This from my home state of Massachusetts today: a second-grade class was instructed to draw pictures of "something that reminded them of Christmas". (Kinda surprising....in my kids' elementary school and preschool, Kwaanza and Hannukah seem to take precedence).
The point of the exercise was to get the kids creatively sketching something associated with the holiday. (Read the whole article here.)
An eight year old draws a crucifix - which he no doubt sees every week at church - and has the audacity to associate the cross with Christmas (very perceptive of him, by the way - few adults do as much. Baby Jesus in the manger is so much less confrontational and threatening than a Christ Who provides the only means of salvation, and demands repentance and surrender.)
The boy is dismissed from school and required to undergo a psych evaluation (we all know how objective and unbiased they are, right?) before he can return to the public school system.
People, this is the "Judeo-Christian culture" in which we live. Free speech is great, until you mention Jesus.
He (still) makes people uncomfortable.
From Glenn, at "Sanity in an Upside Down World": "You know, it’s a really upside-down world where a school system can teach grade-school kids all about homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle but requires a psychological evaluation of a child who draws a stick-figure of Christ on the cross when asked to draw something reminding him of the day we celebrate Christ’s birth."
Good point.
6 comments:
WOW! This gets around fast. I just got home from work and an e-mail from a friend took me to the Taunton Daily Gazette, and I immediately had to post a commentary on "Sanity in an Upside-Down World."
Just remember, atheists have claimed that taking children to the Creation Museum is "child abuse." It won't be long before all Christians will be required to undergo psychological evaluations!
I wouldn't have even noticed if it hadn't been so close to home, so to speak. I am surprised, though, that this is national news. I heard it on the local station and googled it out of curiosity.
Check out your cut and paste from my comment - I left out the "t" in "Christ's Birth"!
Did you also notice a change in my blog as you were posting the comment? I put a new photo on and I had to try a couple times to get it sized. You might also take a look at my new template for The Watchman's Bagpipes. I've learned how to do photos and I am now dangerous!
LOL!! Is that you? Must be a student, I'm thinking? Cool pic!
Thanks for pointing out that we're not celebrating Chris's birthday (although I'm sure he's a cool guy, whoever he is), but rather the birth of Christ.
I just recently discovered how easy it is to do screen shots and configure them in Paint. Fun times.
It was on Fox news too. But is it the truth? We see a lot of alarmist stuff fed to us online and in various news outlets that is sometimes true and is sometimes exaggerated for the sake of being alarmist or out of a sense of being "persecuted". The school says that that's not the picture the boy drew, and not the one that concern was expressed over. Dad says it is. Dare we jump to a conclusion when we have two sides and no evidence?
I like what Spurgeon noted,
I always like to know when there is a discussion, what is the fact. You have heard the story of King Charles the Second and the philosophers—King Charles asked one of them, "What is the reason why, if you had a pail of water, and weighed it, and then put a fish into it, that the weight would be the same?" They gave a great many elaborate reasons for this. At last one of them said, "Is it the fact?" And then they found out that the water did weigh more, just as much more as the fish put into it. So all their learned arguments fell to the ground.
Hi Barbara,
Merry Christmas!
Yeah, this story did happen pretty much as the parents alleged - there have been a lot more discussions/interviews/investigation going on and reported on in local papers (not all online). That was, in fact, the drawing that initiated the incident.
Even the folks working in the school administration here (we live in a different district) are shocked at the poor judgment used.
Apparently there was a similar case not too long ago down in Taunton. One of the key players in the story has a reputation as being a real loose canon, although frankly I think it was more just that - staggeringly poor judgment and a lack of common sense than deliberate "anti-Christian" sentiment. Naturally the district is trying to sugar-coat the facts so as not to look like complete morons.
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