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Mass. 2nd-grader sent home for crucifix drawing

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Anonymous

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http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9CK27GG0&show_article=1




Mass. 2nd-grader sent home for crucifix drawing
Dec 15 07:03 PM US/Eastern
By ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press Writer
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This drawing, released by Chester Johnson, of Taunton, shows a sketch of...


Chester Johnson, of Taunton, Mass., holds up a drawing of Jesus on the cross...


Chester Johnson, of Taunton, Mass., holds up a drawing of Jesus on the cross...


TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) - 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 sketched what appeared to be a stick figure of Jesus on a cross, the child's father said Tuesday.
Chester Johnson said his son made the drawing on Dec. 2 after his second-grade teacher asked children to sketch something that reminded them of the holiday. The assignment came just days after the family had visited the holiday lights display at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro, where Johnson said his son seemed taken with the religious statues he saw there.


"When he seen the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross, that's what he drew," Johnson said. "He liked that. That drew his eye."

Johnson, who works at the school as a janitor on a per diem basis, said administrators were concerned the boy drew Xs for Jesus' eyes, and particularly worried when his son said he'd drawn himself on the cross after officials pressed him about who he'd drawn.

Johnson said his son might have been worried about getting in trouble if he said he drew Jesus. "If he said it was him, it was more like a cartoon," Johnson said.

Superintendent Julie Hackett said she could not discuss an individual student and did not address the drawing specifically or the teacher's reaction to it, but did say the school has safety protocols in place that were followed.

Hackett did not return multiple calls from The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Johnson said his son gets specialized reading and speech instruction. He showed a reporter an evaluation that said the boy was not a threat to himself or others. The boy has been back in school since Dec. 7.

Johnson said he assured his son that he didn't do anything wrong, but he said his boy was traumatized by the incident and demanding an apology from school officials. Johnson said he's also looking to have his son transferred to another school.

"You can't walk back in an establishment that didn't have confidence in you ... and continue to do business with them," he said. "He's been excluded from all the other kids, man."

In June 2008, a Taunton fifth-grade student was suspended for a day for a stick figure drawing that appeared to depict him shooting his teacher and a classmate.

___
 

hopalong

Well-known member
Superintendent Julie Hackett said she could not discuss an individual student and did not address the drawing specifically or the teacher's reaction to it, but did say the school has safety protocols in place that were followed.
Hackett did not return multiple calls from The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Safety protocols against a kids drawing?????
come on folks this is asinine,
 

schnurrbart

Well-known member
I agree that sometimes it does seem out of control. However, I heard on CNN that the "person" in the drawing had Xs for eyes and that when asked about it the boy said it was him on the cross. Old cartoon always showed a dead body with Xs for eyes and the teacher said she was concerned that the boy might be wishing he was dead. Maybe far fetched but that is why they sent the boy home. Also that he wasn't suspended. They wanted him tested to see if there were any suicidal problems. I don't know. My wife's great nephew in the 2nd grade was expelled because he brought a little knife that had an inch and a half long blade in it that was about as sharp as the handle on some fingernail clippers. His grandfather had given it to him the day before and he wanted to show his buds at school. He had to go to an alternative school for a semester. I guess that after all the school killings, they are all being safe rather than sorry.
 

burnt

Well-known member
schnurrbart said:
I guess that after all the school killings, they are all being safe rather than sorry.

Yup and check your brain at the door, too, please. We will program you to be a safe, useless citizen . . . .
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
burnt said:
schnurrbart said:
I guess that after all the school killings, they are all being safe rather than sorry.

Yup and check your brain at the door, too, please. We will program you to be a safe, useless citizen . . . .

Never heard of a suicidal 8 year old before. I've heard of them making up stories that don't make sense, when they think they are in trouble though.
 

Nalen

Well-known member
Are you ******* kidding me. What kind of world are we living in nowadays? This is just ridiculous. Absolutely and completely assinine. What is wrong with these teachers and schools.
 

Nalen

Well-known member
Are you ******* kidding me. What kind of world are we living in nowadays? This is just ridiculous. Absolutely and completely assinine. What is wrong with these teachers and schools.
 

Nalen

Well-known member
Are you ******* kidding me. What kind of world are we living in nowadays? This is just ridiculous. Absolutely and completely assinine. What is wrong with these teachers and schools.
 

Steve

Well-known member
My wife's great nephew in the 2nd grade was expelled because he brought a little knife that had an inch and a half long blade in it that was about as sharp as the handle on some fingernail clippers. His grandfather had given it to him the day before and he wanted to show his buds at school.

He had to go to an alternative school for a semester. I guess that after all the school killings, they are all being safe rather than sorry.

this example is why liberals shouldn't be put in positions that require them to make a decision..

any one who had common sense would have just taken the knife, and had a talk with the child and his parents.. and explained the dangers of bringing a short dull knife to school.. gee,.. these teachers must be like the knife... :roll: :roll:

BTW how many of the killings have been done by 2nd graders?
 

schnurrbart

Well-known member
Steve said:
My wife's great nephew in the 2nd grade was expelled because he brought a little knife that had an inch and a half long blade in it that was about as sharp as the handle on some fingernail clippers. His grandfather had given it to him the day before and he wanted to show his buds at school.

He had to go to an alternative school for a semester. I guess that after all the school killings, they are all being safe rather than sorry.

this example is why liberals shouldn't be put in positions that require them to make a decision..

any one who had common sense would have just taken the knife, and had a talk with the child and his parents.. and explained the dangers of bringing a short dull knife to school.. gee,.. these teachers must be like the knife... :roll: :roll:

BTW how many of the killings have been done by 2nd graders?

I never said I agree with it and if you think all teachers in Arizona are liberals, you're crazier than a peach orchard boar!
 

TSR

Well-known member
Steve said:
My wife's great nephew in the 2nd grade was expelled because he brought a little knife that had an inch and a half long blade in it that was about as sharp as the handle on some fingernail clippers. His grandfather had given it to him the day before and he wanted to show his buds at school.

He had to go to an alternative school for a semester. I guess that after all the school killings, they are all being safe rather than sorry.

this example is why liberals shouldn't be put in positions that require them to make a decision..

any one who had common sense would have just taken the knife, and had a talk with the child and his parents.. and explained the dangers of bringing a short dull knife to school.. gee,.. these teachers must be like the knife... :roll: :roll:

BTW how many of the killings have been done by 2nd graders?

So then where do you stop-who determines when a knife is sharp or dull too short to be harmful, etc. BTW I'll bet the teachers didn't make the rules, only enforcing them, rather than be reprimanded. It seems to me the problem here would be parents who would say that student A was only given a talking to, while my boy(Student B) got expelled. Sad though that it has reached this point in America. So many people looking for the quick buck by sueing someone.
 

schnurrbart

Well-known member
TSR said:
Steve said:
My wife's great nephew in the 2nd grade was expelled because he brought a little knife that had an inch and a half long blade in it that was about as sharp as the handle on some fingernail clippers. His grandfather had given it to him the day before and he wanted to show his buds at school.

He had to go to an alternative school for a semester. I guess that after all the school killings, they are all being safe rather than sorry.

this example is why liberals shouldn't be put in positions that require them to make a decision..

any one who had common sense would have just taken the knife, and had a talk with the child and his parents.. and explained the dangers of bringing a short dull knife to school.. gee,.. these teachers must be like the knife... :roll: :roll:

BTW how many of the killings have been done by 2nd graders?

So then where do you stop-who determines when a knife is sharp or dull too short to be harmful, etc. BTW I'll bet the teachers didn't make the rules, only enforcing them, rather than be reprimanded. It seems to me the problem here would be parents who would say that student A was only given a talking to, while my boy(Student B) got expelled. Sad though that it has reached this point in America. So many people looking for the quick buck by sueing someone.

I wouldn't say that there should be a length limit because even a 1.5" blade could really hurt someone but I really don't think there should be a big problem unless the kid was really threatening someone with it. By the same reasoning, a rule that says cell phones have to be off during class would get the cell phone taken away in my class but some teachers would, I'm sure, overreact and conclude that the person was calling in an air strike on the school or something and escort him to the office. But if the school board says the rule then the teacher has to do it or face losing her job.
 

Twister Frost

Well-known member
Nalen said:
Are you ******* kidding me. What kind of world are we living in nowadays? This is just ridiculous. Absolutely and completely assinine. What is wrong with these teachers and schools.

3rd time's a charm--got my attention Spike!
You know based on experience that it really isn't the teacher that has something wrong with him/her in this situation. We are bound by board policy, which is superseded by state laws, which are superseded by federal laws. Once we reach federal, we need to realize that they will never legislate common sense because no money can be made off of it. We teachers are the bottom of the "rule" chain, and I for one, am tired of catching all the blame when there are a number of imbeciles above me who deserve your consternation. But, Spike, you have heard this from me before!!

P.S.--clean up your language or Christmas will involve a present of mouth-washing soap from me!! :lol:
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Twister Frost said:
Nalen said:
Are you ******* kidding me. What kind of world are we living in nowadays? This is just ridiculous. Absolutely and completely assinine. What is wrong with these teachers and schools.

3rd time's a charm--got my attention Spike!
You know based on experience that it really isn't the teacher that has something wrong with him/her in this situation. We are bound by board policy, which is superseded by state laws, which are superseded by federal laws. Once we reach federal, we need to realize that they will never legislate common sense because no money can be made off of it. We teachers are the bottom of the "rule" chain, and I for one, am tired of catching all the blame when there are a number of imbeciles above me who deserve your consternation. But, Spike, you have heard this from me before!!

P.S.--clean up your language or Christmas will involve a present of mouth-washing soap from me!! :lol:

TW in defense of Nalen I don't believe the 3 posts were intentional. The forums have many duplicate posts over the last 4 or 5 days. Both ranchers and Cattle Today have been having problems.

Now about the teachers and tied hands. The teachers union supported the libs and you are being employed and governed by liberal policies. The only thing to ever change your job restrictions or this country is for Americans to vote morals instead of pocket books and self. Nothing is going to CHANGE for real till morals are voted into political positions rather than greed and self.
 

TSR

Well-known member
Pig Farmer said:
Twister Frost said:
Nalen said:
Are you ******* kidding me. What kind of world are we living in nowadays? This is just ridiculous. Absolutely and completely assinine. What is wrong with these teachers and schools.

3rd time's a charm--got my attention Spike!
You know based on experience that it really isn't the teacher that has something wrong with him/her in this situation. We are bound by board policy, which is superseded by state laws, which are superseded by federal laws. Once we reach federal, we need to realize that they will never legislate common sense because no money can be made off of it. We teachers are the bottom of the "rule" chain, and I for one, am tired of catching all the blame when there are a number of imbeciles above me who deserve your consternation. But, Spike, you have heard this from me before!!

P.S.--clean up your language or Christmas will involve a present of mouth-washing soap from me!! :lol:

TW in defense of Nalen I don't believe the 3 posts were intentional. The forums have many duplicate posts over the last 4 or 5 days. Both ranchers and Cattle Today have been having problems.

Now about the teachers and tied hands. The teachers union supported the libs and you are being employed and governed by liberal policies. The only thing to ever change your job restrictions or this country is for Americans to vote morals instead of pocket books and self. Nothing is going to CHANGE for real till morals are voted into political positions rather than greed and self.

You need to reread Twister's post regarding why many teachers join the "union" its not all for political reasons. I guarantee you most couldn't tell you the NEA president's name but they can tell you that get quite a bit of insurance protection from being a member.
As far as Americans voting for morals some pretty decent moral conservative politicians have been elected in the past only to deny their convictions after a while. I don't know if it will ever change. I guess there's always hope. Have a good one.
 

Twister Frost

Well-known member
Pig Farmer said:
Twister Frost said:
Nalen said:
Are you ******* kidding me. What kind of world are we living in nowadays? This is just ridiculous. Absolutely and completely assinine. What is wrong with these teachers and schools.

3rd time's a charm--got my attention Spike!
You know based on experience that it really isn't the teacher that has something wrong with him/her in this situation. We are bound by board policy, which is superseded by state laws, which are superseded by federal laws. Once we reach federal, we need to realize that they will never legislate common sense because no money can be made off of it. We teachers are the bottom of the "rule" chain, and I for one, am tired of catching all the blame when there are a number of imbeciles above me who deserve your consternation. But, Spike, you have heard this from me before!!

P.S.--clean up your language or Christmas will involve a present of mouth-washing soap from me!! :lol:

TW in defense of Nalen I don't believe the 3 posts were intentional. The forums have many duplicate posts over the last 4 or 5 days. Both ranchers and Cattle Today have been having problems.

Now about the teachers and tied hands. The teachers union supported the libs and you are being employed and governed by liberal policies. The only thing to ever change your job restrictions or this country is for Americans to vote morals instead of pocket books and self. Nothing is going to CHANGE for real till morals are voted into political positions rather than greed and self.

I had already figured out that the multiple posts were not human error, thus the use of the exclamation point.
As far as me being ruled by liberal policies as a teacher, I highly doubt that at my local level or my state level. I'm not really sure what you are telling me I should do--I vote my morals every time I am in the booth, just as I am sure everyone else does, and I am pretty sure that explains why some of our laws are strict and some you could drive a Mack truck through. But, back to the original subject of the 2nd grader being sent
home:
Massachusetts 2nd-grader sent home for crucifix drawing

Associated Press
Posted: 12/15/2009 11:23:36 AM PST
Updated: 12/15/2009 11:23:38 AM PST

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 today. 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. (Notice how the dad doesn't add the information of the x's for eyes--thus, we all are up in arms over a child being disallowed his interpretation of Christmas.)
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. (So, why does the color of skin have anything to do with this incident? Maybe dad should have used the 'religious intolerance' defense in this case. Just a thought, since I was taken by the "black" statement. I wonder if the teacher is a white Republican--I know it wasn't me!)
Johnson told the Taunton Daily Gazette, which first reported the story today, 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. (I wonder why? He seems to be doing plenty of talking now---)
The boy was cleared to return to school on Dec. 7 after the evaluation found nothing to indicate that he posed a threat to himself or others. But his father said the boy was traumatized by the incident and the school district has approved the family's request to have the child transferred to another school. (I seem to see a slight problem here: My first grade teacher hurt my feelings by accusing me of cheating--something I didn't even understand at that age. What she really did is taught me to cover my work so "others" couldn't cheat off of me. Today, we seem to holler "Wolf" quite easily.)
"They owe my family an apology and the kid an apology and they need to work with my son (to) the best of their ability to get him back to where he was before all this happened," Johnson told New England Cable News. (I would agree, an apology is in order, but it seems that the father has taken it to the national level and asked that his child be moved to another school, so will the apology be enough?)
The father said in the days before the incident the family had gone to the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro, where there are crucifixion statues. (I have seen pictures of some of these statues; I didn't notice any x's.)
"That was fresh on his mind," he told NECN. "And that was a good thing that he saw."
Superintendent Julie Hackett said she could not discuss an individual student and did not address the drawing specifically or the teacher's reaction to it, but did say the school has safety protocols in place that were followed.
Hackett did not return multiple calls from The Associated Press today.
In June 2008, a Taunton fifth-grade student was suspended for a day for a stick figure drawing that appeared to depict him shooting his teacher and a classmate. (Looks to me like they have a blanket policy.)
Now, does this mean I believe this incident was handled correctly---no---but given the choice of following policy or losing my job over a rule that obviously has majority of district approval, I will do my job. I believe I'll save my insubordination for when we are in lock down and I need to run interference for my kids' sake. Maybe with all the attention, the school board will reconsider the policy, and something good will come out of this incident. But, to blame it on liberal teachers is asinine.
 
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