(The reaction of the civil liberities crowd when told of the news.)
Posted on 04/18/2008 3:33:34 AM PDT by Man50D
Students at the Mount Vernon, Ohio, school district have called a 'take-your-Bible-to-school day" tomorrow in support of a popular teacher who has been ordered to keep his Bible hidden while students are in his classroom.
Coach Dave Daubenmire of Pass The Salt Ministries and Minutemen United, who is acting as a spokesman for teacher John Freshwater, told WND the campaign has been organized by students using cell phones, text messaging and e-mails.
School Board president Ian Watson told WND the Bible was just part of a "tapestry" of issues the district was dealing with, but he said he could not provide details on other factors. He did admit that the order for Freshwater to remove the Bible from his desk, where he's kept it for more than two decades while teaching in the district, was prompted because of contacts from some district parents. But again, he declined to elaborate.
Daubenmire, however, said the Bible is an important part of Freshwater's life, to the point he carries it with him when he parachutes into forest fire zones during his summer work as a smokejumper in the American West.
He also has worked to smuggle Bibles into China, Daubenmire said.
In an interview with WND, Watson accused Freshwater of "going public" with issues the school "is in discussions with attorneys at this stage."
"We just asked him that the Bible not be on top of his desk during his teaching hours," Watson told WND. However, he also admitted that the school had no formal prohibitions on personal items on teachers' desks.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
Sounds like Christians are getting tired of being kicked around, which is a good thing. There are only so many cheeks one can turn.
The entire school board needs to be voted out ASAP, particularly the president, who didn’t want anyone to “go public” with what was going on in a PUBLIC school.
If the teacher were crossdressing, it would be okay.
But put a book on a desk and someone might blow a clot.
Help me. (and Lord Bless these students)
Teachers and administration in my district tacitly co-operated with National Silent About Perscuting Homos day, and didn’t mark students as absent when they pulled out of school a few years ago to go see Bubba when he came to town on a fundraising tour. It was “students showing a social concious and protesting problems in society” and “civil disobediance” and a bunch of 60’s hooey. I bet the same people who went all touchy-feely over that are blowing a gasket over these kids standing up for what they believe in...
(The reaction of the civil liberities crowd when told of the news.)
Students in a Mount Vernon, Ohio school district have called a 'take-your-Bible-to-school day" in support of a popular teacher who has been ordered to keep his Bible hidden from sight while students are in his classroom. Do you think all the teachers and administrators that so proudly ranted for freedom of speech back in the 1960’s will applaud this heartfelt show of social protest, or just tell the kids to shut up and get back to their government-approved studies?
With Mt. Vernon being a rural area outside Columbus, I would think that there is sufficient sentiment to pressure the school board to back down. Frankly, I don’t think Freshwater should have even relented on the 10 Commandments. It was just part of a collage and it’s historical. He should put that back up, too.
FU, ACLU!
The kids are alright.
God bless these kids and their teacher. The sexual deviants have their say, it is high time decent people stood up for their beliefs.
Continuing to pray about this. God bless those who are fighting the good fight.
Watsons contract is *so* not going to be renewed.
Good for them. What the government has been doing is no less than “dictatorial” and was one of the reasons we fought to establish a new nation.
I keep a Bible on my classroom desk as well, and I have never heard of any complaints. I'd guess that most parents know what "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" means. If there are any complaints, my principal is intelligent enough not to interpret a whine from an isolated loser as an order that should be obeyed. This sort of discrimination is, as far as I can tell, only "widespread" in the sense that there are dozens of principals in the country weak enough to give in to random and baseless complaints. With tens of thousands of good principals, it's important to remember that these cases are exceptions and to encourage good teachers and principals not to give in to fear of these complainers.
Note: It's possible that there is more to this story and that this teacher has crossed the line on appropriate conduct in other ways that are not specified in the story. However, the correct answer if that is the case is to insist that he not cross that line again or to fire him, not to ban the Bible from the classroom.
He's just bitter.
ping
I have no idea what is really going on, but the principle is getting complaints.
He may just be trying to protect the school from a lawsuit. You know the ACLU would love this case. (”A bible on the desk is promoting religion by a government authority”)
Everyone was mentioning on the news about Boxer forcing references to life taken out of the resolution to welcome the Pope. But to me, more important, she also forced out a reference about keeping religion in the public square.
We are at war against the faith haters.
Well, if they were muslim school that required its students to attend prayer times in the gym on taxpayer dollars and refused to fly the American flag because some idiot administrator couldn’t figure out how to work the flagpole, then it would be all just peachy.
Teacher breaks wall of silence at state’s Muslim public school (Islamic Double Standard in MN)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998976/posts
Good news mixed in with this. Good for the students.
Are you quoting Obama -- or are you in his same league? And how is carrrying a Bible with you when you enter into dangerous situations being bitter. I've know many combat soldiers and airmen who did the same -- I happen to be one of them.
In my area, when Hitlery was running for senator, the TEACHERS got the day off to go hear her speak.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.