A few bloggers recently demonstrated some errant commentary on whether or not we should discard the Catholic School Boards here in Ontario. Of course, being a Catholic, I let out a medium-sized distaste for said commentary. While many other bloggers sided with said commentators, there were an equal number opposed.
Anyhow, John Tory has opened up a can of whup ass with his announcement yesterday. you see, Mr. Tory fully understands the popularity of faith-based education and the amount of votes one might obtain if one can pull it off.
Offering Bill Davis up as a moderator of public opinion in the matter makes it even more laudable. The same Davis that put forward funding to the Catholics in the 80's. Not only does Tory garner votes from religious education supporters of all walks of life, he now gets the votes of the Catholics. You see the Catholics will shore up their Separate School Boards with the notion that other religious-based groups will now be on par and have no reason to oppose their funding.
Tory plans on funding Islamic, Jewish, Hindu and even Christian schools. Now, who's gonna argue with that? Certainly not those bloggers calling for the dismantling of the Catholic School Board. Isn't their argument all about the bias against other faith-based schooling being left out in the cold?
P.S. The logo at the top is my alma mater. I paid tuition there for grades 11-13. I paid for my books and uniforms too. I had to work my butt off during the summer to do it too. Two years after my graduation, Bill Davis put an end to that. Thanks Bill.
P.P.S. Sapere Aude in the logo is a Latin phrase meaning "Dare to know" or "Dare to be wise", or sometimes translated as "Have courage to use your own reason". Thustly I reason.
10 comments:
So tell me then, where do atheists fit in in a multitude of religious schools?
An overwhelming majority do not want to fund religious schools at a cost of at least 400 million dollars a year, a figure I consider a very low estimate. This money has to come out of funding somewhere and most likely the public system which is already underfunded. All of Ontario's children will be in grossly underfunded schools. Not exactly a picture of modernity for Ontario in the 21st century now is it. Neither is dividing your children up along religious lifestyle lines and preventing them from understanding other religions and sometimes cultures first hand.
Sure you can point to pictures in books but thats not a proper way of understanding humans.
A little disappointed, I thought most liberals could see beyond their own religious-centric views to consider the whole of humanity.
Oh well. Guess its time for me to start printing off Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster pamphlets to get people to see past their own intellectual limits and imposed dogma.
Well now.
I guess the atheists can start their own atheist school board, but isn't that what the public school board would be for?
All school boards are underfunded. Having one big happy school board won't alleviate that problem. Schools will be underfunded for eternity as the population grows my friend. We build new schools knowing full well that by the time they open we'll need portables.
We have to reorganize our strategy when building schools/closing schools. Building a new school for 200 students seems illogical when there is going to be a 1000 new homes in the area it is meant to service.
In recent history, there has been a sell off of older schools across the province. The lands are often more valuable for redevelopment and have become a source of revenue for all the boards.
I'm going to hazard a guess that it we had large segments of the population as diverse in religion as there is now, they would have all been written into the BNA Act along with the Catholics.
I see waaaaay past most intellectual limits and imposed domas my friend.
Flying Spaghetti I hope is not suggestive of Roman Catholics which happen to be Italian.
Oops. I meant "dogma". Pardon me.
If the Catholic school board is to be funded, the only viable alternative is to fund all religious / faith based schools that conform to the same standards as Catholic schools. Also, providing them funding would also make them accountable to the province.
Check out the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Yourself. It prevented kansas from adopting Intelligent Design and I am sure it will scare John Tory as well. if you start funding all faith based schools then you know there are people who identify themselves as Jedi, Pastafarians, some groups in asia worship flying teapots. What you religious folk will bring on yourselves will be nothing but pure emabrassment when your faith is put on equal standing with money making cults like scientology flying spaghetti monsters, etc.
Church of FSM
www.venganza.org
Wow, you attribute pasta to the Italians? You catholics think you created everything including the world.
Pasta originated in China since you don't know. Unless of course god said it was made in Italy and then no one can be right except the pope.
Atheists have no faith thus cannot have a faith based board. The public system will be raided. Not many people will identify themselves as atheists, a problem that continues still due to the poisonous atmosphere created by religious ideologues and parish perverts everywhere.
You Catholics? And, Religion is poison?
Interesting.
Oh...and, there are a few Roman Catholic Chinese people around. Maybe one of the bishops might become Pope one day. Wouldn't that throw the Chinese Communist government for a loop?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholicism_in_China
Jay has a point with respect to all the wacky religions that will be able to make claims for funding if you have funding for religious schools. I note that the RC schools have survived charter challenges (ie discrimination based on religion) for years because it has its own separate section and is in that sense beyond the scope of the Charter. If we allow other religions to recieve funding that exemption wont apply anymore. NO discrimination based on religion will be allowed. I dont see why Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Jews, Sikh's etc. should get funded while Jedi, Scientologists, hippy spiritualists, and members of the Flying Spaghetti religion shouldnt. There views seem equally valid to me. The only difference is the number of people who support them and that proves nothing. Are we going to start imposing our view of what is a valid religious view and what isnt?
I also agree with Mezba. All or none. I vote for none.
BTW, Your claim that catholics are Italian is a bit much. I was raised Catholic and went to a catholic school. My background is Irish/French not Italian. I was subsequently raped for lack of a better term by those you consider to know the word of god. You know, those Parish perverts.
I will be the first one to whip off a letter to Mr. Tory to make sure that ALL beliefs are included, including those that are wacky (which is all of them in my mind). Lets see how tolerant religious types are with all religions. And lets see how far Mr. Tory's religion based schools plan really includes all faiths/religions/superstitions/voodoo.
If you want to know where I am coming from, behold the current headline in my hometowns newspaper.
Gulf News
I think this story makes quite the case why not on;ly should religion based schools be extended top other faiths but taken away from Catholics as well.
Care to explain to my why so many kids get raped by priests? The same priests that can be seen walking around Catholic schools?
Besides the sexual abuse there is the mental abuse in form of indoctrination. Religion is a choice not a fact which is evident with interfaith marriages and the fact you have no facts to support religion. We don't condone teaching lies. Then there is the Catholic view of homosexuals. Can you ensure that catholic homosexuals will get the same treatment as they would in Public schools or are they supposed to sit there and be told they are evil, need to be cured, etc. Will respect for same sex marriage ( a law in our country) be respected or will Catholics ignore Ontario law?
Lots of questions but neither you nor John Tory is being truly honest. You seem to just think of the happy times colouring a picture of the nativity scene..
Jay,
While me and millions of other Catholics continue to ba appalled by the revelations of child and sexual abuse within our church, there are 1000's of others suffering the same fit in religious organizations throughout the world. The Baptist Church. The Anglican Church etc.
On behalf of all Catholics, I am sorry for your pain and suffering.
In California the Church is sorry to the tune of 660 Million bucks...and they deserve it!
But to tell me that my kids are going to get raped in a Catholic school as opposed to a public school is absolutely rediculous. And for you to think that the Cathiolic system and the catholic Priests are one in the same is purely ridiculous.
I have four cousins teaching in the system, one ex-wife, one aunt as a principal, one cousin as a principal and no less than 1,000 relatives that have gone through the system.
To state that catholic children are going to be raped in a school because they are catholic is irresponsible and reprehensible.
I, and a million other Catholics in this country, have no issue with SSM, Homosexuality, birth control, a woman's right to choose, etc. But, my kids are going to a Catholic school. End of story.
And because my priest has 6 kids in Mexico (true story) doesn't mean I'm abondoning my faith. Not now, not ever. Likewise, I will not abandon my party or my history of Catholic education.
My children have yet to be taught in the Catholic school system that homosexuality is evil, that birth control is unholy, that abortion is unholy, etc. So I don't know where you're coming from on that one.
I'm not familiar with one single priest that is a teacher in our elementary school system in this entire region. High school is down to an almost zero amount, so I think that point is out the window as well.
Church, politics, education never make for a good mix.
Jay, again, from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry for your pain in suffering. I would like to exact my own retribution on a number of priests on behalf of the victims they claimed.
Post a Comment