Girl says 'hell' in school, suspended (2nd Grader)

AP | 2/04/04 | DAN NEPHIN

[kattracks]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A second-grader was suspended for a day for telling a classmate he would go to hell for saying, "I swear to God."

Brandy McKenith, 7, was suspended for swearing for saying the word "hell," but her family says she was referring to the biblical location of fire and brimstone.

She served the suspension Tuesday.

The Pittsburgh Public Schools' student code of conduct prohibits profanity, but doesn't provide a definition, spokeswoman Pat Crawford said. The school would not comment further.

Brandy's father, Wayne McKenith, said when he learned about the suspension, he thought perhaps his daughter had said something worse, so he called the teacher for details. He was told another student overheard his daughter say the word.

"I said, `Hell? She got suspended for that?'" McKenith said.

He said he asked the school to evaluate its profanity policy.

"`Hell' is like the least of the words in school today," McKenith said. "You go home and turn on the TV tonight and tell me how many times you hear the word 'hell.' And I mean network TV, not even cable."

Without a clear definition, the district could run into problems enforcing the policy, said Witold Walczak, legal director of the Greater Pittsburgh chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

"The school's policy says 'no profanity' and that's not further defined," Walczak said. "How should this little girl know that `hell' is not allowed?"

"It's questionable whether `hell' is even a profanity, and it certainly isn't in the way that she used it," he added.

McKenith, a suburban Pittsburgh police detective, said family members aren't "religious fanatics," but there's a healthy respect for the Lord, so he accepts her daughter's explanation.

"She's under the assumption that good people go to heaven and ... bad people go to hell," he said Wednesday.

[Scenic Sounds]

I know we didn't dare talk like that in school!!

[PAR35]

Different version posted with a fake headline here with 80 comments:

Won't someone please feed the dogs while im suspended ? [ My Tile ]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1071024/posts

[kegler4]

He also might want to talk to his daughter about judging people.

[HHFi]

What the hell is this country coming to?

[Always Right]

Brandy McKenith, 7, was suspended for swearing for saying the word "hell," but her family says she was referring to the biblical location of fire and brimstone.

Should have just said she meant Hell in Grand Cayman....

[kattracks]

This is a seven year old kid they're talking about.

[Always Right]

[mywholebodyisaweapon]

She is obviously one of those fundamentalist Christians and, therefore, ANYTHING she says is profanity!

Now, if she were a rap artiste, things would be different ;)

[NativeSon]

Without a clear definition, the district could run into problems enforcing the policy, said Witold Walczak, legal director of the Greater Pittsburgh chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

But won't defend the girl's rights to say something "religous" in school...

[mtbopfuyn]

Hell is a location but deemed a curse? Then they damn sure better fire all teacher's who discuss the building of the Hoover Dam.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

What if the girl had said their classmate would go to heaven, for doing a good deed?

Heaven forbid...

[T.Smith]

If either of my children was suspended for a day for upholding their religious conviction then I would take the day off from work and take him/her somewhere fun for the day. I'd probably pull the other child out of school for the day and make a family day of it.

[weegee]

Was the boy suspended? One would think he should whether he was right or wrong to use God in such a sense.

If he was right, God talk is banned in schools.

If he was wrong, then he too was swearing.

So I ask, was he suspended?

[poweqi]

My good friends' daughter got kicked out of kindergarden for asking the teacher, "What in the hell do you know about it." I agreed she should have been kicked out. What in the hell is going on?????

[Chewbacca]

Hell of a thing to do to a 2nd grader.

[JustPlainJoe]

"He also might want to talk to his daughter about judging people."


How is that judging? It's the same as if I tell you that if you rob a bank, you'll go to jail. It's fact, not judging. That's the way things work.

[been called a cynic]

I'd rather hear "hell" than "dildo."

[weegee]

...or "same sex spouse"

[been called a cynic]

What church do you belong to?