Reading Time: < 1 minute Just back from a family week in D.C. We imposed on the hospitality of very good friends, both of them deeply impressive and humane people employed by admirable non-profits influencing public policy and making a difference in the world. The kind of people who make me feel (through no fault of their own) like I’m […]
Education
Exploring the world of education from a secular, nonreligious perspective.
Posted inEducation, General, LGBTQ News
Conservative Christians Organize Day of Silence Walkout
Reading Time: 4 minutes This is just a perfect example of how the Religious Right distorts the facts to suit their own needs. On April 17th, students who choose to will participate in the Day of Silence: The Day of Silence… is a student-led day of action when concerned students, from middle school to college, take some form of […]
Posted inEducation, General
A High School English Paper on Atheism
Reading Time: < 1 minute From a high school reader from a small town in North Dakota: In my English class, we’re supposed to write a persuasive paper. I’ve decided to “persuade” my religious teacher, religious classmates, and religious school that God is a theory… I know my paper is going to cause quite a commotion,so I want it to […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
Mandatory Moment of Silence Approved in Texas
Reading Time: 2 minutes After a long battle by David Croft and his wife Shannon Croft, Texas mandated a moment of silence in all public school classrooms today. A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld a district court ruling, saying the law is constitutional because it expressly allows for any silent […]
Posted inEducation, General, LGBTQ News
Things I Found Out at the Anti-Gay Workshop
Reading Time: 7 minutes Last night, I attended a workshop about “homosexual activism in the public schools.” The meeting took place at a church and it was sponsored by the Illinois Family Institute, a conservative group. About 80 people were packed into a tiny room. My observations: I overheard one man sitting near me talking to a friend of […]
Posted inEducation, General, LGBTQ News
Christian Conservatives Furious Over Homosexual Dance
Reading Time: 2 minutes Conservative Christians are freaking out because an Illinois high school held a dance for GLBT students and their straight allies. Who is to blame for this approval of all-but-certain debauchery? English teachers. And now we have the first dance for students who self-identify as homosexual, which was approved by English teacher, Bill Fritz. It shouldn’t […]
Posted inEducation, General
High School Student Faces Challenges in Starting an Atheist Group
Reading Time: 2 minutes This hits kinda close to home. A student at Johnsburg High School in northwestern McHenry County, IL wants to start an atheist group at her school, but she’s facing a few challenges. Here’s what reporter Diana Sroka writes: Savannah Lanz doesn’t believe in God, follow religion, or look to any higher powers, and she’s hoping […]
Posted inEducation, Myth & Folklore, Parenting & Family, Science
Petition: Thank Politicians Who Say “No” to Creationists
Reading Time: 4 minutes I am occasionally asked by religious friends why I make such a fuss over evolution. Some have suggested that secular types beat the drum for evolution only because it sticks such a sharp object in the eye of theism. One went so far as to suggest that “If you guys would just let that one […]
Posted inEducation, General, Politics
Illinois’ Moment of Silence is Back
Reading Time: < 1 minute It used to be the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act — a mandatory moment of silence that was really a way to sneak forced prayer into Illinois public schools. After atheist high school student Dawn Sherman successfully filed a lawsuit against the Act, it was changed to the Student Silent Reflection Act. Not mandatory […]
Posted inEducation, General, LGBTQ News
Illinois Family Institute Lashes Out Against Chicago Public Schools CEO
Reading Time: 3 minutes Since Chicago Public Schools’ previous CEO Arne Duncan became Barack Obama‘s Secretary of Education, there’s been a vacancy for the spot. Mayor Richard Daley finally appointed someone to the position yesterday — Ron Huberman: Already, [Huberman] has drafted a plan to bolster school security and laid the groundwork to install — first on the business […]