It's a pretty extraordinary thing when religious leaders (especially in Texas!) demonstrate more common sense and clear judgment than the state governmental officials do. Yet that is exactly what we're seeing here, and I have to say, it's refreshing as hell.
But here is the real question: once the law goes into effect, how many school systems will actually USE it? My hope is: not bloody many.
Conservative religious nutters always assume forcing their religion into the public schools will have a happy ending. I can see kids with real problem going untreated because they won't talk to anybody who is going to tell them to pray their problems away. The religious-right in this country needs to be permanently disabused of the notion the public schools are a mission field. It is never the job of the public schools, paid for with everyone's tax dollars, to backstop anybody's religion.
“despite having a budget surplus of roughly $32.7 billion.”
If they have a surplus this large, they can make every public school better than any private school, yet they push for vouchers. Don’t tell me the GOP isn’t trying to defund public schools. They certainly shouldn’t be claiming poverty when it comes to hiring or supplies. Republicans make me sick.
As a psychotherapist, I generally didn't counsel teens. They're very challenging and very vulnerable. I admired my fellow counselors who did work with them. My daughter is an LCSW for a middle school, and she's superb at it. Constant drama and trauma. She has prevented deaths several times.
Untrained persons in the role of school counselors will not just be ineffective. They can do serious harm, and untrained persons who think that God is their all-purpose magical fix-it tool can cause disaster.
Imagine kids with abuse at home, or substance abuse, or sexuality issues, or being bullied, or clinical depression, or personality disorders, or combinations of those, coming to or being forced to come to a "school chaplain" who doesn't know his or her ass from a hole in the ground about such things, but babbles on about Jesus, Jesus, Jesus...
Texas is going to have an epidemic of child suicide and child homicide.
And of course any LGBT kids who show up complaining about bullying can be told that it is all THEIR OWN FAULT for going against god swill. FFS, any straight girl who complains about sexual assault will likely be told it is her own fault for being a temptress. And let us NEVER forget how useless all the tots and pears are at preventing shootings.
It is not intended by the Republicans for chaplains to "counsel" for the student's mental or emotional needs, it is so they can further brainwash them, threaten them with their hateful, vengeful god to do as they say; to believe if they don't, they will go the hell and damnation forever. I am really sick and tired of these folks forcing their damn beliefs on the rest of us, especially our children and they are all our children, they are our future. Kudos, to those chaplains who wrote the letter, but let us please not they are not all Christians.
We hear Christian complaints that we have somehow kicked their deity out of the schools. Is that sky pixie so weak that he needs humans to try and bum rush him into those schools?
Joseph Biggs, a member of the Proud Boys who led the way into the Capitol on Jan. 6th, just received a 17-year sentence for his crimes- the second-longest thus far. He, naturally, cried a few not-so-prideful crocodile tears in front of the judge, claiming that he was not, at heart, a violent person (sure, Joe- you 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 attempted to violently overthrow the government while serving as a ringleader for a violent hate group. 𝘛𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 fluke).
The only school districts that are going to listen to these chaplains are the ones who weren't going to do it anyway. Most school boards in Texas are gonna think "great this will be cheaper." You might get a few who will keep *ONE* licensed professional, maybe even one per school, but most are going to go all in on Christian chaplains and the 'weirdos' who aren't cishet, white Christians and are likely the students who need help the most won't even try.
When I was in HS, the school counselor wasn't who you saw about your problems, they were the person you went to for help with your college applications.
The first involves those background checks. As I recall, there's some question about how churches tend to handle people when they've been fired for cause, more specifically, churches don't usually let anyone know about it when there was a suspicion that someone was abusing the kids they should have been caring for. We've seen that a few times here on FA, where the term 'youth pastor' has been a younger adult who then got passed around between churches after being caught with the kids he was supposed to protect, so I'm a shade skeptical that a background on these chaplains would catch much.
Secondly, I noticed that we're talking about the Houston public school district, and there was a story about that same district last night on NBC Nightly News. I'm more than a bit confused as to what Houston is doing with their schools right now; but this might provide some additional background for those interested.
There's some very interesting information at the beginning of the story, I think it's at the 16:08 mark or so, hopefully it linked directly. Be warned, however, this part of the news cast made me very angry last night, and you might find it upsetting as well.
TX resident here (and former Friendly Atheist poster from back in the day - hi again!) and father of a high schooler in the public school system. I've heard about this and it is deeply concerning. If the indoctrination aspect is not concerning enough, counselors are one of the bulwarks for kids in crisis. Not a counselor myself, but clearly there is specialized training needed here for recognizing the signs of crisis, and knowing how to respond. But the thing I've learned about TX in particular, is that further up the leadership chain, there is literally no humanity at all. If it results in a few dozen more teen suicides per year but furthers the goals of the church, Abbott and the like would be no more moved by it that they were about the kids who died in Uvalde.
Will someone tell me why any public school would have a chaplain to begin with? If Christian students need pastoral care services, let them take their concerns to their pastors off-campus.
It's a pretty extraordinary thing when religious leaders (especially in Texas!) demonstrate more common sense and clear judgment than the state governmental officials do. Yet that is exactly what we're seeing here, and I have to say, it's refreshing as hell.
But here is the real question: once the law goes into effect, how many school systems will actually USE it? My hope is: not bloody many.
It can be a disaster for LGBTQI+ students but I wouldn't ne surprised if it was one of the goals of this fucked up law.
Conservative religious nutters always assume forcing their religion into the public schools will have a happy ending. I can see kids with real problem going untreated because they won't talk to anybody who is going to tell them to pray their problems away. The religious-right in this country needs to be permanently disabused of the notion the public schools are a mission field. It is never the job of the public schools, paid for with everyone's tax dollars, to backstop anybody's religion.
“despite having a budget surplus of roughly $32.7 billion.”
If they have a surplus this large, they can make every public school better than any private school, yet they push for vouchers. Don’t tell me the GOP isn’t trying to defund public schools. They certainly shouldn’t be claiming poverty when it comes to hiring or supplies. Republicans make me sick.
As a psychotherapist, I generally didn't counsel teens. They're very challenging and very vulnerable. I admired my fellow counselors who did work with them. My daughter is an LCSW for a middle school, and she's superb at it. Constant drama and trauma. She has prevented deaths several times.
Untrained persons in the role of school counselors will not just be ineffective. They can do serious harm, and untrained persons who think that God is their all-purpose magical fix-it tool can cause disaster.
Imagine kids with abuse at home, or substance abuse, or sexuality issues, or being bullied, or clinical depression, or personality disorders, or combinations of those, coming to or being forced to come to a "school chaplain" who doesn't know his or her ass from a hole in the ground about such things, but babbles on about Jesus, Jesus, Jesus...
Texas is going to have an epidemic of child suicide and child homicide.
And of course any LGBT kids who show up complaining about bullying can be told that it is all THEIR OWN FAULT for going against god swill. FFS, any straight girl who complains about sexual assault will likely be told it is her own fault for being a temptress. And let us NEVER forget how useless all the tots and pears are at preventing shootings.
It is not intended by the Republicans for chaplains to "counsel" for the student's mental or emotional needs, it is so they can further brainwash them, threaten them with their hateful, vengeful god to do as they say; to believe if they don't, they will go the hell and damnation forever. I am really sick and tired of these folks forcing their damn beliefs on the rest of us, especially our children and they are all our children, they are our future. Kudos, to those chaplains who wrote the letter, but let us please not they are not all Christians.
We hear Christian complaints that we have somehow kicked their deity out of the schools. Is that sky pixie so weak that he needs humans to try and bum rush him into those schools?
OT- Try to overturn one Presidential election... spend the next four in a concrete box: https://apnews.com/article/capitol-riot-proud-boys-sentencing-seditious-conspiracy-5c8bf8a8e5dc6381e7387e31e554cee6
Joseph Biggs, a member of the Proud Boys who led the way into the Capitol on Jan. 6th, just received a 17-year sentence for his crimes- the second-longest thus far. He, naturally, cried a few not-so-prideful crocodile tears in front of the judge, claiming that he was not, at heart, a violent person (sure, Joe- you 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 attempted to violently overthrow the government while serving as a ringleader for a violent hate group. 𝘛𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 fluke).
The only school districts that are going to listen to these chaplains are the ones who weren't going to do it anyway. Most school boards in Texas are gonna think "great this will be cheaper." You might get a few who will keep *ONE* licensed professional, maybe even one per school, but most are going to go all in on Christian chaplains and the 'weirdos' who aren't cishet, white Christians and are likely the students who need help the most won't even try.
When I was in HS, the school counselor wasn't who you saw about your problems, they were the person you went to for help with your college applications.
"despite having a budget surplus of roughly $32.7 billion. "
OK ... what do they DO with all that money then????????????
Not so damned late now, am I? :)
OT- Hey, Republicans, look- it's another case of voter fraud!
https://apnews.com/article/alabama-lawmaker-voter-fraud-749b9ec26ab9c693cf51379a1b0a4b36
...by a Republican legislator.
So two things here, really.
The first involves those background checks. As I recall, there's some question about how churches tend to handle people when they've been fired for cause, more specifically, churches don't usually let anyone know about it when there was a suspicion that someone was abusing the kids they should have been caring for. We've seen that a few times here on FA, where the term 'youth pastor' has been a younger adult who then got passed around between churches after being caught with the kids he was supposed to protect, so I'm a shade skeptical that a background on these chaplains would catch much.
Secondly, I noticed that we're talking about the Houston public school district, and there was a story about that same district last night on NBC Nightly News. I'm more than a bit confused as to what Houston is doing with their schools right now; but this might provide some additional background for those interested.
https://youtu.be/bbcpP_zDW2g?t=965
There's some very interesting information at the beginning of the story, I think it's at the 16:08 mark or so, hopefully it linked directly. Be warned, however, this part of the news cast made me very angry last night, and you might find it upsetting as well.
TX resident here (and former Friendly Atheist poster from back in the day - hi again!) and father of a high schooler in the public school system. I've heard about this and it is deeply concerning. If the indoctrination aspect is not concerning enough, counselors are one of the bulwarks for kids in crisis. Not a counselor myself, but clearly there is specialized training needed here for recognizing the signs of crisis, and knowing how to respond. But the thing I've learned about TX in particular, is that further up the leadership chain, there is literally no humanity at all. If it results in a few dozen more teen suicides per year but furthers the goals of the church, Abbott and the like would be no more moved by it that they were about the kids who died in Uvalde.
Will someone tell me why any public school would have a chaplain to begin with? If Christian students need pastoral care services, let them take their concerns to their pastors off-campus.
OT- Move over, Florida Man... Nebraska Man wants in on the wackiness: https://apnews.com/article/bull-riding-shotgun-car-nebraska-66fae470523cf1f45739773c6ae2a820