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Sikh Takes Christian School To Court. (Read 283 times)
Mr Hammer
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Sikh Takes Christian School To Court.
Jul 25th, 2017 at 7:02pm
 

A Sikh father is fighting for his son’s right to wear a ‘patka’ at a Christian school in Melbourne’s West.

A patka, which is a child-version of a turban, is worn by members of the Sikh faith who do not cut their hair as a symbol of the perfection of God's creation.

Many schools allow the wearing of religious items of clothing, however Sagardeep Singh Arora has taken Melton Christian College to court for refusing to enrol his five-year-old Sidhak son unless he agrees not to wear the patka.

School principal David Gleeson has defended the decision, saying they are proud of the “neutrality” of their uniform.

“He’s identifying himself as something other than the identity of the college and that creates a difference, that takes away the level playing field for himself and other students in the school," Mr Gleeson told The Age.

“I see our students in the playground and I see them totally oblivious to one another’s racial or religious background."
Former college council member Stephen Liefting said the college, despite being a Christian school, was inclusive towards children of all religions but added a caveat.

“As long as they don’t wear clothing that promotes other religions," he told IBT. "We don’t want children standing out as different…we’re inclusive in college."

Which begs the question, what exactly do they think the word 'inclusive' means?
They seem to think that if children look the same or similar, that’s inclusiveness.

Because it’s easy to include someone who looks just like you.

But what inclusiveness means is we include everyone, even those who we perceive as different.

Because that’s a better reflection of the real world, and isn't it our duty to teach our children to live in the real world?

What purpose does it serve to teach children to look the same, act the same, dress the same and think the same when the big wide world is one of difference?

By accepting people of religious diversity, including those who choose to dress as is required by their religion, isn’t that the true lesson of inclusiveness?


image: http://prod.static9.net.au/_/media/2017/06/05/14/09/HONEY-school-kids-playing.jpg


Many schools allow the wearing of religious clothing. Image: Getty

Most schools allow religious clothing to be worn but it could be argued that this school in particular, with its strong Christian identity, isn’t a good choice for anyone wanting to identify as being of a different faith.

So, not inclusive.

The father says he wants his son to attend the school with his cousins because of its good academic reputation, despite the fact it is a Christian school.

He told SBS, “I really feel bad, and disappointed, because I thought this is a modern society, how can a kid not go to the school of his choice, just because he is wearing a religious clothing?”

The school policy does state that it is “committed to living in peace with our fellow Australians irrespective of difference in faith, race or culture”, however draw the line at religious clothing.

Like many religious schools, the uniform policy is strict and not only governs how a uniform is worn, but hairstyle as well.

For boys it states, “Boys’ hair must be short, off the eyebrows, ears and shirt collar with obvious facial hair being removed. Head and/or face coverings that are related to faith-practices of faith other than the Christian faith are not part of the Melton Christian College uniform so may not be worn to school.”

Which means that if Sidhak does agree not to wear the religious head dress at the school he would, according to the uniform policy, have to cut his hair.

So, not inclusive at all.

The case is currently before the court with the father claiming discrimination. His son is attending a local public school in the meantime but it is the family’s hope he is eventually allowed to attend Melton Christian College

Read more at http://honey.nine.com.au/2017/07/25/14/52/a-school-is-not-inclusive-if-they-dont-embrace-religious-differences#B27OeYpfSLqsO09V.99
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Re: Sikh Takes Christian School To Court.
Reply #1 - Jul 25th, 2017 at 7:37pm
 
The schools position seems ironclad, except for one thing - they are christian, so they'll probably get taken to the cleaners.
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Mr Hammer
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Re: Sikh Takes Christian School To Court.
Reply #2 - Jul 25th, 2017 at 7:42pm
 
... wrote on Jul 25th, 2017 at 7:37pm:
The schools position seems ironclad, except for one thing - they are christian, so they'll probably get taken to the cleaners.
I believe they've got a good case Honky. They'll win. Faith based schools make their own rules regarding dress. This trouble making Indian will have to take is kid somewhere else or take the sock of his kids head and get his hair cut.
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Re: Sikh Takes Christian School To Court.
Reply #3 - Jul 25th, 2017 at 7:44pm
 
Its sad to see sikhs engaging in this nonsense.  Although indians as a whole buy into political corrctness in a big way, sikhs are usually pretty solid.  There are bad apples in every group I guess.
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Re: Sikh Takes Christian School To Court.
Reply #4 - Jul 25th, 2017 at 7:47pm
 
... wrote on Jul 25th, 2017 at 7:44pm:
Its sad to see sikhs engaging in this nonsense.  Although indians as a whole buy into political corrctness in a big way, sikhs are usually pretty solid.  There are bad apples in every group I guess.
There's always one who has to be a big shot.
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Re: Sikh Takes Christian School To Court.
Reply #5 - Jul 25th, 2017 at 10:41pm
 
Their position is ironclad. They are allowed to discriminate. I know this first hand having been fired for being a non-christian and looking into whether it was legal.
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Re: Sikh Takes Christian School To Court.
Reply #6 - Jul 25th, 2017 at 11:15pm
 
... wrote on Jul 25th, 2017 at 7:37pm:
The schools position seems ironclad, except for one thing - they are christian, so they'll probably get taken to the cleaners.



Maybe somebody should take the court to school then .....
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“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
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