Walton Co. School Board Meets about Blithe Spirit!!

[scooterbug44]

Re: Have questions about "Blithe Spirit"

I think Jesus would bop these folks upside the head!

If only the bible addressed this issue somewhere so these folks had guidance.............

Oh, wait - Matthew 7:1-5 :roll:

"Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?"

 

[Bdarg]

Re: Have questions about "Blithe Spirit"

If these people that are complaining are such good upstanding christians, why aren't they "turning the other cheek" to this play?

If these people, who by the way have no child in the class or the school for that matter, where good upstanding Christians, they would stand back and allow the REAL parents to attend to the education of their own children. Being one of those REAL parents, I can say that Nohall and others are trying to make this a religious issue. It is not. It is about my child?s education. These complainants have falsely hijacked what was a fine high school drama class and production and in the course have hijacked my child?s opportunity for an education. Let?s get real; Blithe Spirit has been performed for generations at hundreds of high schools across the country with no significant out cry.

In reality we might ought to be talking about how these false parents have hijacked your good Christian religion for their own twisted purposes. That would be a much more appropriate thread. I invite you to start that thread Nohall.

 

[Jdarg]

Re: Have questions about "Blithe Spirit"

Walton Sun article- thanks Sean Boone for writing it and staying on this story.
And thanks to The Seaside Rep for their support.

It has been a trying month for the students, the teacher, the principal, and the parents. I hope the "Concerned Walton County Parents" are having as much fun as we are.

http://story.waltonsun.com/article.display.db.php?a=2142&page=1

 

[Jdarg]

Re: Have questions about "Blithe Spirit"

I can e-mail a copy of the formal complaint- PM your e-mail address and I will be happy to send it on.

 

[florida girl]

Re: Have questions about "Blithe Spirit"

Here's some interesting info concerning the Church/State debate from ACLJ.org:
"The fact is the phrase ?separation of church and state? is not found in the U.S. Constitution ? the framework of our freedom. The ?wall of separation? was first described by Roger Williams, the founder of the Rhode Island colony. A Baptist minister, Williams described the wall that separates the church from government intrusion as being protective, much like the wall that separates a garden from a wilderness. Later, writing to an association of Baptists, Thomas Jefferson used the phrase in 1802 ? more than a decade after Congress drafted the Bill of Rights and sent them to the states for ratification.
The actual provision of the constitution that describes the proper relationship between government and religion is found in the First Amendment, which begins with the phrase ?Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof[.]? Too often, the ?separation of church and state? phrase is allowed to take the place of our actual constitutional provisions.
Consider what Justice Sandra Day O?Connor ? who is often one of the swing votes in church/state cases ? said about the Pledge: ?Certain ceremonial references to God and religion in our Nation are the inevitable consequence of the religious history that gave birth to our founding principles of liberty. It would be ironic indeed if this Court were to wield our constitutional commitment to religious freedom so as to sever our ties to the traditions developed to honor it.? She did not stop there. O?Connor continued: ?It is unsurprising that a Nation founded by religious refugees and dedicated to religious freedom should find references to divinity in its symbols, songs, mottoes, and oaths. Eradicating such references would sever ties to a history that sustains this Nation even today.?

And, then this from Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the majority: ?As its history illustrates, the Pledge of Allegiance evolved as a common public acknowledgement of the ideals that our flag symbolizes. Its recitation is a patriotic exercise designed to foster national unity and pride in those principles.?
Chief Justice William Rehnquist voiced his support for the Pledge with this conclusion: ?The phrase ?under God? in the Pledge seems, as a historical matter, to sum up the attitude of the Nation?s leaders, and to manifest itself in many of our public observances. Examples of patriotic invocations of God and official acknowledgements of religion?s role in our Nation?s history abound . . . All of these events strongly suggest that our national culture allows public recognition of our Nation?s religious history and character.?
In 1990, the Supreme Court determined that the Equal Access Act ? which was passed by Congress and signed into law by the late President Ronald Reagan in the 1980?s ? applied to students in the public school setting ? clearing the way for them to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public secondary school campuses.
In an 8-1 decision, the court adopted an argument that I put forward in oral argument: that public secondary schools that receive federal funds and allow non-curriculum related clubs to meet on campus must also allow Bible clubs and prayer groups to meet on campus during non-instructional time. In the words of Justice Sandra Day O?Connor: ?If a state refused to let religious groups use facilities open to others, then it would demonstrate not neutrality but hostility toward religion.? Justice O?Connor also concluded ?there is a crucial difference between government speech endorsing religion, which the Establishment Clause forbids, and private speech endorsing religion, which the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses protect.? (Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens, emphasis in original, 1990)"

 

[florida girl]

Re: Have questions about "Blithe Spirit"

Another quote:
" Many Americans wrongly assume the words "separation of church and state" are included in the U.S. Constitution.
In fact, the phrase "wall of separation between church and state" was first used by Thomas Jefferson in a letter he wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association in Danbury, Conn., on Jan. 1, 1802, 10 months after his presidential inauguration.
An analysis of that letter -- now housed at the Library of Congress -- as well as other documents from this nation's earliest years and nearly 150 years of legal decisions strongly suggest that Jefferson and his contemporaries would be at odds with the courts today regarding church-state issues, according to the Rev. Bryan Fischer, a minister and executive director of the Idaho Values Alliance in Boise.
Mr. Fischer says Jefferson coined the phrase that some judges are calling overused to "reassure" the Connecticut Baptists that they had "no need to fear oppression from the federal government or its intrusion into the free exercise of religion because the Constitution had erected a 'wall of separation between church and state.' "
"In other words, Jefferson's wall was designed to protect the church from the state, not the other way around," and it "was never intended to insulate the state from the influence of the church," Mr. Fischer wrote in a 2005 opinion piece published in the Idaho Statesman.
Mr. Lynn disagrees and calls opponents "historical revisionists."
"Thomas Jefferson was a longtime champion of not having the state involved in religion," says Mr. Lynn, an ordained minister with the United Church of Christ. "He and James Madison erected a framework for separation of church and state. ... It's clear the majority of the framers of the Constitution had no interest in having government accommodate religion."
Mr. Manion says the two sides in the church-state debate agree that the Founding Fathers opposed allowing government "to make any religion obligatory" or giving one religion preferential treatment over another.
"But we know the framers of the Constitution permitted acknowledgement of religion in the public square. Given the things Jefferson said and did, he would be sued by the ACLU if he were president today," he says."

 

[florida girl]

Re: Have questions about "Blithe Spirit"

One more quote concerning free speech:
"(Virginia Beach, VA) ? The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, said today it will notify the New York City Board of Education that its reported decision to ban the phrase ?God bless you? from school property is not only legally flawed, but represents a dangerous precedent by censoring speech.

?There is no reason a public school cannot display the phrase 'God bless you' on school property,? said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. ?The message is constitutionally protected speech and does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. At a time when America ? especially those schools in communities devastated by the September 11th attacks ? are trying to cope with the pain and suffering of the terrorist attacks ? it appears that New York school officials are overreacting in a manner that has no legal basis and results in censorship. The posting of the phrase 'God bless you' in public schools does not violate the separation of church and state. It is no different than the posting of our national motto, 'In God We Trust.' The message is not only appropriate, but constitutionally protected.?

 

[Jdarg]

Re: Have questions about "Blithe Spirit"

This thread needs to get back on track. We derailed a bit. We are not talking about the Pledge of Allegiance, holding hands and praying around the flagpole, etc.

This is a censorship issue. Thankfully there are many parents at SWHS that do not appreciate unecessary interference in their children's education. This play in no way, shape, or form was infringing on anybody's religous freedoms. It does not promote one religion over another.

Back to the facts.

Noel Coward's play, Blithe Spirit, was chosen by the drama teacher as the fall play. Other public (and private) high schools have performed this play. For whatever reason, an outside party, calling themselves "Concerned Walton County Parents" chose to challenge this play, claiming to be concerned that it was promoting the occult to our children, portrayed marriage in a negative way, and discusses the existence of an afterlife. It is a fictional work. The kids thankfully were adult enough to know this too. I guess the challengers were afraid the kids were going to really take these "evil elements" seriously and go home and start casting spells and raising the dead. Please.

Under a formal challenge, the play cannot be touched, so in the interest of getting something going in a timely manner, the murder mystery/comedy "Any Number Must Die" was chosen, but pulled by the principal when he realized that the "Concerned Parents" would challenge this work as well.

Blithe Spirit was approved at the school level, but the "Concerned Parents" have appealed to the district level. This will be a public meeting.

What does all of this mean? If we put every play under the same microscope that is being used by the "Concerned Walton County Parents", there will be no Shakespeare. No Disney. No Moliere. No Arthur Miller. And on and on.

Don Goodrum, the drama teacher, is an excellent instructor and a well respected and experienced actor. He didn't ask for any of this to happen. He just wants to do his job- teach the kids about drama and the theater, and put on a play without a hassle.

Scooterbug said it best- "It's not a religion/lack of religion issue, it's a common sense/lack of common sense issue. You can't please everybody 100% of the time, and you can't teach in a vacuum."

Harvey, the play about the imaginary white rabbit, is the new play. I heard that there may be some really great t-shirts coming out, "South Walton HS Drama Department Presents A Play. Any Play. We're Not Picky." At least these kids are keeping their sense of humor.

 

[30A Skunkape]

Re: Have questions about "Blithe Spirit"

It is a 'way too much time on your hands' issue, in my opinion.

 

[Bdarg]

Re: Have questions about "Blithe Spirit"

It is a 'way too much time on your hands' issue, in my opinion.

Hey Skunky,

I am sure that what you intended was to say that the faux parents that have hijacked the children's class have just 'way too much time on their hands'.

I am sure that we are in agreement that the parents and the school board need to nip this needless intrusion and violation of our children's education in the bud, and fast.

The current complaint system, from what I understand having read the complaint form and having seen it in action, can be used, and has been used in this case by these faux parents, to hamstring our school and our children. This complaint system is far too open. It is open to the point that anyone coming to the beach on vacation can stop by the public schools pick up a complaint form, fill it out while sitting on the beach and then drop it off on their way back home. By doing so they could lodge a complaint about anything and everything that would force the school to come to a stop until the matter, or matters, is/are resolved at every level of appeal. Absolutely No common sense allowed; AT ALL.

Now I ask you all, who is their right mind would want such a system that allows for no safeguards from abuse?

In my opinion the process needs to be changed to protect the children from outsiders and to allow the REAL parents of the students, the school administration and the school board, to address the REAL concerns. In my opinion the students should also be allowed to have a voice, especially in high school.

That is what this is all about. Not religion or anything else. Religion at best is a red herring that so many people have accidently or on purpose thrown into this discussion over and over. Get with the program. This is about protecting our kids from intruders and making a system in conjunction with the school board that responds quickly and appropriately so that the kids can get on with their education.