Parents in a number of schools across the nation are sounding off about the type of curriculum and materials being used.

At Porter Ridge High School in Union County, North Carolina, one parent was upset about the emphasis placed on the study of Islam. She was especially disturbed with one fill-in-the-blank worksheet in a study comparing Muslims to Christians.The full statement was "Most Muslims' faith is stronger than the average Christian."The mom felt that posing such a question amounted to an opinion and not a factual statement.She called the school to see if Christianity would be given equal treatment in the class after learning from her son they had only skimmed Christianity.One principal said the students would be studying Christianity in greater depth in the near future.A representative from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction said it does not dictate what instructional materials should be used to teach and that those decisions are made by local school districts.A school district in Maryland, a suburban D.C. district, also made news last week by eliminating all Christmas and Jewish holy holidays from its official calendar after Muslim parents complained.Instead of recognizing holidays such as Yom Kippur and Christmas that note a religion, they will instead refer to school days off as "winter break" and "student holidays."One school board member said that the Islamic community's concern for parity needed to be addressed since it placed the school system in an insensitive light.One Muslim parent said it's painful to explain to his American-born kids that public schools choose a holiday policy that gives off for Christmas and Yom Kippur, but not Eid, an Islam-Muslim religious holiday that marks the end of Ramadan and is celebrated by Muslims worldwide.In another Maryland case a few weeks earlier, a father who asked that his daughter be excused from learning about Islam in her world history class was banned from his daughter's public school campus.A school district spokeswoman said Kevin Wood, an eight-year veteran in the U.S. Marine Corps, threatened to cause problems at the school.Wood denied any threat, saying that his argument is that if students can't practice Christianity in school, they should not be allowed to practice Islam.These showdowns are becoming more numerous.In Volusia County, Florida, hundreds protested Islamic lessons in their "World History" text, a Common Core-approved high school history textbook.And parents in one Massachusetts public school were upset by a textbook that celebrates Muhammad's life but ignores the life of Jesus.With more concerned parents taking an interest about their child's textbooks and raising questions about revisionist history, expect the spotlight to remain on curriculum coordinators and school boards.By JIM ZBICKeditor@tnonline.com