Parent Post: To the parents complaining -- First, in case you don't remember, Christians still represent the majority in this country.  Do you know why Baccalaurate was started in the first place?  Because the minority in our country has made it so, because we attend public schools, we can't pray or use God's name at school events and people wanted to be able to thank God and His son for all the wonderful gifts He has given us!  What did you expect to hear when you attended?  It was even held in a CHURCH, not a mosque or a synagogue or other forum.

Also, are you so petty that you have to find fault with something so minor as the paper program?  What about all the hard work these kids put into this?  This ceremony was for them.  Most of them know Steve and know how much he cares for them...drinking or not.  Oh, and I'm sure your child is perfect and has never done anything wrong, so it's okay for you to cast stones at others.

I don't know anything about the arguments over planning, but the bottom line is, although it may not have been the best ceremony I've ever been to (and I didn't see the connection of the video to the program), I was very proud of the kids for doing their part and wanting to participate...I thought they all did wonderful... and for Steve for sharing his time and his message with our children.  Maybe if you had listened a little closer instead of fumbling with your programs or fuming about who didn't get a say in what, you might have been able to leave there with some understanding of what Steve was trying to convey...that life is better when you include God and His son Jesus Christ!

I hope you keep your negative comments about upcoming graduation to YOURSELVES!  Our time with our children is running short, and I plan on making my child's graduation weekend end on a positive note!  I can only hope the same for your child.
 

Our Reply: We totally agree with you that Christianity represents the majority.  With that said this is not the Deer Creek School of Christianity, this is the Deer Creek Public School District.  A school district that is open for all to attend.  If Baccalaureate was a private function then the parents could do whatever they wanted.  But since it is portrayed as a school function then it should be representative of all the students not just the majority.

If we use the majority approach to everything would we eliminate girls sports since the majority of athletes are boys?  Would we eliminate anything that doesn’t benefit Caucasians since they are the majority?  Ooh, ooh let’s only allow people born in the United States to participate in our events or even better yet let’s do it by financial status.  Where does it all end?  How about ending it with categorizing all the kids as Deer Creek Students.  Then, maybe then, every student will be given the same importance and consideration at every event.  Is that too much to ask for?

Parent Post 1: Quote- "I think the planners should apologize to all the Seniors, and their families, if they aren’t of the Christian belief." Quote from the pledge of allegiance- "one Nation under God" Don't go around bashing the school, bash our government.

 
Parent Post 2: This is reply about baccalaureate: I cannot believe that you do not have anything better to do with your time, but to bash everything Deer Creek.  What's next - Graduation?  You must be miserably unhappy to find so many things wrong with baccalaureate.  The kids wanted to participate, wrote the speeches, practiced songs and were proud to be included.  The parents who helped, tried to accommodate everyone's wishes (obviously there is no pleasing you); and they put in a tremendous amount of time and effort.  So, instead of thanks, you bash!  You knew before you came to baccalaureate that you were going to be unhappy - you did not want Steve to talk - so why did you come and put yourself through so much MISERY???  I personally thought it was a lovely service - the kids did great and the music was beautiful. 

I KNOW WHO YOU ARE - so why don't you and your miserable group of friends pack your bags and move to another school - DEER CREEK WILL BE A BETTER PLACE WITHOUT YOU.  What have you gained by BASHING baccalaureate?  We have the privilege of sending our kids to an excellent school system.  We have the opportunity to volunteer in several aspects of our children's lives - so why not make it positive?  Just think how embarassed your children will be if they saw what you wrote - I know mine would be!!!
 

Our Reply: To Parent Post 1, we are not sure what point you are trying to make. If you would like to get into a debate over separation of church and state then start another thread and we will be happy to discuss it with you.

To Parent Post 2, we had nothing to do with the baccalaureate this year but please don’t insult our intelligence with some of your statements.  You tried to accommodate?  So what was the name of the Rabbi you talked to about particular passages or the name of the Mosque you visited to ask for their participation?  Why was the Star of David or other Religious symbols not included?  Or did you just accommodate a certain group of people? 

As for volunteering, unfortunately in this district that means show up and do what we tell you.  If you don’t do what we tell you then we will ignore you and make you feel not wanted.  Then if you do complain about it we will tell you, you are not being very positive and if you don’t like it move.  And they wonder why nobody volunteers to help any more.

For the record since we were not part of this we are not entirely sure about how people were actually treated.  But we were there when you yelled at an entire group of PSG parents when they were discussing how to spend the money they collected.  If I remember correctly you threw some coins on a table and said "That is all you will ever get from me in the future."  Doesn’t sound like the acts of a very accommodating person to me and I am quite sure your kids would not have been proud either.

It is true what is lost in all this is how much effort the kids put in to make this a wonderful event in their eyes.  Let’s not forget what is also lost in this.  The pain of knowing you are insignificant because nobody thought enough of your beliefs to include them the program.  It’s kind of like being a Senior and not being invited to Prom.  Sure you can go on your own but it is not the same as being asked to be included.

Parent Post: First, I think the planners should apologize to all the Seniors, and their families, if they aren’t of the Christian belief.

Secondly, why did the programs have a picture of JC on the cover of half the covers, and the cross on the other half?  I hope your class didn’t have to pay a printer for the professionalism-NOT.  The blatant misspellings? And the confusion when guests opened the program to find an inserted blank sheet…oh wait a minute, if you turned the sheet over (hey, the student’s names were on the back) and folded it the opposite way, it kind of made sense.

Thirdly, the Speaker.  What can I say except “Huh?” was their supposed to be a message somewhere in there?  The message I got was this gentleman was very nervous, his wife is ‘hot’ and he gets angry at her a lot, he’s been working with this ‘group’ of kids since 7th grade (so why do they drink?  Oh yeah, their parents are the ones that condone drinking so it’s OK).  The video where students asked other students the question “Which do you prefer?  Briefs or Boxers?”  Why was that even asked and who allowed that to be included in a church service?  “Inappropriate” was what I thought and heard from the people around me.

Great Job to the students, they did what they were told to do and were respectful.  The Jr Class Mom’s did a great job with refreshments.

I’ve been to a few Baccalaureates over the years, and I can honestly say the majority of the seniors were cheated out of a memorable service that could have incorporated all religions, they might have looked back on this special day in 5-10 years by reading over a nice program, and maybe even recalled something their speaker had mentioned that would stay with them for those rough times in the future.  O well…maybe it’s just me that was disappointed.