alt.education

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/article/2008/03/11/kersten-keep-church-and-state-separate-least-when-church-islamic.html


Kersten: Keep church and state separate, at least when the "church" is
Islamic
By Andy Birkey , Minnesota Monitor
March 14, 2008

In yesterday’s Strib, the ever-vigilant Katherine Kersten blew the whistle
on what she deems a disturbing violation of the doctrine of church/state
separation by a local charter school founded by the Muslim American Society
of Minnesota. “The line between religion and culture is often blurry,”
warns Kersten. “Under the U.S. and state constitutions, a public school can
accommodate students’ religious beliefs but cannot encourage or endorse
religion.” The object of her disapproval is the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy
(TIZA) in Inver Grove Heights. “TIZA raises troubling issues about taxpayer
funding of schools that cross that line,” she frets.

But to paraphrase Orwell, Kersten appears to believe some separations of
church and state are more equal than others.

Last fall, Kersten wrote approvingly about the “classical curriculum” being
used in several Twin Cities charter schools. The classical curriculum, it
turns out, is tinged with Christianity. The group that brought the
classical curriculum to Twin Cities charter schools is called the Friends
of Ascension. Friends of Ascension got its start in 2003 when Ascension
Academy was created on the grounds of the Ascension Catholic Church in
Minneapolis, a move that raised eyebrows when the Minnesota Department of
Education approved the “secular” charter school.

The Friends of Ascension then began to open more charter schools throughout
the Twin Cities with a current total of 18 as of 2008. The classical
curriculum model, which Kersten touted, has been implemented in about a
half dozen of Friends’ charter schools throughout the Twin Cities.

The Society for Classical Learning, a national organization, says its
mission is “to facilitate and encourage thinking and discussion among
professionals associated with Christ-centered education in the liberal arts
tradition… The Society is committed to historic Christianity as expressed
in the Nicene Creed and to exploring the relationship of Christ to the
broader culture.”

The Nova Classical Academy, a Friends of Ascension charter school is a
member of the Society for Classical Learning, uses a “classical
curriculum,” and accepted $1,113,730.65 in taxpayer money in the 2006-07
school year.


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You are invited to check out the following:

The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm

American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm

The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html

[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]

HRSepCnS · Historical Reality SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/

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. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
. . .
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USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote

"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"

That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.

It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.

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THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
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