The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is in hot water, this time for being too accommodating. The board came under attack this week after allowing an imam to lead Muslim students in prayer on school property.
A Hindu group, in particular, has openly criticized the Board for allowing the prayer sessions in a cafeteria at Valley Park Middle School in Flemingdon Park.
Ron Banerjee, director of Canadian Hindu Advocacy, said the Board has gone too far this time. “….Pretty soon we’re going to have 50 different ethnicities and religions asking for different accommodations.”
Superintendent of inclusive schools for the board, Jim Spyropoulos claimed parents and teachers at the school came up with the idea of holding the prayer meetings at the school, so it's more than 300 observant students wouldn't have to miss class time -- an arrangement which is entirely funded the school itself.
“I think it’s important to note the prayer isn’t conducted under the auspices of the board,” said Spyropoulos. “The principal was creative enough to sit down with parents and come up with a solution that worked for everyone and there has not been a single complaint from within the community.”
Similar arrangements have been made at other schools for Muslim students throughout the board.
In 2000, the TDSB introduced a "religious accommodation policy" which outlines ways to allow for modesty (in gym class), fasting and dietary requirements, among other things. It also stipulates certain issues that aren't open to compromise, such as public safety or health.
Although prayer has a long history within Canadian schools, when the Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into play in 1982, routine school prayers were considered a violation of "students’ rights to freedom of conscience and religion".
So hosting a prayer group on school property is ok, provided it's not inside the classroom. What do you think -- inclusive policy or preferential treatment?
It's a brave new world out there, no question. Technology may well be the way of the future. Unlike many parents who want to put off the inevitable and limit their kids' amount of screen time, one teen is actually rebelling against her parents by refusing to tweet.
According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, 49-year-old parents Fred and Joanne Wilson want their kids to be as tech savvy as possible. Between them, the Wilsons publish a total of nine blogs that cover topics ranging from start-ups to music and cooking. Their oldest child, 20-year-old Jessica, has two blogs, as does little sister Emily, 18. The "baby" of the family, 15-year-old Joshua, also has a blog and is studying web coding.
The way to get Father Wilson's goat is clearly to go offline. A New York City venture capitalist who has invested in companies including Tumblr, Foursquare, Zynga and Etsy, Wilson is on the board of directors at Twitter and Etsy. Obviously, he wants Jessica to be a chip off the old block. But Jessica refused to jump on the Twitter bandwagon. The rebel.
“For years I tried to get my girls to shop on Etsy," lamented Wilson. "They just didn’t get it. Then last spring my daughter came home from college and told me that she was ‘addicted to Etsy.’ … Yesss.”
According to a Pew Internet & American Life Project study, 47% of American adults claim to use at least one social-networking site.
In 2005 the Wilsons even started a family podcast whereby they’d sit at the kitchen counter taking turns discussing their week and playing DJ. Ultimately, the Wilson girls gave up, decrying the ritual as “embarrassing".
But like many parents, Fred Wilson is confident that his daughter will ultimately see the wisdom of his ways. To prove his point, he adds that a Google search on “Jessica Wilson,” his daughter’s website ranks tops in spite of her common name.
Do you think Father Wilson is shooting himself in the foot? Should we push our kids or let them pave their own way for technology? Do you ever worry your kids will get left behind?
She may not be your first choice when it comes to worshipping at the pop altar. But as Simon Beck of the Globe & Mail reported, a Katy Perry concert proved the perfect opportunity for some father-daughter bonding. Like Madonna before her, Perry's appeal is massive and somewhat surprising -- spanning the wet teenage dreamers, to the soccer moms, grandmothers and ponytailed Dora lovers alike.
When Beck took his eight-year-old daughter to Perry's recent Air Canada Centre gig, he was not disappointed by the "rainbow of candy-coloured bling". You kind of have to wonder at his choice. Perry is more known for her “sex kittenry” -- so much so that Sesame Street deemed her too hot for Big Bird to handle.
No doubt a pop concert of this size is a rite of passage for every kid. I remember my own first gig -- at the Forum to see Cyndi Lauper elevated in a trashcan. What Lauper sold was kookiness in spades, while Perry merely sells sex. You have to wonder about her suitability as a pop icon for a young girl.
Yet Beck argues that Perry's music is "kid-friendly" and instantly danceable. Sure, if you disregard all the sexual innuendo borrowed from new hubby, potty-mouthed Russell Brand. Beck even went so far as to claim Perry is -- ahem -- cut from the same cloth as Marc Bolan, Robert Plant and Joey Ramone, and that her special effects rivalled those of Pink Floyd.
No doubt the two-hour spectacle was fabulous, with enough costume changes to make Gaga jealous. At one point Perry reportedly balanced on a pink cloud and danced with gingerbread men, and allowed the kids to rush on stage for the requisite photo ops.
Still, you have to wonder how lyrics about "kissing a girl and liking it" washed with Beck's daughter. Perhaps this writer is old-fashioned, but give me Cyndi in her garbage can any day.
Katy Perry continues her Canadian tour this week, wrapping up in Vancouver on July 19th.
Image Credit: katyperry.com
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