Mom Sends Letter To Teacher, Won’t Let Son Do Homework

Fuming Mom

She made her way into his room and grabbed the diary from his bed before rushing to the kitchen. She got a pen out of her bag and started scribbling on the blank piece of paper. She was livid as she pressed the pen so hard against the paper that it nearly snapped.

She could feel her anger only getting worse as she angrily wrote the words, “He will NOT be taking part in this in any sort of way!!”. She then slammed the pen against the counter. She hadn’t been this angry ever before. But why was she so angry?

Hard Working

Tara Cali’s day worked on a tight schedule. She was a mother, a wife and a full-time employee. She sometimes struggled to find a good balance between all of it, but she prioritized helping her son with his homework.

Tara wanted her son to taught well at school, but she knew there was a clear line between appropriate and inappropriate lessons.

Dropping Him Off

The day started off normal. She spent the morning making her son breakfast and preparing lunch for school before handing him his shoes and dropping him off.

They waved at each other as he walked through the school doors. She then made her way to work, smiling at the perfect weather they were having. The beautiful day contrasted her impending rage.

What?

Later, she collects her son from school and asks him about his day. He smiles as he tells her about playing with his friends and learning ‘lots and lots and lots of new things!’. Tara listens enthusiastically.

Then he says something Tara didn’t quite understand. She looked at him inquisitively. “Are you speaking gibberish now?”, she laughs. But it wasn’t gibberish, he was saying something she couldn’t fathom.

What He Learned

After they got home, Tara prepared dinner and they all sat down to eat. She was speaking to her husband about his day when her son started speaking gibberish again. She laughed as she told her husband that apparently, this is what they teach kids nowadays.

Then she turned to her proud-looking son and told him to stop messing around. But he wasn’t messing.around. He was saying exactly what he learnt today. Suddenly, his chin fell.

She Heard It

He couldn’t believe that his parents weren’t praising his good memory and impressive new skill. He ate his dinner in silence until he was allowed to get up nd go do his homework.

Tara cleaned the kitchen while he worked in the next room, and that’s when she heard it. The sound that would cause her to throw a fit.

Disgrace

She made her way over to her son and snatched the phone from his hands, “What is this?” She asked in an odd tone. He was confused by her reaction as he answered. ““Where did you get this? Who showed this to you?” She begged him to tell her, she needed answers right now. He answered

She was livid! She wanted to know what went on in his teacher’s head. He was too young for this. She couldn’t control her rage as she spat, “This is absolutely sickening! A complete disgrace!”.

Ignorance

Now it all makes sense. The words her son was speaking earlier weren’t gibberish at all. He was saying something that hit the core of her ignorance. She was never exposed to this kind of thing.

She looks at her son, who is now distressed as he feels he did something wrong. She quickly reassures him that it’s not his fault and he didn’t do anything wrong but his teacher, on the other hand, will pay.

Angry Note

She closes the page that’s open on her son’s phone, grabs his homework diary and storms into the kitchen. She grabs a pen and writes a note to his teacher, pushing down on the paper so hard, it nearly rips.

She is livid as she writes that he “will NOT be taking part in this in any sort of way”!! She calls the teacher out for being a bad teacher and if she has a problem with it, call her her lawyer!

Karma

She went to her bedroom and sat on her bed as she opened Facebook. She was so angry and determined to get revenge on the teacher that she decided to post about it on Facebook.

She told her son exactly what to do when he handed her the note, and she couldn’t wait for karma to teacher her a lesson, but karma was targeting someone else

Not Backing Down

The teacher was dumbfounded at Tara’s response to her son’s homework and took it up with the school board. She then asked Tara’s son why he refused to do the homework and he let them know that his mother told him not to.

Why would she do that? What was he saying and how did it relate to his homework? Why all this uproar?

World Religion Day

Tara’s son was given the homework of listening to some Muslim prayers through a QR code printed on his homework diary. That day they had learnt a bit about Islamic prayer and beliefs.

It was a day of world religion teachings as the teacher and school felt it was important to educate kids on the different religions of the world to enlighten any religious ignorance. But this wasn’t how Tara saw it.

Seriously?

‘How about Christian practices? That sheet has never came home, this year or last! [sic]’ she added to her written tirade.

Under the QR code that students were invited to scan to hear the call to prayer from a Mosque in Istanbul, Cali simply wrote, ‘Seriously?’ and penned in six Bible verses instead. And the reason?

Christianity Only

Tara considered this an ‘indoctrinate into the religion’ and resented the idea that her son be taught anything other than Chistianity. She proved her point by quoting several bible verses at the end of her note.

But now that the teacher was equipped with all the facts of the matter, she was ready to set Tara straight, but she wasn’t the only one. Remember that facebook post?

Heated Debates

It took off and created a heated debate online about what should and shouldn’t be taught in schools. Some users shamed Tara for her views saying:

“I am a teacher and completely agree that this should be taught as a part of world history curriculum. And that QR code is an awesome, interactive idea. I actually love this assignment”. But others disagreed.

Going Viral

While you’d think that Tara’s Facebook post would mostly be ignored by most of the world, it managed to rack up 38,000 likes and more than 123,000 shares.

Some of the comments from parents accuse the government of ‘brainwashing’ their children and insist that Christianity is being sidelined in favor of Islamic teachings in schools.

Support

“GOOD FOR YOU MOM! We, as Americans, need to stand up for Christianity, which ARE the principals on which this country was founded!” one supporter wrote.

Another user said: “Seventh graders do not, nor never had, “world history”. First, they need to learn Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton. So….NO. don’t try to tell me that this should be a part of their studies.”

Not Alone

Judging from the support Tara initially received, she’s not alone in her views. “If you can’t teach Jesus you shouldn’t be able to teach Islam,” quipped another user.

But there’s a problem with this. America isn’t actually a Christian country. And, in U.S. schools, teachers are allowed to teach students about Jesus. Here’s where things started to heat up.

A Divisive Issue

After so much initial support from likeminded people, Tara’s post started to gain traction in circles with opposing views – especially teachers.

They pointed out that learning about a range of religions and cultures is a standard component of the curriculum in California, and it is essential for a well-rounded education. And, ironically, the textbook does include chapters about Christianity.

A Standardized Curriculum

One teacher wrote: “Let me first say, I’m a Christian, but I feel like you’re taking this a little far. This is a part of World History. It’s not to force religion upon your child…”

“Remember that the teaching method is standardized. So that’s a California thing. So good luck trying to find a different school that’s NOT going to teach that textbook in this state.”

The American Civil Liberties Union

While U.S. schools have the right to teach their students about the different religions around the world, they may not “advance particular religious beliefs” upon them. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, “The school’s approach to religion is academic, not devotional.”

Awareness, Not Indoctrination

The American Civil Liberties Union expands on that: “The school may strive for student awareness of religions, but should not press for student acceptance of any religion. The school may sponsor study about religion, but may not sponsor the practice of religion.”

But Tara is not the only one who opposes schools teaching students about different religions.

More Protests

In Tennessee, Parents outraged parents also voiced their anger that students are being taught the five pillars of Islam. In Georgia, people have formed a Facebook group with more than 4,000 members in order to contest “Georgia’s Islamic Curriculum.”

There is growing anger about the way the U.S. school system is approaching Islam. Unfortunately, the movement seems to be fuelled by the misconception that all Muslims are extremists. But it’s not the first time parents have been up in arms over Islam, and it certainly won’t be the last…

Brother Rice High School

Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills has come under fire by dozens of angry parents for their “prayer room” on the school’s grounds.

Because the Catholic school has more than a dozen Muslim students, the school president decided to let them use a “sacred space” to pray. But when the parents heard about it, the complaints came pouring in.

“Unconscionable!”

Parents wrote in to 7 Acion News, complaining that the prayer room at the school is “unconscionable,” with one mother even saying that the religious education she’s paying for is undermined by Muslim students using the prayer room to practice their religious beliefs.

So, how did the prayer room come about on the Catholic school grounds?

A “Sacred Space”

The school president, John Birney, explains: “When the question was ‘Is there a place that I can pray?’, the answer that evolved was yes. We have this ‘sacred space’ available for you if you want it.”

When responding to the complaints, John said: “My quick response is, all Catholic schools have as part of their admissions that they don’t discriminate based on race, creed, color.”

Tolerance

When asked about the parents complaining about the prayer room, John spoke about tolerance: “Is this something that compromises our faith and identity, or is it in fact consistent with the respect that we have.”

“We are Catholic in the sense that we share the good news, we are not Catholic in the sense, ‘Hey if you’re not Catholic don’t bother coming here.'”

Mutual Respect

John added that his Muslim students must conform to the Catholic curriculum, like all his other students – which they have. He says that they respect the Catholic faith, so it’s only right that the school respects theirs.

After the backlash Tara Cali and her supporters received on Facebook, maybe they should follow this Catholic school’s example?

The Debate Rages

“The only thing I see here is how closed minded you are. I’m not very religious but last time I checked, Christianity promoted forgiveness, understanding, treating others with respect, and do unto others as you wish to be done unto you,” another user wrote on Tara’s post.

Tara had to create a new facebook page after the fiery debate and backlash, but the fight continues as she is dead set on holding her ground as a proud christian.

What Do You Think?

Despite what some people think about the Islamic faith, most people agreed that Tara’s behavior was unacceptable.

The outpouring of support for the U.S. education system that people showed on Tara’s Facebook post proves that most people are generally accepting of different cultures and religions. In fact, a well-rounded education that includes teaching about religions will help students function in modern society. What do you think?