Posted on 12/15/2009 5:44:07 PM PST by Steelfish
2nd-grader sent home for crucifix drawing Dad says teacher became upset when boy drew himself on a cross
Dec . 15, 2009 TAUNTON, Mass. - An 8-year-old boy was sent home from school and ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation after he was asked to make a Christmas drawing and came up with what appeared to be a stick figure of Jesus on a cross, the child's father said Tuesday.
Chester Johnson told WBZ-TV that his son made the drawing on Dec. 2 after his second-grade teacher asked children to sketch something that reminded them of the holiday.
Johnson said the teacher became upset when his son said he drew himself on the cross. Johnson, who is black, told WBZ he suspects racism is involved. He said he thinks the school overreacted and wants an apology.
Johnson told the Taunton Daily Gazette, which first reported the story on Tuesday, that his son gets specialized reading and speech instruction and has never been violent in school.
An educational consultant working with the Johnson family said the teacher was also alarmed when the boy drew Xs for Jesus' eyes.
A call to Johnson was not immediately returned.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Because we don’t know the teacher or the relationship between the teacher and the boy, we can’t know that for certain one way or the other.
I reread it. This part didn’t change:
>>Johnson said the teacher became upset when his son said he drew himself on the cross. <<
That would alarm almost anyone (at least anyone who cares about kids).
Nothing has changed from my initial take, which I posted after reading the article twice.
Whether the teacher reacted improperly (and I think he did), isn’t what your earlier points were. You have been saying this is religious persecution and there is nothing in the article that suggests that, any more than the racism claimed by the dad.
This looks to me like a question of who do you believe. I don’t have much trust in gubmint schools (my wife just quit teaching after many years in S. Tex in disgust with other teachers and administrators). She worked in a number of large and small districts over the years. If you trust the Administrators, you are a fool. They circle the wagons to protect their own. The picture has long hair, as depicted in all pictures of Christ that I have seen. As for the crosses, my bet is the kid copied it fom something he saw.
re: Johnson said the teacher became upset when his son said he drew himself on the cross
Could someone please tell me where it states ‘drew himself on the cross’ on these:
BTW, if you need something else to use, this reports that the dad’s showing a different picture from the one the teacher saw. Oh, so the dad’s scamming out of the blue? So I say, let’s see the original (let me guess, they let them take that one back home and the psychologist didn’t keep it, since it was his ‘personal property and had ‘nothing to do with school, they just found it).
But wait a minute, now the district states it’s the wrong pic, yet the teacher never asked them to draw something re: Christmas, it was ‘discovered’ in school and it’s not ‘known’ if it was finished at school (but wasn’t it stated his name was on it?, nevermind). Yet, I love this part:
In this case, as in any other case involving the wellbeing of a student, the administration acted in accordance with the school department’s well-established protocol. This protocol is centered upon the student’s care, wellbeing and educational success. The protocol includes a review of the student’s records, discussions with staff, central administration, school psychologists and other community resources. Decisions were made only after this protocol had been completed, including a consultation with a veteran staff member with a background in clinical psychology and a Ph.D.
— Hmm, for what? A picture ‘found’ (that according to them we haven’t seen); So would that mean, since it wasn’t an assignment related to education or that class, that she was just worried about something inside this non-violent (up to now), kid, and did it for his and the families own good? I get it now.
That’s also why the parents had to pay for the evaluation... nevermind, they said it wasn’t a condition of coming back to school, he was never suspended, maybe it was a ‘suggestion’ (which if it wasn’t education related, is a lawsuit FYI).
Oh, and it’s known as Christmas City and we love all religions, blah, blah.
Call me silly, I also think the Xs on the eyes could be because Jesus died on the cross? I wonder, if he drew Obama or Al Gore on the cross would he get a Nobel? I wonder if any muslim kids ever drew a beheading or themselves in a suicide belt?... forget it, CAIR, ISNA and MSA would be all over them. Plus it wouldn’t be in the papers.
One thing about him is interesting ~ he understands his plight very well ~ but as a Moslem he doesn't see himself as Christ on the Cross, but you know what, he understands that and has asked about it over the years.
You may well be onto something. Still, a special needs teacher should have known about such things long before now.
>>He projects a lot. The fd character just isnt living unless he gets into some sort of personal confrontation with at least one freeper a day. It’s what defines him, see the post history<<
I see you still haven’t even learned the simple rules of netiquette.
And no one actually asked for your opinion.
But it is always gratifying to see my cyberstalking fan club follow me around.
And most FReepers and I get along just fine.
It reminds me of the little boy who was sent to Catholic school because he kept failing his math classes in the public schools. When he came home with his first report card and had straight A’s in math, his mother was delighted and asked him why he was doing so much better at his new school. “Well”, he told her, “I took one look at that kid on the plus sign and I sure didn’t want to end up like him”.
In fact, I suggested the teacher be sent to sensitivity class, and then anger management.
Don't assume I don't know something about incompetent teachers ~ even in Special Education.
I can only go on what the article says. If there is other information, then I will act accordingly.
If there is clear indicators that this was a reaction because the kid drew a crucifix because it is a Christian symbol, then we have a whole new kettle of frogs.
But if this is just a screw-up and an example of bad rules, administration and teacher preparedness, it is consistent with what I have been saying.
>>You are the one who first expressed a decided disinterest in pursuing the religious freedom issues in this case. I didn’t. <<
Now, I have to ask you to reread the thread — it was you who said that this was religious persecution (and suggested I am one of those persecutors) and this was a Freedom of Speech issue.
>>In fact, I suggested the teacher be sent to sensitivity class, and then anger management.<<
Of all the potential screw-ups here by the teacher, I see no anger nor sensitivity issues. What might those be? (please don’t make me sorry for asking)
>>Don’t assume I don’t know something about incompetent teachers ~ even in Special Education.<<
Clearly you have extensive direct experience in these going back many, many years.
The boy knew that Jesus died on the cross at Calvary to save mankind from their sins, from eternal hellfire. Good on him. I’d wished every kid in every school drew a picture like that.
>>The boy knew that Jesus died on the cross at Calvary to save mankind from their sins, from eternal hellfire. Good on him. I’d wished every kid in every school drew a picture like that.
<<
And the fact the kid understood that the importance of Christ was His death moreso than His birth shows a fundamental and youthful grasp of what many adults miss.
But I am pretty this was the teacher reacting to the kid saying it was him (the kid) on the cross that caused all the dusting up.
BTW, do you have the video or audio of the dad re: WBZ?
I don’t see it on the site, newer news, only the poll and a soundoff in the r. sidebar.
No, I wouldn't. Seriously. Kids that age will say all sorts of things when you start questioning them, especially when they think they may be in trouble or that you want something more than what they're giving to you.
My guess is that the teacher took art therapy in college and is of the opinion that everything has a much deeper, dramatic meaning (which it doesn't). Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar, as Freud once famously said.
FWIIW, cartoons use Xs in the eyes to portray death and knocked out. If you never saw kids using them before wouldn’t it be a bit disturbing to see them?
No, but I seriously question the upbringing of anyone who has ever made it to adulthood without knowing that Xs mean sleeping or dead in cartoons.
The parade of fools who overreact to every little thing kids do and demand psych evaluations for small children continues unabated. Let's skip consulting with mom and dad who could have easily told them that Jr. just got back from visiting a church, and send him in to have his head examined instead.
Zero tolerance for common sense. Zero tolerance for parental knowledge and wisdom. Zero tolerance for kids who don't knuckle under and fit the norm.
People have to take the context into consideration. This is Mass, where a man who objected to his child reading pro homosexual material was arrested, and the legislature disallowed Constitutional warrant for a vote on homosexual marriage, and the governor boasted that he “sky hasn’t fallen, the ground has not opened up,” since passing it. And Macy’s labeled those who objected to its first floor mannequin display of two homosexuals “hatemongers.” Pray for us.
>>The parade of fools who overreact to every little thing kids do and demand psych evaluations for small children continues unabated. Let’s skip consulting with mom and dad who could have easily told them that Jr. just got back from visiting a church, and send him in to have his head examined instead.
Zero tolerance for common sense. Zero tolerance for parental knowledge and wisdom. Zero tolerance for kids who don’t knuckle under and fit the norm.<<
I agree wholeheartedly. My argument from the beginning has been that this was a reaction to the “death” part of the drawing (especially when the kid says it is him on the cross), not the Christian part.
I really don’t know if it was an overreaction or not. But at least the teacher was paying attention.
The reaction also may have perfectly appropriate, given information none of us are privy to.
What we can reasonably conclude is:
1) This wasn’t religion-bashing nor is it a Freedom of Speech issue.
2) This wasn’t racial (I think the Dad is setting up for a payday)
That is pretty much the same story — I didn’t see any new info in it that differs from the OP.
The boy isn’t the one in error here — the teacher is.
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