Posted on 01/06/2014 1:09:57 PM PST by BenLurkin
WEST COVINA (CBSLA.com) — Religious freedom advocates are calling on the West Covina Unified School District to adopt policy changes and issue a formal apology after an alleged incident involving bullying against a Christian student.
Advocates for Faith & Freedom, an Irvine-based nonprofit law firm, issued a letter Monday on behalf of Isaiah Martinez, a first grader at Merced Elementary School who took traditional candy canes as Christmas gifts for his teacher, Valerie Lu, and classmates on Dec. 13, 2013, according to attorney Robert Tyler.
Each candy cane came with a message attached that recited the history of the candy cane, including references to the candy as a symbol of Jesus Christ, according to the letter (PDF) dated Jan. 6.
Attorneys say when Martinez brought the candy canes to class, Lu took possession of the candy canes, and after conferring with school principal Gordon Pfitzer, told Martinez that “Jesus is not allowed in school”.
Lu – at the apparent direction of Pfitzer – then ripped the candy cane message from each candy cane, threw the messages in the trash, and returned the candy canes back to Martinez for delivery to his classmates, according to attorneys.
In a statement, Tyler said the actions of the school district were “hostile and intimidating”, and called on officials to adopt an official policy that expressly prohibits school officials – including teachers – from “adopting any action or from engaging in any expression that can reasonably be viewed by a religiously affiliated student as disapproval of the student’s religion or hostile toward the student’s religion.”
“Advocates for Faith & Freedom has experienced a surge in phone calls from students and their parents across the country who are victims of religiously motivated bullying; not bullying by other students, but bullying by teachers and school officials,” said Tyler. “The pendulum has swung so far in the opposite direction that public schools are becoming a place of hostility toward Christian and other religiously-based worldviews.”
In addition to policy changes, Tyler also called for the West Covina Unified School District to implement training for teachers and other school officials on the First Amendment, “particularly as it relates to the rights of students to express themselves with religious viewpoints”.
There was no immediate reaction to the letter from school district officials.
A statement on the school district’s website (PDF) states school “programs and activities shall be free from discrimination, including harassment, with respect to a student’s actual or perceived sex, ethnic group identification, race, national origin, religion” and other characteristics.
Reagan promised to eliminate it. He didn't. Couldn't?
You will never defeat it by depending on ANY politicians. You can scream and holler and make demands till the cows come home. You are wasting your time, you money and your children's education.
the ONLY way they can be brought to their knees and become irrelevant (and bankrupt) is to ignore them and spend the time and $$$ providing alternatives: Home schooling, private schools, church schools, etc.
Your neighborhood churches are all set up for small neighborhood schools. They have class rooms, an 'assembly hall", a kitchen, bathrooms, etc. They could be church run or use contracted out to private entities.
That would also bring schooling back under the stewardship of the parents, the children wouldn't have precious hours wasted being bussed to H and gone, etc.
IOW, Back to parental control and back to BASICS.
so why is this not a national movement????
Stop nattering and start organizing - right in your small group of friends/parents at your kitchen table. They can then bring in their circles, etc and it can grow to fruition. Talk with your local pastors. There should be at least ONE in the neighborhood that would see the need to save our kids - which then saves our families, our neighborhoods, our towns - and, to paraphrase Gov William Bradford's famous quote: "as one small candle may light a thousand so the light here kindled hath shone unto many yea in some sort to our whole country."
Do it quietly at first. No fan fare, No 'publicity". The quiet revolution could grow 'under the radar' until, when the enemy gets wind of it - it's too big to stop.
Time to atop cursing the darkness - and start lighting candles.
Hold the phone, now! I see some obviously “gay” candy canes mixed in there with the regular ones. It sure looks like more than 2% to me.
Scrooge is much more worthy—at least he saw the error of his ways. Rotgut leftists seem to deny the power of God’s love and of precious Jesus all the way down to their self-chosen hellish reward. Lots of luck with that..
‘Jesus (ain’t) Allowed In School’
I remember that line. It’s from the song, “Preachin’ In The Boy’s Room”
The second amendment was specifically written to protect the first amendment.
Don’t forget that little baby Jesus is mentioned in the US Constitution.
In Pennsylvania all schooling was through parochial (parish) schools until the 1840's.
The teacher was pretty rude if that is actually what was said but I'm not sure of that. I've heard way too many stories that have grown considerably on the way home from school.
A very valid question here, because ordinarily that type of person may seem quite civilized.
A bit of a liberty by me but here is an imaginary scene at a happier and more tolerant time.
Teacher: (With kind smile)
I know you will understand about this, but a new policy is to be followed. What I am going to do, is to take your candy canes and lock them up in my desk. When you go home you can take them with you. Tell your parents what I have said about the new policy. If they wish, they can remove the messages and you can bring the candy cans to school for your friends.
She then carries on with the class activities.
Can anyone spell “Louisville _ _ _ _ _ _ _ “?
.....and you can bring back the candy canes for your friends.
The public schools have embraced the sex cult.
did the teacher replace the Candy Canes with Hello Kitty sex toys?
And I understand the symbolism that Christians seek to attach to the candy cane. But the notion that the candy cane was created to tell the story of Christ, well, a quick internet search would quickly dispel that notion.
But to each his/her own beliefs and traditions...
P.S. All my children, myself, and my wife were all educated in Catholic schools. No one ever mentioned anything about candy canes. Perhaps that is a regional notion as well.
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