Students Harassed for Not Supporting Teacher's Bible
In April, the community held a rally in support of John Freshwater:
Former student Stephanie Smith, and her mother, Barbara Smith, were at the rally, holding signs in support of Freshwater. Barbara said she was there because she has children in the school system. “If he was doing something wrong I could understand it. He’s not doing anything wrong,” she said. “They have taken everything away out of the schools. ... When I was in school, we prayed in the morning. Now, they don’t. That’s what’s wrong with the schools today. The discipline has gotten so out of control. The kids have gotten so out of control. They’ve taken everything [the values] out.”
Source: Mount Vernon News
So, John Freshwater is not in any way promoting a religious or Christian viewpoint — which would be unconstitutional — but it's important that he be allowed to keep his Bible because schools have already removed all the other forms of state-endorsed religion like mandator Bible reading and state-written prayers. With supporters like Stephanie Smith, who needs opponents?
Apparently, the school has known for some time that John Freshwater has been promoting his religion in various ways and only just now acted because of recent complaints regarding his Bible:
Retired middle school science teacher Jeff George worked alongside Freshwater at Mount Vernon Middle School in the late 1980s and early ’90s. ...George said there may be substance to other allegations that Freshwater used the classroom to advance his own personal beliefs. “The school administration has known for a long time that Freshwater was crossing the line, and he should have been fired a long time ago.”
George recalls several occasions when Freshwater “didn’t always stay on track with science. What he was teaching was not true, and there have been numerous complaints over the years.” (On more than one occasion, evaluations in Freshwater’s file indicate that Freshwater was directed to work more closely with George in following the course of study.)
George also remembers a time when a school principal specifically told Freshwater to stop distributing religious materials in class. Freshwater then, George said, numbered the religious items, and collected them at the end of the class period to make sure none would leave the classroom. “He (Freshwater) was promoting a particular belief system,” George said, “and preached against other religions, not just Muslims or Jews or Hindus, but also any Christian denomination that was different from his.”
Source: Mount Vernon News
The Bible indeed seems to be the least of Freshwater's problems:
One of the complaints was that Freshwater used an electrostatic device to burn crosses onto students’ arms. The News received a fax Tuesday from attorney Jessica Philemond of the law firm Isaac, Brant, Ledman & Teetor, who issued a statement from her clients, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of their child being retaliated against.
The fax stated, “We are religious people, but we were offended when Mr. Freshwater burned a cross onto the arm of our child. This was done in science class in December 2007, where an electric shock machine was used to burn our child. The burn was severe enough that our child awoke that night with severe pain, and the cross remained there for several weeks. ... We have tried to keep this a private matter and hesitate to tell the whole story to the media for fear that we will be retaliated against.” In the fax, the parents said the issue is not about Freshwater having his personal Bible, which they do not oppose, but about the violation of laws and defiance of school policy.
Short said it is alleged that Freshwater used his classroom to advance religion and that he teaches his own beliefs from the Bible and not the approved curriculum. In the fax, the parents also said, “We are Christians who practice our faith where it belongs, at church and in our home and, most importantly, outside the public classroom, where the law requires a separation of church and state.”
There are also allegations that Freshwater has conducted prayers and engaged in a healing session in his capacity as as monitor for a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting. According to Short, the FCA is a non-school sponsored religious club and federal law prohibits school employees from actively participating. Middle school principal Bill White has been directed to remove Freshwater as a monitor to the club.
Source: Mount Vernon News
The fact that complaints are coming from Christians doesn't matter to other Christians. Lines are being drawn in the school: supporters of John Freshwater are the "real" Christians while those who fail to show fervent support — even if they didn't file complaints — are the enemy. Religious tolerance is being revealed as a one-way street for Christians in Mount Vernon. They want "tolerance" for teachers who promote their religious beliefs in science class, but they will show no tolerance for non-Christians or traitorous Christians who dissent:
Beth Murdoch, whose daughter attends the middle school, is one of the parents who has expressed concerns about the sometimes hostile environment at the middle school. “You’re either for Mr. Freshwater or you’re against Mr. Freshwater. There’s no in between,” Murdoch said. “In the kids’ minds, I think, it is just the Bible issue. And who is going to go against the Bible? Nobody. But it seems like the ‘Christians’ are using that as an excuse to gang up on the ‘atheists.’
“My daughter Arie told me about a Jewish child who brought his Torah to school when other students brought Bibles in support of Freshwater,” she continued. “He thought he was supporting freedom of religious expression, and the other kids just ripped him apart. ‘What are you doing?’ they asked. ‘You can’t support Mr. Freshwater, you’re Jewish.’ So they don’t get it.
“I don’t think people realize the depth of what’s going on between the students. It’s a mob mentality right now. It’s peer pressure. To not wear a T-shirt and to not bring your Bible when they say bring your Bible and wear a T-shirt, you’re asking for trouble.”
Murdoch said one of Arie’s friends wore a T-shirt to school that read, “I don’t need to wear a special T-shirt to be a Christian.” That individual was reportedly pushed into the lockers and called a “stupid atheist b****.” That is not acceptable in Murdoch’s mind. ...
Murdoch said that Arie sometimes wears a cross necklace to school. Another student, according to Murdoch, asked Arie why she wore the cross if she doesn’t support Freshwater. “The cross doesn’t stand for Freshwater,” Murdoch said. “That’s ridiculous.”
Source: Mount Vernon News
Can you imagine a similar show of support for a Muslim teacher who had the Qur'an on their desk, or a Wiccan teacher with a Wiccan text on their desk? Can you imagine any support for an atheist teacher who kept a copy of The God Delusion or Why I Am Not a Christian on their desk? I can't either — I can, however, imagine howls of protest against allowing such a teacher near children in a public school setting.
Christine Hamilton has two sons in the middle school. “They have gotten harassed,” she said, “because they are friends with the boy [whose parents filed the complaint against Freshwater]. In our country, everyone’s allowed their religious opinion, but some of the middle school kids are just jumping on a bandwagon. If you’re not for Mr. Freshwater, you are going to be harassed. That is flat out what is happening in the middle school. Therefore, I think a lot of kids are for Mr. Freshwater because they don’t want to be harassed, they don’t want to be singled out. And who wants to be against the Bible? Nobody."
You aren't really "allowed" to have an opinion when a mob will harass and threaten you simply for not agreeing with popular religious bigotry. This is nothing less than vicious, bigoted tribalism: if you're not with us, you're against us; if you're not defending Freshwater, you're his and our enemy; if you're not helping us, you're against the Bible. Being considered a real Christian is being defined along political and social lines: only those who adopt the right political and social beliefs are being accepted as Christians now.
It's difficult to escape the notion that in past eras, this would have become the basis for a witch hunt, persecution, and perhaps driving people out of the community entirely. It's clear how religion is inextricably involved with social harassment — which in a less liberal atmosphere, would surely move well beyond harassment and into persecution. People like to say that religion should be respected, but problems like this wouldn't reach the extremes that they can when religion and religious differences aren't involved.
It's important to recognize that the framers of the Constitution sought to separate religious and political authority for just such reasons. Europe's Wars of Religion were still a recent enough memory, and many American settlers were fleeing religious persecution of various sorts — but always, the persecution was made possible through a union of religious and political authority. The framers didn't want religious divisions along political lines or political divisions along religious lines. Allowing political authorities to take sides in religious disagreements opens the door for persecution, oppression, harassment, and more.
Comments
I should point out that Mount Vernon is in Ohio, not Indiana.
How is the school demanding he not carry his bible the right decision? Many of the other actions he’s apparently taken do appear to be inappropriate; the school should be taking actions against these. But disciplining him for having and displaying a bible to me goes way too far. The bible itself does not cause a divisive atmosphere (and if people are so worked up that just seeing a bible is divisive to them, they are the ones who need to be condemned).
Big deal. I was harrassed for carrying a bible in high school, and asking questions about evolution.
No one came to my defense.
Not that I needed it, chuckle…now I am pre law and understand how the law can work in my favor.
Later dudes.
Betsy: Thanks
Tep: It’s incorrect to look at his keeping a Bible on his desk in isolation. It’s part of a long-standing and unambiguous patters of inappropriate behavior. If that had been all he had ever done, it might be permissible; because it’s not all he’s ever done, though, he doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt anymore.
Master Blaster: by whom were you harassed, and where?
So far the Mt. Vernon board of education is doing it right in the present situation (though the administration has been dropping the ball for years). They’ve hired an outside firm to investigate the various allegations, and won’t act until they get the results of that investigation. It’s hard to say what they’ll decide to do, but I’m pretty certain some significant action will be taken. Freshwater’s transgressions are too obvious, and at the most recent board meeting his supporters, nearly all members of his fundamentalist congregation, laid a Lemon test ‘purpose prong’ evidence trail a mile wide, as has Freshwater himself. AU is monitoring the situation with help from several local people.
I should add that the middle school administration and teachers stomped down hard on the harassment noted in the OP, and as far as one can tell it has been pretty much stopped, at least in the school itself.
gimme a break should he hide it as if he was ashamed of it this isnt a moslem fundamentalist state
gimme a break should he hide it as if he was ashamed of it this isnt a moslem fundamentalist state
No, he just shouldn’t display it obvious and prominently on his desk. The teacher’s desk is a station of authority, not a launching pad for religious proselytization.
Since you’re posting from Australia, which “this” are you referring to?
I have to agree with Austin’s point:
“Can you imagine a similar show of support for a Muslim teacher who had the Qur’an on their desk, or a Wiccan teacher with a Wiccan text on their desk? Can you imagine any support for an atheist teacher who kept a copy of The God Delusion or Why I Am Not a Christian on their desk?”
In any of these other scenarios, I think community reaction would be overwhelming to the point that the teacher would be told to remove the book, as I’m sure it would constitute a disruption of business as usual for either students or parents or both.
I see the allowance of the Bible to be preferential treatment until someone can convince me that this same community would be fine with “The God Delusion” on full display at a teacher’s desk.
So is it appropriate for the community to forbid a teacher to display “The God Delusion” then? Or do you think it’s not appropriate, but support forbidding the bible from some quid pro quo stance?
Tep
I think it’s prudent to stay away from any discussion about religious or non-religious topics in the classroom. That Freshwater guy was supposed to be teaching the curriculum. The school system is responsible for letting it get as far as it did and they should be held accountable.
There’s a reason for separation of church and state and this proves how necessary it is. The mother, Barbara Smith, claims that what is wrong with the school system is lack of prayer – that is why the children are so out of control. When will people take responsibility for their own families and how they are raised? If there is a discipline problem it isn’t because there are no bibles or prayer in the school – one of the biggest reasons is because the parents do not want to raise their children and expect the school system to do it for them.
This “seperation of church and state” nonsense is a LIE. Nowhere is that phrase in the 1st Amendment nor ever brought up in any of the arguments that the Founding Fathers had while debating the wording of it. Fisher Ames WROTE the first Amendment and he advocated public schools because in his own words he said that without being able to read, people wouldn’t be able to read and understand the Word of God i.e the Bible and become decent moral people. The debates clearly show that “state religion” meant Christian denomintation. Ben Franklin advocated the teaching of religion in public school especially what he called the “Superior” religion of Christianity. John Adams said without the Great Awakening a great Christian revival, the U.S would never have come to be. The 1st Amendment is supposed to protect free practice of religion from the state. Yet atheists have used it to do the opposite. They hate ANY religion and God so they’re using the state to push their anti theist views upon OUR CHILDREN. The Founding Fathers advocated Bible study and prayer in schools people!!!!
The phrase “Seperation of church and state” is first used by Thomas Jefferson in reply to a group of Maryland Baptists who were concerned that the new U.S. Government could tax their church if they weren’t a particular state denomination. He replied that the 1st Amendment acted as a wall between the state and church so the state couldn’t force a state denomination or state church on anyone. Thomas Jefferson had NOTHING to do with the writing of the 1st Amendment. He was in France at the time on a diplomatic mission. “State religion” means Christian denomination not Christianity itself or any religion. The Bible and Christian Theology was taught in small American schools since the 1680’s. The same school primer was used from 1682 to 1933 where first grade students were taught the Ten Commandments and fairly advanced Christian theology. The Northwest Ordinance one of the four pillers of American Law said “Since Religion, morality, and knowledge are necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.” Yet people are never taught any of this because it’s ILLEGAL in school to say that the U.S. was a country set up based on Christianity and Christian values. Our schools can push an immoral atheistic materialistic philosophy all because of one awful Warren Supreme Court ruling. The same court that said that the Constitution guarantees that right for a woman to MURDER her child while still in the womb just because she doesn’t want to be bothered with raising a child. We have State sanctioned and taxpayer payed for MASS MURDERING OF CHILDREN yet we can’t talk about God in schools. The Founding Fathers would PUKE!!!!
I believe that many times, we forget that teachers and students do have a Constitutional right to express their beliefs, as long as they do not force it on others. Now, if the teacher had, instead of a Bible, a sign that said “If you’re not a Christian, you’re going to Hell,” I believe that would be aggresive, but a Bible is okay.
Also, I do want to mention that I am a believer in Christ, and I want to apologize for when other Christians can be too over-the-top (although I do not believe the teacher was being over-the-top in this case.)
1. You don’t have to go as far as such a sign to go over the line. In reality, this teacher actually went much further — the Bible wasn’t the only thing he did wrong.
I guess I look at it in the same way I might if a teacher in a school kept a Confederate Flag hung up behind his desk and a racist book on his desk.
While hanging a flag is no great harm to anyone, and having a book on a desk also seems quite innocuous, I can’t say I’d be all that happy if my child were exposed to that–especially if my child were African-American.
We had a high school home coming parade yesterday evening that marched down our street with floats done by all the kids. One float, I was excited to see, was for GSA–the student Gay-Straight Alliance. Wow. Just the fact that I have lived to see such a thing (and in TX no less!) amazes me.
How would a GSA member feel about being in a class, subject to an authority figure, who keeps a book on his desk (as an obvious show of support for the content) that says that student (if that student is a gay member) should be stoned to death?
It’s insensitive, and it has no place being openly displayed at his job location–where other people are subject to his authority. It’s intimidating to students who disagree. They are minors, and they should have an environment available to them where they can focus on the reason they’re there–to learn the required school curricula.
I also would not advocate for the teacher keeping “God Delusion” on his desk. It’s confrontational in a classroom setting, used by the single, central authority figure–who, just to remind–represents the state here (our tax dollars pay his salary, and he should not be using that position to advocate for a religion).