I found a similar double standard with regards to discrimination while researching GLBT students. My husband and I were raised Catholic. For the last five years he has worked at a nursery school in a Jewish temple. It has been fascinating learning all of the holidays, traditions and prayers. Judaism is a beautiful religion, and you are right that there should be far more content about it in our cuirriculums.

You make a great point when you say cite the comment "that Hitler’s anti-Semitism is rooted in culture, not religion" Too many history classes in high school overlook this and fail to mention how the church turned a blind eye to the holocaust as well. Should this all be covered in history classes or should there be a human relations course become a standard in high schools?

You pointed out another good example of maintaining the dominant culture that Dr. B. has been hammering home - that Christian values dominate the schools. If you have not seen the movie (I didn't check what you deconstructed) you should watch "Constantines Sword" Although the movie goes into more issues than just antisemitism, the movie does look at the "infiltration" of evangelistic Christian churches in the Air Force Academy and the effects it has/is having on Jewish cadets there.

Thank you everyone for your reply's even though I had no questions posted! Its been a busy week! One major question I want to address is how many of us think that the media does discriminate when it comes to reporting racism? Is discrimination against Jews pushed to the side because the group isn't known for their skin color (even though there are many Jewish colored people)

I also wanted to discuss the rise in Muslim/Jewish violence at our universities...does anyone have a theory as to why this is occurring?

And lastly, the obvious question, are teachers in the US pushing christian values by not explaining the whole truth in historical events which make the christian religion look bad? Teachers fault or text book's fault?

I would not blame the teachers in the US for pushing Christian values.... I would think it is more due to the approved textbooks. I could be wrong. I think a lot of it has been an honest oversite or something that schools haven't figured out how to handle. So, they just keeping what we've been teaching for years.

I agree Jewish history isn't very well covered in US Schools, despite having a large Jewish population.

First off, I like how you made a quick link back to the list of all the students... I'm gonna steal that idea now. Thanks!

Does the separation of church and state play a part in this?

Hey my name is Mark Madson. I am a Jew growing up in Westchester County, New York. I was asked specifically to comment about the below question and my experience as a Jew.
Please share how a K-12 teacher could have made you or your marginalized group's schooling a more positive experience. What do you wish the teachers had known?"
It is an interesting question for me because the area that I grew up in had a very prominent and successfully integrated Jewish community. In fact it was not until I graduated high school that I began to recognize that the rest of the country wasn't anything like where I grew up. When I went to college I met a number of people who had never met a Jew or heard of their experiences. This was real strange to me as everyone in my high school had been invited to at least two or three bar mitzvahs. In school many of my teachers were Jewish but overall there wasn't a concerted effort to teach about Jewish history beyond the holocaust and that segment usually included gruesome pictures that made you forget about eating lunch but presented it as a horror of what the nazis did and not as a consequence of what the people of europe didn't do. I'm upset that its rarely taught of in the context of how the population did not stop it. How people were fine letting other people die for no good reason. I think its an important lesson that is under played. People think of the holocaust or any example of Jewish oppression and only think of the villains, the hitlers, and not of the real culprits, the people who did nothing to stop him. I've been reading some of the comments and I think someone hit it right on the nail when they said its a matter of textbooks and what can be taught. Unfortunately, the history of the human population is full of examples of people acting inhumanly. The slave trade, the centuries of war and hatred are common for all people.

Think that in most high school classes you have 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week, 9 months a year to cover the entire human existence. Proportionally speaking, the Jews are less than 1 percent of 1 percent of the world's population (I am not sure of this but its a small amount - 18 mil out of 6 billion) and yet their suffering has in some ways gained a prominent status. I don't think that Jewish suffering has been downplayed in school I just think that people are not taught to understand how it relates to them. The african american, the LGBT, the poor kid, the underpriveleged and discriminated are taught of the holocaust and Jewish oppression as if it happened to someone else and don't realize how the Jewish story resonates for all people. This month will be the holy Passover festival for the Jewish people. It is a story of a people who against all the odds escaped their mighty oppressors and started a new civilization. In fact all the Jewish holidays are a celebration of survival and overcoming. I guess my only wish was that my teachers taught about the Jews as an example for all people. I mean thousands of years of oppression at the hands of the greatest empires the world has ever seen (Assyrians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Nazis) and as they have passed into the sands of time the Jew still exists. If thats not an inspirational story that can bring people together I don't know what is. If nothing else I wish people just understood what it meant, that no power or dictator can ever eradicate a people devoted to liberty, security and freedom. So i guess I wish my teachers had framed it less as "look what happened to THEM and what THOSE nasty people did to THEM." Ultimately the civilians who let discrimination happen are responsible and it would be nice to hear that taught more often. That way the next time a student hears discrimination against anyone, not just the jews, he can see how dangerous that can become. God forbid future textbooks show bad stuff we let happen

where i went to school in new york there wasnt much religious influence of any type except for saying under god in the pledge of allegiance. I see a lot of influence of christianity in government and i think thats a problem. I dont want more jewish representation or anything because i really think there should be no religious influence on government at all. A lot of people might not fall into any of the major religions or may be atheist and i dont think they should feel like the government doesnt represent them. To me religion is a private matter that is dealt with on an individual basis and so when i see politicians talk about god and judeo-christian ethics i get kind of offended as if a person from another religion couldnt be an ethically good person. Coming from my Jewish background i realize the importance of keeping religion private because that way i think people will be less likely to discriminate against a certain religion. If the majority of one country is vehemently and publicly for a certain religion than it will always end with a segment of the population feeling left out. In the schools I've been to there has been a very definite separation of church and state but more and more I see the government taking on a more religious tone. Part of this I believe is because a lot of Americans view the muslim religion as a threat and so want their government to take on a more christian stance. This is just my opinion. It bothers me when someone like Bush talks openly about religion in his decision making process because a lot of people of other faiths might be thinking, "well why isnt he using my belief to make decisions?" Personally I know that for people of faith there is no separating their decisions from their faith because it is an integral part of who they are. The problem is when they state it publicly. That is just my opinion.

This was very interesting to me. Growing up in Maine, 3 of my 6 close high school girlfriends were Jewish. I had a close up look at the culture and traditions but we did not think much of it on any level. Since I have been in Minnesota, 20 years now, it has become more of an issue. I spent my first 12 years in St. Cloud and the Jews I met up there reported it was the most racist place they had ever lived. The Jewish religion is almost more of a culture here in the United states. It will be interesting to see how evolution unfolds with the 20 somethings.
You met all criteria.

1. Research your topic. 5 refs-2 hard copy 25 points
2. Synthesize 200-400 words 25 points
3. Respond to peers. 25 points
4. Introductory statement from guest. Attend 25 points