 1 Jew who faces being different from all the rest of the class. He and the athiest are quite different from each other. So both the athiest and the Jew are 'different' from 'everybody else' who are in the Christian group. The Christian group has also subtely forced one of the Jews to compromise any beliefs he might still have. So, of a class of 40, 38 think the Jew is strange and different and make fun of him. Quite a different picture than you painted.