hmmmm....did you see this....

Suprised no one picked up on ,and mentioned this.
Last week there was an article in the Observer, later picked up by the Daily mirror, about a pupil being excluded from lessons (placed in solitary?!) for having her hair plaited . The plaits were the tiny ones, they were weaved against her head, not flapping around or anything. The school said it was unnaceptable, wasn't part of her 'culture' or something .
Now scuse me.............last year I posted on here about my kids being taught various piggin faiths, making divali candles in art class to celebrate a muslim festival etc ( bear in mind there isn't one muslim child in my kids school)
as I said, at the time thats not part of their culture but the school sees it part of learning and part of the national (or should that international) curriculum.
I saw the pics of this girls hair, it was far tidier than pig tails, no fringe over her eyes, it looked neat and it wasn't done in crazy colours or anything.
The secondary school who made an issue out of it is the one i attended, its always been strict, overly so. But I think excluding this girl from class for this was nothing short of petty and ridiculous.Schools now insist we embrace other cultures and races, so how they justify making an issue out of a white child having plaits?Surely its racist? I raised my kids to be colour blind when it comes to people , it shouldn't matter , if this kid had come to school with a mohican I could understand the fuss.

pc culture in our midst again empress.toleration is preached to christians all the time.the pc outfit never sees fit to censure extremism views that are a daily diet for us all.i havent heard a whimper yet about the tv program shown last week, regarding the hate preached from the pulpits in the ******s here in the UK.the silence is deafening.

It just seems so petty, if a kid was causing mayhem , constantly late, bullying etc punish em, but excluded for a hair do.........how daft are they?!

I read the story in the paper. Its crazy! Its just plaits for goodness sake! I agree there is too much emphasis in schools about teaching about other faiths.
The programme about the crazy preachers advocating hate was over shadowed by all that stupid stuff in the press about Jade Goody.

I wont get started on religion, it stinks

I take it then truckerdave that you "aint seen the light"?

I think what you really mean is that Dave HAS seen the light. Here in Oz there appears to be a frightening trend for the government to be leaning towards the religious right,I say frightening because there are extremists among Christians and can be just as austere and dangerous as the Muslims.
I've said this before,children should not be subjected to religious indoctrination,in state schools especially,they should be left until they are at least 13 or 14,when they can make up their own minds. Teach them tolerance by all means but it doesn't need a religious dogma or superstition to achieve that. As for learning about other cultures we were always told about them,unfortunately it was the sanitised version,much the same as we were "educated" on our own national history.
I will agree with one thing and that is that a person's freedom of speech and expression should not be curtailed in deference to minority groups.

Hi disco diva
I have been an unbeliever since my sister died at standish traffic light's aged 38, in August 2000, under the wheel's of a truck with an impatient driver, who walked away without so much as a slap on the wrist even with 17 witnesses against him
So I dont believe there is a light

Im so sorry to read about what happened to your sister dave. How truly awful for you and your family. No wonder you feel the way that you do.

Thankyou disco diva, much appreciated

Sheesh Dave thats a terrible thing to happen .Am so sorry to hear that your family have gone through that.
Families at least should have justice, then they can eventually live with it.

Thankyou disco diva and empress for your thought's'
Totally agree with you aussie roy

on a clear dayyyy
you can see for everrr
and the glow of your being, outshines every starrr
if you look at the history of religion, you would be hard nosed not to notice the violence associated with the differant factions, all concerned with saving our souls?look at the violence in the world today, and whats behind it all...religion.they are all(diff faiths) out to keep our minds in chains.my beliefs are on a diff wave length to the bible thumping(koran)thumping clerics.

freedom of choice, and i aint doctrinating no-one.