“Key section of the article:
“Have the students write the name JESUS in big letters on a piece of paper,” the lesson reads. “Ask the students to stand up and put the paper on the floor in front of them with the name facing up. Ask the students to think about it for a moment. After a brief period of silence instruct them to step on the paper. Most will hesitate. Ask why they can’t step on the paper. Discuss the importance of symbols in culture.”
It seems the Mormon responded the way the lesson anticipated, and therefore his cries of persecution are strange. It is also worth noting that the Professor is writing a book called “Obamamania: The rise of a mythical hero.” Which doesn’t sound positive for Obama.
I would have to get the Professor’s side of the story before I pass any kind of judgment in my mind on the matter. I am thinking that, most likely, the Mormon student overreacted, and made much ado about nothing, since the lesson itself says that refusing to step on it was part of the lesson itself.”
I would submit that a teacher with any common sense at all would appreciate that this exercise would likely be offensive to some, and could modify it to get the same point across without unnecessarily ruffling feathers.
For example, he could have asked the students to write tha name of somebody each one deeply respects, exchange papers with a neighbor, and then stomp away.
This strategy would have achieved a similar outcome (to launce the discussion) without singling out devout members of one particular religion.
True, but considering how much money students put into school, I doubt he would have been suspended for normal religious zeal. Most likely he pushed the issue despite the actual goal of the lesson being explained, which justified his initial reaction. Considering what the lesson brief actually says, I find it impossible to think he was suspended because he would not step on it. Rather, he was probably suspended for not listening to reason and being inappropriate.
Strange and making much ado about nothing?! Asking students to even do this is a blasphemous and form of persecution, and if it was Muhammad's name they were asked to step on then the college would be apologizing from here to Mecca.
As for the profs book, Poole’s is vice-chairman of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party. http://www.bizpacreview.com/2013/03/21/media-fail-stomp-jesus-fau-professor-is-a-dem-party-official-56927