"Vich" in Slavic languages means "son of" so I think an interpretation of Cuckovich as "Son of a cuckoo" would pass muster. He does give the impression of being opposed to courtesies and politeness.
The common practice of saying "God bless you" after someone sneezes is a part of American culture. But it sparked a new controversy at a Bay Area high school this week.
Teacher Steve Cuckovich docked his students scores if after they said "bless you" in the middle of class. He says talking of any kind is disruptive and takes time away from class.
"The blessing doesn't make any sense anymore," Cuckovich told the Fox affiliate in Sacramento. "When you sneeze in the old days, they thought you were dispelling evil spirits out of your body. So they were saying, 'God bless you,' for getting rid of evil spirits. But today, what you're doing doesn't really make any sense."
Some parents were furious with the teacher claiming his rule was anti-religious.
Cuckovich apparently listened to the parents. He says he will no longer deduct points from assignments for the disruption, but he added he will continue to control his classroom.
On Thursday, the district made it first comments on the issue. Superintendent John Niederkorn said that Cuckovich thought the students were sneezing in dramatic fashion with the intent of disrupting class.
Of question is whether a series of these repeated remarks by several students constitutes freedom of speech or a classroom disruption and merits student discipline.
Certainly a blessing by one individual to another after a sneeze is a welcomed acknowledgement of a social norm.
Source
I think the kids possibly were making a game out of it and using it to disrupt the class but the cuckoo was a fool to bring religion into it. Just sticking to it as a disciplinary matter would probably have gone unnoticed.
8 comments:
The teacher made a fuss about it so the kids responded as they are prone to do.
It's about a teacher trying to maintain control but who has no clue about how and what control really means and what should be controlled vs. what should be ignored.
The kids might not have been taking advantage of it, my bet is that he is just one fry short of a happy meal.
Is there a proper way to sneeze without ofending atheists pissiepant teachers like him?
It is odd that a teacher, or any person, who is an atheist and by definition does not believe in anything greater than themselves, could get so worked up by the merest hint of religion. Perhaps the kids should try 'May Jesus Christ bless you!' the next time HE sneezes.
3:38 PM - So you choose to misrepresent atheists by saying that "by definition does not believe in anything greater than themselves". That is of course nonsense. Atheists may believe in anything except a supernatural deity. They may believe that humanity as a whole may be greater than themselves, or the "Law of the Land", and many other things and concepts. I guess you're trying to create (pun intended) a strawman argument or something equally dishonest. Are you a dishonest theist?
Anon 2:32 AM - OK, fine, if you'd like to mince words and avoid to actual issue, that's your choice. Don't like my choice of words, fine. But we will return to the issue.
Still seems odd to me that someone who is an atheist could get so worked up by the merest hint of religion.
Lastly, you now accuse me of being dishonest, for merely stating something you disagree with?
Let me be VERY honest. I find that some (to keep you from mincing words here, I am not saying all) atheists I have encountered get remarkably worked up about something they believe does not exist. I also have noticed some of that group spending an inordinate amount of energy in disparaging others' beliefs with no reason than meanness and malice. See posts with words like 'myth' and 'fiction'.
JJR is more like most atheists I've encountered, who respect other peoples' beliefs even if he doesn't share them. It's a good recipe for success and actual dialog. Try that method out instead of the accusatory one.
4:44 - Of course you are backpedaling now, and instead of that unfair generalization of atheists before (which is what I criticized you for) you now try to dishonestly claim to have said something else, and trying to be more specific. Your dishonest argumentation doesn't fool me or anyone who reads the posts.
By the way, I don't fit in to your presumptuous classification of me as an "atheist", but the intelligent arguments that I've heard from intellectual atheists/agnostics are far superior to any I've heard from a theist, even a so-called theologian (go figure!).
So 4:44 says "some" atheists use "meanness and malice" about theists. That hardly compares with phrases used by "many" theists about atheists, such as "going to burn in Hell", "Devil-worshippers", "amoral" and "immoral", etc. And that doesn't even address the impact that theists have on public life in a supposedly secular republic (re the USA).
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