Cupertino, California school teacher Steven Williams has been barred from showing his fifth grade students the Declaration of Independance and other historic American documents, simply because they contain references to God.Since May, Williams has been required to submit lesson plans and teaching materials to the principal of Stevens Creek Elementary School, Patricia Vidmar, for approval.
Monday, Williams filed a discrimination suit in US District Court in San Jose, claiming he had been singled out for censorship because he is a Christian.
"It's a fact of American history that our founders were religious men, and to hide this fact from young fifth-graders in the name of political correctness is outrageous and shameful," said Williams' attorney, Terry Thompson.This needs to stop. Teaching historical documents and about those who created those documents has no business being watered down to satisfy someone's notion of political correctness. And to have the very audacity to eliminate the Declaration of Independance from a school curriculum is unconscionable."Williams wants to teach his students the true history of our country," he said. "There is nothing in the Establishment Clause (of the U.S. Constitution) that prohibits a teacher from showing students the Declaration of Independence."
Williams asserts in the lawsuit that since May he has been required to submit all of his lesson plans and supplemental handouts to Vidmar for approval, and that the principal will not permit him to use any that contain references to God or Christianity.
Among the materials she has rejected, according to Williams, are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, George Washington's journal, John Adams' diary, Samuel Adams' "The Rights of the Colonists" and William Penn's "The Frame of Government of Pennsylvania."
"He hands out a lot of material and perhaps 5 to 10 percent refers to God and Christianity because that's what the founders wrote," said Thompson, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, which advocates for religious freedom. "The principal seems to be systematically censoring material that refers to Christianity and it is pure discrimination."
I'm proud of this nation, and proud to be an American. All three of my children are taught about what those documents are and what they mean, and should mean to each and every person in this country. And I defy any educator --and I come from a family of educators who agree with me-- to try to tell me otherwise.
On checking the website for Stevens Creek Elementary, I found that the site is down this evening. Whether that was due to the interest from around the nation, or due to some action by the school or the Cupertino Unified School District is not known at this point.
John Bambenek has graciously supplied us with the contact information for the school and school district:
Stevens Creek SchoolI'm sure they are tired of all the calls, faxes and e-mails, but this is one case where, quite frankly, I don't give a damn.
http://www.cupertino.k12.ca.us/Stcreek.www/
10300 Ainsworth Drive
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 245-3312
Patricia Vidmar, Principal
(408) 245-3312 x 110
Fax (408) 245-7484
Part of the Cupertino Union School District:
http://cupertino.ca.campusgrid.net/home
10301 Vista Drive
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 252-3000
William E. Bragg, Superintendent
bragg_bill@cupertino.k12.ca.us
Board:
board@cupertino.k12.ca.us
Have at it, true believers!