Court rules: Buddha’s fine, God is not

Wisdom Quarterly

Left to right: 1. Sumerian god, 2. Shakyamuni Buddha, 3. Jesus (St. Issa), 4. "Laughing Buddha" (Zen master Hotei), 5. blue Krishna, 6. holy cow (gopis), 7. shaman Tiki idol, 8. sinister crouching figure. (Interpretation: Wisdom Quarterly; image: weheartit.com).

(Cal Catholic) Appeals court says school can force California teacher to remove patriotic classroom banners mentioning God.

SAN DIEGO, California - A Poway high school math teacher who displayed patriotic banners in his classroom that mentioned God has lost his appeal in federal court and been ordered to pay substantial court costs.

Brad Johnson, a teacher at Westview High School in Poway, a suburb of San Diego, was ordered by school officials in 2007 to take down classroom banners [after 25 years on display] that contained historical slogans such as “In God We Trust, ” “One Nation under God, ” as well as the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, because, school officials said, “they may offend a Muslim student.”

...According to the Thomas More Law Center, which represented Johnson, the school district allowed religious classroom displays by other teachers, including one of a 35- to 40-foot string of Tibetan prayer flags with images of Buddha; a poster with the lyrics from John Lennon’s anti-religion song “Imagine;” a poster with Hindu [political] leader Mahatma Gandhi’s “7 Social Sins;” a poster of Muslim leader Malcolm X; and a poster of [Tibetan political "pope" and] Buddhist leader, the 14th Dalai Lama. More

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"The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth" (book)

In a smart, entertaining, reassuring book that reads like fiction, New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Robbins manages to cross Gossip Girl with Freaks and Geeks and explain the fascinating psychology and science behind popularity and outcasthood.

Robbins reveals that the things that set students apart in high school are the things that help them stand out later in life. Robbins follows seven real people grappling with the uncertainties of high school social life, including:

• The Loner, who has withdrawn from classmates since they persuaded her to unwittingly join her own hate club;
• The Popular Bitch, a cheerleading captain both seduced by and trapped within her clique's perceived prestige;
• The Nerd, whose differences cause students to laugh at him and his mother to needle him for not being "normal";
• The New Girl, determined to stay positive as classmates harass her for her mannerisms and target her because of her race;
• The Gamer, an underachiever in danger of not graduating, despite his intellect and his yearning to connect with other students;
• The Weird Girl, who battles discrimination and gossipy politics in school but leads a joyous life outside of it;
• The Band Geek, who is alternately branded too serious and too emo, yet annually runs for class president.

In the middle of the year, Robbins surprises her subjects with a secret challenge -- experiments that force them to change how classmates see them.

Robbins intertwines these narratives -- often triumphant, occasionally heartbreaking, and always captivating -- with essays exploring subjects like the secrets of popularity, being excluded doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you, why outsiders succeed, how schools make the social scene worse -- and how to fix it.

The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth is not just essential reading for students, teachers, parents, and anyone who deals with teenagers, but for all of us, because at some point in our lives we've all been on the outside looking in. More

• Coast to Coast: The Psychology of Highschool
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