“I honestly don’t want my child learning about Islam at all, but if they’ve got to learn about it, I would like for them to learn about the historical aspects of it and definitely nothing about the religion … I don’t want her writing ‘Allah is the only god.’”UPDATE 9/14/15: Tennessee Lawmakers Counter Islamic Teaching in Public Schools
-- Joy Ellis, parent
For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
Tennessee School Visits Mosque, No Time for Church
Tennessee School Denies Teaching Islam, Slams FOX News
Massachusetts Students Forced To Learn Muslim Conversion
Students Required to Pretend Being Muslim in Wisconsin
Pennsylvania School Staff to Mosque for Islamic Training
Florida School Teaches Islam Including Prayer Rugs
Teaching Girls to Wear Muslim Hijab in California School
Celebrate Islam Day Canceled at Ohio School
Muslims in Washington, D.C. Force Christmas Off School Calendar
-- From "Public School Parents Angry After Middle Schoolers Instructed To Write ‘ALLAH IS THE ONLY GOD’" by Eric Owens, Education Editor, Daily Caller 9/5/15
Jan Hanvey, the Maury County Public Schools middle school supervisor, said telling students about the Five Pillars of Islam is a one-day segment of the seventh-grade curriculum . . . and is intended to give students a richer perspective.
Students also study Buddhism and Hinduism, the former social studies teacher noted.
However, it appears that Tennessee students don’t study Christianity per se. There is not, for example, one class day dedicated to the basic Jesus story.
Hanvey promised that students would eventually come across a reference to Christianity when history teachers reach the “Age of Exploration” in eighth grade. Then, students will hear about Christians persecuting other Christians in some countries in Western Europe.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Parents concerned over religious curriculum" by Tim Hodge, Columbia (Tennessee) Daily Herald 9/5/15
Modern events have caused “fear” of Islam, [school official Jan] Hanvey said. She compared it to the 1940s when people were afraid of Japanese culture and people during World War II.
Brandee Porterfield has a daughter in seventh grade at Spring Hill Middle School. She said her daughter brought home school materials containing the Five Pillars of Islam. While she agrees that Islam is part of history and does not have a problem with schools teaching about the religion, she said the lesson skipped a chapter about Christianity.
Porterfield said school officials moved past the chapter because it was not part of the state’s standards.
[Parent Joy] Ellis believes religion does not belong in schools, but if it is going to be taught, then Christianity should be taught because it is the most common in the United States.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Maury parents angered over Islam unit" by Greg Jinkerson, Spring Hill Home Page 9/3/15
Maury County Director of Schools Chris Marczak has asked parents concerned about a seventh grade social studies class on the history of Islam to discuss their questions in a Sept. 17 meeting with district teachers and administrators.
The issue arose over new state-mandated standards on middle school social studies about early American history. The standards were developed two years ago and implemented in the 2014-2015 school year.
Marczak said he has discussed the parental reaction with Maury County Commissioner Donna Cook and District 64 State Rep. Sheila Butt about the state standards for the curriculum.
During class time on Tuesday, [parent Brandee] Porterfield said the teacher verbally asked students about the five pillars, "And the students were reciting the Shahada."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Texas Sharia Tribunal Judge Gives Muslim Prayer at Rodeo
And read Muslim Prayer Ends Invocation Policy in North Carolina
