Students Homework - Write Statement of Islamic Faith

originally posted by: BuzzyWigs
a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

It's the business of schools to teach WORLD GEOGRAPHY and prepare youths for entry into the real world.
Upcoming adults will need to be able to navigate the cultures of others from all over the world....
what do you not get about that?

See Agartha's excellent post, above.

Please tell me how this teaches world geography.


There seems to be a problem identifying exactly the class being taught. I have read History, Social Studies and Geography. Regardless, the image above shows what was exactly 'taught' in spite of the class identifying title.

There could so easily have been a different example of Arabic writing which had nothing to do with professing one's faith.

a reply to: StoutBroux

Please tell me how this teaches world geography.

Someone doesn't understand the full content of all the different aspects of what geography classes teach...

Someone also doesn't understand how some school districts choose to either divide these different curriculums into different classes (geography, social studies, history, etc) OR instead choose to lump them under one class (geography) instead.

If you asked a bunch of people what geography is, I'm guessing you'd get answers like the study of maps or the study of where things are. Although this is true, defining geography so narrowly is like saying fast food restaurants only serve fries.

For starters, geography is the study of Earth's landscapes, peoples, places, and environments. Since it's pretty safe to say that humans have always been curious about the world, many think geography is the oldest of all the sciences. Putting a bit more fact to this assertion, the ancient Greek scholar Eratosthenes is known as the father of geography since he's the guy who first coined the term.

As one of the broadest of all the sciences, geography takes on almost everything that concerns our world. For example, it takes a look at what our communities look like, how people's choices affect nature, Earth's physical changes, human development, and so much more!

It doesn't just answer the question 'What's over there?' It also tells us who's over there, how long they've been there, and why they like it there. To cover such a huge amount of information, the field of geography is usually broken down into two major categories; they are cultural geography and physical geography.

Click

There seems to be a problem identifying exactly the class being taught. I have read History, Social Studies and Geography. Regardless, the image above shows what was exactly 'taught' in spite of the class identifying title.

Yes.

Yes there most certainly does seem to be a problem identifying exactly what defines "geography class".

Most likely because the school you went to chose to divide geography into several different types of classes (geography, social studies, history) and thus, you assume it to be the same in every school curriculum layout.



Some people are able to see the world beyond their own myopic line of sight.

Others... not so much.

a reply to: StoutBroux

You have to look at the curriculum in general to do that.
But, you won't.

Geography in today's world INCLUDES the cultures that are extant in that region. International trade means we need to know about all of the cultures who are engaged in today's world, doing business, on social media, in train stations, etc.

One CAN NOT separate the two anymore. It matters now what language people in other countries speak. It matters what their dress-code traditions are, what their observance of faith (if any) applies (according to THEM) to their work-a-day existence.

You gonna get all huffy when Ramadan rolls around at your workplace and people expect some paid time off for holiday? Or, conversely, you gonna whine because even though you expect Christmas and New Years off, and Labor Day and the 4th of July... your bosses in China refuse to accommodate your own culture's traditions?

Think it over.

a reply to: StoutBroux

Now, I have no problem with them showing the kids the Shahada to give them an idea of how complicated Arabic calligraphy can be, but the text even says "Here is the Shahada, the Islamic statement of faith, written in Arabic. IN the space below, try copying it by hand."

Imagine if this were a statement of Christian faith and someone was asked to copy it.

Again, showing the kids this image would be appropriate because this is what they would see inside a Muslim place of worship and this would be part of studying the differences between major religions. I imagine you see this like you see stained glass and other iconography in Christian churches.

But when you ask someone to copy or repeat it ... then you are verging on territory that is close to proselytizing for some.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

So you now support teaching Christianity in public schools?

a reply to: Grimpachi

BTW the students were not given the translation nor were they asked to translate it so they didn't know what it meant.

It was identified as the Shahada, the Islamic statement of faith.

Simple google.

sha·ha·da SHäˈhädə/ noun noun: shahada; plural noun: shahadas; noun: shahadah; plural noun: shahadahs the Muslim profession of faith (“there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”). Origin from Arabic šahāda ‘testimony, evidence.’ Translate shahada to Use over time for: shahada Translations, word origin, and more definitions

www.google.com...=shahada+definition

Or do you think the children given this assignment, considering the time they would have to put into their sticker project, would not google to see exactly what Shahada means, and what the statement of faith is, that they were instructed to copy?

Maybe that was the intent, and I am not saying that it is a good or bad thing. That is a decision that will be made by the children and their parents.

What I am saying is that this was not done innocently, and that it was done with the intent of introducing the children to Islam and the Quran.

Not to the Bible, not to the Torah. The art of Calligraphy was not introduced with a phrase in Hebrew or Cantonese. Their intent is very clear and it seems underhanded, and that is why the parents are angry, and I don't blame them.

a reply to: ketsuko

Imagine if this were a statement of Christian faith and someone was asked to copy it.

If the kids ARE TOLD that it is "a statement of faith", it does not infringe on them being able to adhere to their own faith AT ALL.

So - a kid in America shouldn't know why some of his classmates have a prayer-rug in their locker? Or why another kid won't celebrate birthdays, or a third kid doesn't believe in "Christmas" or "Easter"?

Why - OH WHY!!??? - should American kids not be able to tolerate other cultures? WHY?

WHY can't an American kid know those things?

There is NO actual, legitimate REASON!!!!

The only asinine reason is to calm the parents of those kids - the ignorant adults frantically piloting the PARENTING HELICOPTER while they hyperventilate over nothing....

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: BuzzyWigs

So you now support teaching Christianity in public schools?

Bit of a loaded question as it would depend on the context.

Is in in science room teaching it as fact?

Or

In RE classroom informing other pupils what there classmates might believe ?

a reply to: ketsuko

I support teaching ALL RELIGIONS in public school, appropriate to the students' age level, or NONE.

I do NOT support teaching "only one" (Christianity or Islam or whatever) and plastering the walls with "the 10 commandments" (or whatever) and homework with "scripture memorization" to the exclusion of any other religion. If you're going to teach ONE, TEACH THEM ALL - otherwise, teach NONE of them. Let them choose as electives when they are adolescents......


WHAT DO YOU NOT GET about that?

a reply to: ketsuko
Looks like we shared a thought on this one.

Again. I don't care if they want to introduce the children to Islam, and to point out some of its positive attributes.

I do have a problem when they go about it deceptively, because there are many that take exception to Christianity or any other religion taught in schools, because they claim that it is against the Constitution, or that it leaves out the negative things that were written in the Bible. Those same people suddenly turn a blind eye and a deaf ea,r when it comes to Islam, and you will be hung from the rafters if you say one negative thing publicly about Islam.

This campaign has become blatantly obvious, and the goal sticks out like a misplaced nail. That is why so many people want to rip it out or bang it down.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

So, you're okay with schools pointing out the NEGATIVE things about Christianity, and comparing and contrasting those things with other religions' negative points?

Or, are you wanting to shield young, impressionable psyches from ever hearing about the atrocities and confusion caused by "Christianity"?

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Yes, it IS REALLY TRUE.

since you are confident enough to speak in such absolutes, prove it.

eta: For someone who claims to be an "agnostic" : @@ : , basically not believing in any GOD or ALLAH, then why even consider whether they are both the *same* as neither exists?

It's a rather moot point, I should think. @@ @@

a reply to: BuzzyWigs
I think it is up to the parents, and up to the children, when they are old enough to make that decision.

I feel it has no place in the public classroom.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

They can know why Muslims have a prayer rug at that point it's all academic, but should they have to learn what it is for by being told their grade depends on having to kneel on it and recite prayers in Arabic like a Muslim? That is what they are more or less being asked to do by copying calligraphy that is a statement professing a faith.

a reply to: Bedlam

It really is, there is no logical way to deny this fact. Allah means literally 'The one God' in reference to the God of Abraham, it is well known, and taught even in Christian schools.

originally posted by: BuzzyWigs
a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

So, you're okay with schools pointing out the NEGATIVE things about Christianity, and comparing and contrasting those things with other religions' negative points?

Or, are you wanting to shield young, impressionable psyches from ever hearing about the atrocities and confusion caused by "Christianity"?

Aren't you the one who thinks parents shouldn't be allowed to raise their children according to their beliefs and yet here you are ... suddenly all up in arms because some people disagree with the government endorsement of a religion through the public classroom ...

originally posted by: Learningman
a reply to: Bedlam

It really is, there is no logical way to deny this fact. Allah means literally 'The one God' in reference to the God of Abraham, it is well known, and taught even in Christian schools.

And there are lots of people who think their god is "the one god." Study the topic for a while and you will discover this is a controversial subject with no hard and fast answers either way.

a reply to: ketsuko

No more than reciting aloud the Lords prayer is akin to kneeling before the cross after taking the body and blood of Christ. IThere are differences, i would do the former of both, but never do the second, and they are not analogous in any way.

originally posted by: Learningman
a reply to: Bedlam

It really is, there is no logical way to deny this fact. Allah means literally 'The one God' in reference to the God of Abraham, it is well known, and taught even in Christian schools.

And Christians have their "one God". Also. Go figure.

a reply to: angeldoll

since you are confident enough to speak in such absolutes, prove it.

Prove it?
Did you just say "prove it"?

Abrahamic religions

The Abrahamic religions are religions originating from the traditions of Iron Age proto-Judaism; the major ones are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, though there are others that are either offshoots of the main three (such as Bahá'í and Rastafari)

PBS: RELIGION: Three Religions, One God

Three of the world's major religions -- the monotheist traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- were all born in the Middle East and are all inextricably linked to one another. Christianity was born from within the Jewish tradition, and Islam developed from both Christianity and Judaism.

Abrahamic religions

The Abrahamic religions refer to three sister monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) that claim the prophet Abraham (Hebrew: Avraham אַבְרָהָם ; Arabic: Ibrahim ابراهيم ) as their common forefather. These religions account for more than half of the world's total population today.[1]

The Prophet Abraham is claimed by Jews as the ancestor of the Israelites, while his son Ishmael (Isma'il) is seen in Muslim tradition as the ancestor of the Arabs. In Christian tradition, Abraham is described as a "father in faith" (see Romans 4), which may suggest that all three religions come from one source.

I'd keep working on your homework, but right now I'm going to watch Will Ferrell - who makes a lot more sense than this thread.