The Atheist Mama

My children were outside playing recently with the neighborhood children, ranging from the ages of about 6 to 8.  It’s nice, because they are finally at an age that they can go outside and play, without constant supervision.  So my youngest (age 6) comes home suddenly very upset and concerned, complaining that he “didn’t want to have to go live in a volcano!!”  Upon further investigation, I learned that he and his friends where having a discussion about God and Jesus.  Apparently, when this conversation took place, my children informed their friends that God was not real.  To that, they replied that if he “didn’t believe in God, that he would have to go and live in a volcano.”  It would be very hot, and he’d be surrounded by fire forever.  Of course, I managed to ease his fears, and told him that he would certainly not be sent to live in a volcano, so matter how much trouble he got into.  I explained the concept of hell, and assured him that it was just a story to scare little boys into being good.

Now, my children are being raised as atheists, but when they hear conflicting information, it’s confusing to them evidently, because then my 6 year old proceeds to tell me that he needs to be careful because Jesus is in his room watching what he does while he’s alone.  !!!!!  Unreal.  Again, I had to convince him that Jesus was NOT watching his every move.  How absurd is it to tell a six year old that he is being watched by an invisible being lurking in his bedroom?  Are scare tactics really necessary to encourage good behavior?    My children are very well behaved, even without the fear of being burned alive and constant surveillance.  I can’t wait to hear what kind of punishment the neighborhood children are being threatened with next!

This was posted on the Americans Against the Tea Party Facebook page. I don’t care what your political or religious beliefs are. This is some funny $hit.

Yes, it has been nearly 4 years (!!!) since my last post.

But I’m still alive!!  I’m even kind of tempted to bring this blog back to life.  It’s definitely in desperate need of a complete overhaul…

Anyway, on January 7, 2011, we sent this letter to our son’s teacher and principal.  We did not get a response…  Thought I’d share.
(Names have been changed)

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Mrs. *****,

Thank you for calling me this morning regarding my concerns about the discussion of the Epiphany.  I also appreciate that you informed me this morning after our son had already arrived at school that there would be a king cake brought into the classroom, and that you gave us an option to remove our son from the activity.  However, it is hardly fair that our son should be removed from an activity that has no business being in the classroom in the first place.  It would have been more appropriate to remove the activity from the classroom.

It’s also concerning to me that you asked our son if he was allowed to be included in the activity when he arrived at school this morning.  We hadn’t discussed the king cake with him before school because we were unaware that it was going to take place in the first place.  His difficulty with communication has made this situation even more difficult.  To be asked, in front of his peers, if he was allowed to participate in this activity was unfair to him and potentially humiliating.

You did tell me that you were unsure of what kind of “trinket” would be hidden in the cake.  However, when our son came home from school today, he informed us that there were two baby Jesus’ hidden in the cake.  He also informed us that there was further discussion of the “three kings.”  I was very surprised to hear this after notifying you yesterday that this topic was inappropriate and my further reiteration to you over the phone this morning that this topic was inappropriate.

Again, it is not possible to talk about baby Jesus or the wise men in a secular manner, and it is clearly not a topic that should be discussed in the classroom, just as it would not be a classroom topic to discuss Muhammad during Ramadan.  These are topics that have been purposefully precedented to not be discussed in a public school; these are topics that are discussed at Sunday school.  We reserve the right to enroll our children in the Sunday school of our choice, not yours.

We fully expect that there will be no more religious doctrine taught in our school and no more religious events planned for the classroom.

As the instructor in the classroom, it is our expectation that you will instruct on academic topics aligning with the curriculum.

As the authority figure in the classroom, it is our expectation that you will assert your authority to control the classroom when inappropriate discussions or behaviors occur — whether they are enacted by students, faculty, or guests.

Please don’t assume that we are intolerant of others’ beliefs.  We are actually very engaged with our children in educating them about the various active belief systems present in the world.  We simply feel it is not fair, especially by an academic institution, to discuss only one point of view on the subject.

We entrust that another situation such as this will not occur again.

Cassandra Cox