The Six Commandments?

[Vhayes]

Teacher fired for offering to pray for sick student--considered "bullying."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-bullying.html

This happened in the United Kingdom, not the United States.

[TomH]

So?
Please don't make someone come in and yell strawman again. I can't take it.

It's about time for Scripture.
Matthew 6:4-6
New International Version (NIV)
4*so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Prayer

5*“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6*But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.


Oh yeah, here's a link,
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/...-6&version=NIV

[Sojourner55]

Here's the story from the link.



Seriously? Injustice? She plans to "talk to an attorney"?

And the administration of the school said the teacher was mistaken. They apologized for the teacher. What more should they do?

This had NOTHING to do with anything other than a teacher not understanding the law.

I would agree that consulting an attorney seems justified in this case, but there was an injustice done. And the teacher should have made a personal apology to the child, instead of the principal. And perhaps the teacher should also bone up on the law and school policy, huh?

[Vhayes]

Do it outloud at a city council meeting or when you join your child for lunch at a school we pay taxes for and get back to me. Hiding in your home and saying "Thank you Jesus" is not lighting your lampstand.

Jesus didn't ask us to internalize our faith.

And just so I know -

Would YOU be happy with your city council meeting starting with a kneeling to the east and asking Allah for blessing?

Would you be happy if your neighbor went to school and sat with their child and prayed to Vishnu prior to a meal? THEIR taxes pay for the school too - or are they somehow "less than" you or me?

[keck553]

In my home?

You really know very, very little about me.

Not interested in dancing. Will you proclaim Jesus in ANY venue or not?

[keck553]

And just so I know -

Would YOU be happy with your city council meeting starting with a kneeling to the east and asking Allah for blessing?

Would you be happy if your neighbor went to school and sat with their child and prayed to Vishnu prior to a meal? THEIR taxes pay for the school too - or are they somehow "less than" you or me?

They can pray to satan and idols all they want for all I care.

[Vhayes]

I would agree that consulting an attorney seems justified in this case, but there was an injustice done. And the teacher should have made a personal apology to the child, instead of the principal. And perhaps the teacher should also bone up on the law and school policy, huh?

That I would agree with.

And for all I know the teacher could have been/is a total jerk. Maybe the teacher IS a person who despises Christians. If that's the case, the teacher got slapped down hard. BY THE LAW OF THE LAND.

[Athanasius]

And from what I can tell, it isn't a violation of church and state, either. It certainly doesn't warrant any criticism from school officials. The issue with religion in schools revolves primarily with teachers and faculty leading in prayer. This private, silent grace doesn't fall into that category. Silent grace said over a meal is between an individual and God--an nobody else's business.

Sure.

In addition, ah....ah...ah...CHOO!!!

Cicero would like a word with you.

[keck553]

It's about time for Scripture.
Matthew 6:4-6
New International Version (NIV)
4*so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Prayer

5*“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6*But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.


Oh yeah, here's a link,
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/...-6&version=NIV

You sir, are a professional Scriptue twister. Now go back and tell us the CONTEXT.

[Sojourner55]

A student sneezed.

Twenty students said, "Bless you". The student thanked all twenty with a "Thank you" - to each one individually.

That would lend credence to this paragraph of the story you posted:


How is this infringing on a students right of free speech or freedom of religion? It's about teenagers finding a way to get one over on the teacher.

I think you're confusing this with an incident at a high school graduation ceremony. This one was nothing but a teacher hatefully over-reacting to a simple "bless you" after a sneeze. Do you agree that the "offense" warrants a reduction in a test score?

[Vhayes]

They can pray to satan and idols all they want for all I care.

Thank you for answering.

[Sojourner55]

Yes, SOJ,
I ran across the one of the teacher saying grace (and not out loud either.) It was the bowing of the head and folding of the hands that was not allowed. I didn't include it in my list, nor many others, because I was specifically researching the ones involving students.

Cool. Did you save the link? I'd like to see the story again.

[keck553]

Thank you for answering.

No problem. Unlike the current occupier of the white house I actually uphold the constitution. Besides, if my son saw someone praying to Allah in school, he would tell them The good news about Jesus! With all humility of course.

[Vhayes]

I think you're confusing this with an incident at a high school graduation ceremony. This one was nothing but a teacher hatefully over-reacting to a simple "bless you" after a sneeze. Do you agree that the "offense" warrants a reduction in a test score?

I think you should read the story you posted and look at the video. I am not confusing this with anything. I had never heard of the story before I followed your link.

And no - when I was in school, peer pressure was mighty. I kept several of the class clowns in line during class because teachers would take points off of everyone if the class got out of hand or started into a "goofy" mode.

[awestruckchild]

Wing Nut Daily doesn't count. That's like me asking you to accept something from The Daily KOS as "real" news.

Okay, I'll try it. Usually doesn't work for me, but here goes...
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Student sues L.A. City College district over gay-marriage speech
Weeks after Proposition 8 passed, student says, his public-speaking professor reacted inappropriately to his stance against same-sex unions. His lawyer alleges religious discrimination.
February 16, 2009|Gale Holland


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A classroom dispute at Los Angeles City College in the emotional aftermath of Proposition 8 has given rise to a lawsuit testing the balance between 1st Amendment rights and school codes on offensive speech.

Student Jonathan Lopez says his professor called him a "fascist bastard" and refused to let him finish his speech against same-sex marriage during a public speaking class last November, weeks after California voters approved the ban on such unions.
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When Lopez tried to find out his mark for the speech, the professor, John Matteson, allegedly told him to "ask God what your grade is," the suit says.

Lopez also said the teacher threatened to have him expelled when he complained to higher-ups.

In addition to financial damages, the suit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, seeks to strike down a sexual harassment code barring students from uttering "offensive" statements.

Jean-Paul Jassy, a 1st Amendment lawyer in Los Angeles, said a number of cases have explored the tension between offensive speech and the expression of religious views. Often, he said, the decision depends on the specifics of the situation.

"Free speech really thrives when people are going back and forth, disagreeing sometimes and sometimes finding things each other says offensive, but there are limits, particularly in a school setting," Jassy said after reviewing the lawsuit.

Lopez, a Los Angeles resident working toward an associate of arts degree, is described in the suit as a Christian who considers it a religious duty to share his beliefs, particularly with other students. He declined to comment. Matteson could not be reached.

Lopez is represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal organization based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and co-founded by evangelical leader James Dobson of Focus on the Family. The group also advised proponents of Proposition 8 and sued, unsuccessfully, to stop the release of the names and addresses of donors, who said they had been harassed during the weeks of demonstrations that followed the measure's passage.

Alliance staff counsel David J. Hacker said Lopez was a victim of religious discrimination.

"He was expressing his faith during an open-ended assignment, but when the professor disagreed with some minor things he mentioned, the professor shut him down," Hacker said. "Basically, colleges and universities should give Christian students the same rights to free expression as other students."

Hacker said Alliance filed a similar suit in 2006 against Missouri State University over the school's attempt to discipline a Christian social-work student who refused to support adoptions by same-sex couples. The college settled the suit by, among other things, ordering an external review of the social-work program, Hacker said.

The Los Angeles Community College District's offices were closed Friday for the Presidents Day holiday, and the general counsel, Camille A. Goulet, could not be reached. But in a letter to Alliance, the district said it deemed Lopez's complaint "extremely serious in nature" and had launched a private disciplinary process.

In the letter, Dean Allison Jones also said that two students had been "deeply offended" by Lopez's address, one of whom stated that "this student should have to pay some price for preaching hate in the classroom."
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Hacker said the district's response was inadequate.

"What they didn't do was ensure this wouldn't happen to other students," he said. "The dean accused Jonathan of offending other students."

The suit names the Los Angeles Community College District, which operates nine campuses including L.A. City College; its board of trustees; Matteson; and various administrators. Lopez is asking for a jury trial.

--

gale.holland@latimes.com
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