Posted on 05/23/2015 4:46:35 AM PDT by Kaslin
Mackenzie Fraiser is 12-years-old. She’s a sixth grader at Somerset Academy, a charter school in North Las Vegas, Nevada. Mackenzie is also a Christian.
In February, she was instructed by her technology teacher to create a PowerPoint demonstration about her life. One of the requirements was to include a slide with an inspirational message.
So Mackenzie decided to use a Bible verse – specifically John 3:16. That familiar passage reads: “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
But the teacher had a problem with Mackenzie’s inspirational message. She explained to the class that none of the students would be allowed to use any Bible verses or quotations from the Book of Mormon.
The teacher had a problem with Mackenzie’s inspirational message. She explained to the class that none of the students would be allowed to use any Bible verses or quotations from the Book of Mormon. The message was clear – you cannot be inspired by religion.
The message was clear – you cannot be inspired by religion.
Mackenzie, whose father is a pastor, told me she was terribly disappointed and concerned.
“When I was told I couldn’t use a Bible verse, I was afraid I was doing something wrong,” she said.
So Mackenzie obeyed the teacher’s edict and settled for a mundane secular saying.
A few months later, the little girl received another assignment. This time, she was told to address the topic of self-esteem.
She discussed the assignment with her parents, Tim and Kate Fraiser. They suggested she acknowledge she derives her self-esteem from having been made in the image of God.
It was at that point, Mackenzie said she would not be allowed to mention the Almighty. Her teacher had once again barred any reference to faith in the technology classroom.
Tim thought his daughter must have been mistaken. Perhaps she misunderstood the teacher’s directive? So he fired off an email to the school seeking clarification.
The message he received was jaw dropping. The school confirmed that that teacher told students to refrain from using religious references. They said she was simply following “school law expectations.”
“The U.S. Department of Education states that students have the right to engage in voluntary prayer or religious discussion free from discrimination, but that does not include the right to have a captive audience listen or compel other students to participate,” read the email from Assistant Principal Jenyan Martinez.
“When Mackenzie created the project with the expectation she would present the Biblical saying to the class, the matter became one of having a captive audience that would be subject to her religious beliefs,” she added. “Had the assignment been designed to simply hand in for a grade, this would not have been an issue.”
The Fraisers contacted Liberty Institute, a religious liberty law firm that specializes in these sorts of legal disputes.
“Government officials telling little girls they can’t mention God is not the law,” said Liberty Institute President Kelly Shackelford. “It’s unlawful discrimination and it’s morally wrong.”
Liberty Institute attorney Jeremy Dys is representing the family. He said the U.S. Department of Education clearly permits students to use Bible verses in class assignments.
“If a school official tells students that their beliefs cannot be expressed in class assignments, it teaches them that religion is bad,” Dys told me. “This case really demonstrates why it is important to protect religious liberty."
They’ve given the school 10 days to remedy the situation – and that includes an apology and a promise not to censor religious content in assignments.
So here's what needs to happen. Somerset Academy needs to follow the law. They need to allow Mackenzie to redo her assignment with the Bible verses. And they need to apologize. If they fail to do so, the federal government should revoke their funding.
A few weeks ago the Department of Education threatened to withhold funding for any public school that did not protect the rights of transgender students. I believe schools should be held to the same standard for religious students.
Captive audience for Heather Has Two Mommies? A-OK
Or Billy has two daddies
Freedom OF Religion is being altered by leftist in government,the courts,and leftist”civil rights” organizations into Freedom From Religion.This is something the Founders never intended.The only reason to push removal of God from the Public square is so as to place the State as the center of worship.
Good luck with that.
Exactly! That was my first thought as well.
She should have used Mohammed or Satan. I’m pretty sure the teacher wouldn’t have said a word and would be beaming with joy.
Oddly enough, the daughter of the lesbian who wrote that book has recently admitted that she felt like she missed out being raised without a father.
CC
Had she quoted Imam Baraq Obama she could have gotten a college scholarhip
I really am tired of this
This one is borderline. It is a technology class. The very definition of technology is “The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes.”
In this case, the teacher erred by not saying that students should use an inspirational message *from* science or technology. So yes, it was the teacher’s fault, because inspiration comes from a vast number of sources, with religion leading the pack.
Even if the teacher had discarded other inspirational messages, be they from sports, politics, art and literature, etc., they still would be wrong for not being specific in the assignment.
As things are now, the teacher comes across as a jerk, shunning a cross, in hate and fear, like Count Dracula.
(N.B.: increasing numbers of anti-Christian atheists are behaving this way, freaking out at the very sight of a religious symbol. This is an interesting phenomenon.)
Or Billy has a daddy and a goat.
Dont forget the slides about,
“Beheading infidel babies makes me feel good about myself”
-and-
“My daddy taught me how to hide an AK-47 under my burka”
Yes, you can smell the fear as the demons sweat, and tremble.
It's not any old "religious symbol" that makes them freak out, it's the cross of Christ. And they are right to fear Him.
Why is Mackenzie Fraser even in public school? If her parents are willing to abuse her by putting her in the government day prison then what on earth is their beef about Christianity or anything else? they turn their child over to the government, the child is going to get what the government is giving. If you don’t want that for your child then don’t put your child in the midst of it.
This is why conservatives should push for vouchers and tax credits. The goal should always be complete separation of school and state with charity paying for the poorest.
Is charity and option? Yes, I believe it is. Americans are very generous people. I believe that not only is it possible to raise charity funded vouchers for every child in this nation, but also all the children of the world could be receiving a private and free K-12 education.
Harvard has an endowment of 34 Billon ( with a **B** and is billion). Colleges and universities across this nation each have endowments in the 100s of millions.
If government had not flopped its big hairy toe over the line into government education in the mid 1800s to early 1900s, today nearly all K-12 education would be privately delivered and funded.
A lesson on the Constitution (or off it) in the mix.
See post #11.
I contend that college degrees do not good teachers make.
Children will move mountains to learn demonstrate learning for their parents.
Besides, sometimes teachers and students learn together.
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.