Entries Tagged 'The 1980's' ↓

Five years later, Jo-Ellen was in the middle school spring concert.   It was the same old story; the music department produced concerts for Christians.  This time, I didn’t walk out; there was no point to be made. There had been no change in the direction of the school administration.

But, we had already decided that Jo-Ellen would not be participating in any more Port Jervis choral productions or classrooms, for that matter.  The area was in an economic decline and the school system had become mediocre, at best.   In her new academic location, she would sing a lot of Christian songs; hear a lot of Christian dogma. But that wouldn’t be a problem, it was to be expected.

Separated by six years, Adam and Jo-Ellen both attended Pope John XXIII high school in Sparta, New Jersey.  There were only a handful of non-Catholics in the student body, but here, the diversity was respected.  This school was about academic excellence.  Participation in religious class was, of course, mandatory, but that was not a problem for me because I expected Christian dogma to be part of the curriculum.  It was not a detriment for our children to learn about Catholicism, but rather, a valuable learning experience.  They had an insider’s view into the Christian world.  That knowledge could only help to de-mystify the religious propaganda and strengthen their ability to define themselves.

There was only one overt incident that I recall during Adam’s high school career.  It was an altercation with a football player that had repeatedly taunted him, calling him “dirty Jew”.  Finally, Adam hit the boy with a ruler.

The administrative response was swift and thoughtful.  Father McHugh, the Principal, was very upset.  He called to inform me of the incident, and apologized.  He met with the boy’s parents, the boy was given school suspension for a week, and after mowing the football field a few times, the incident was closed. 

Since Adam had thrown the first punch, he had a punishment, too.  Because we lived so far from school, he was assigned to the church in Montague, whose Priest had been the former principal of Pope John.

 Adam mowed the grass and worked so well, he was asked to help set up for Sunday services, this time with pay.  It became a weekend job, and he was known as the Jewish altar boy of Montague.  Another local boy and parishoner, Tim, also helped out at the church.  Tim and Adam became lifelong friends.  So, it all turned out pretty well.  Adam felt that he had defended himself, been supported by the school, and was satisfied.  So was I.