[net.religion.jewish] schoolyard taunting

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.