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Utah teacher forces student to wash off Ash Wednesday cross

Lutherf said:
My first thought would be that the teacher was ignorant of the practice rather than that he or she had malicious intent. Lots and lots of people these days are way more wrapped up in their own world than they are in the world at large.
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The thing is that the little boy tried to explain the significance of the ashes to his teacher, but she wouldn't listen, handed him an antibacterial wipe, and made him remove it.

The teacher clearly just didn't know any better, which is surprising. Also surprising is her not using her classroom computer or phone to Google.
 
Manc Skipper said:
I grew up with many Catholic friends, socially and in school, and I don't recall ever seeing anyone sporting an ash cross.
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Odd, particularly given that Anglicans also observe Ash Wednesday and the imposition of ashes. So do Lutherans and Episcopalians and many Methodists and Presbyterians too. Ash Wednesday - Wikipedia
 
nota bene said:
Odd, particularly given that Anglicans also observe Ash Wednesday and the imposition of ashes. So do Lutherans and Episcopalians and many Methodists and Presbyterians too. Ash Wednesday - Wikipedia
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to be fair, "Anglican" is just the place holder you mark on a census form if you don't believe but don't want to be an atheist. no crud their weekly attendance is super low.
 
EMNofSeattle said:
to be fair, "Anglican" is just the place holder you mark on a census form if you don't believe but don't want to be an atheist. no crud their weekly attendance is super low.
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That is an outrageous falsehood and a comment that is beneath contempt.
 
EMNofSeattle said:
If you start attending school in the morning you would go to the evening mass and get it then.
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I might have mentioned before, waiting outside while a pal attended confession, etc. before going off on semi-lawful after-school escapades with the slate wiped clean. It's not that I didn't see them, just marked foreheads. The occasional Hindu woman might be seen with a red bindi, but that was it.
As you said Anglican is a box-ticking religion, nominally Catholic lite. So lite that a vicar once declared that a belief in the resurrection was not necessary!
 
nota bene said:
That is an outrageous falsehood and a comment that is beneath contempt.
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The CofE has weekly attendance of less then 100 grand, the Anglican Church in Canada ordains atheist ministers, and the American Episocal church is involved in lawsuits over their congregations splitting off because they went whole hog in favor of abortion and homosexuality. The implosion of Anglicanism is well documented
 
EMNofSeattle said:
The CofE has weekly attendance of less then 100 grand, the Anglican Church in Canada ordains atheist ministers, and the American Episocal church is involved in lawsuits over their congregations splitting off because they went whole hog in favor of abortion and homosexuality. The implosion of Anglicanism is well documented
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I'm not talking about any decline in church attendance or membership; you stated, "is just the place holder you mark on a census form if you don't believe but don't want to be an atheist...."
 
Children should not be subject to religious symbolism.


The teacher was trying to protect the child.



Making children go to school with religious (or political) symbolism is child abuse.


The police should arrest the parents for allowing the child to have the cross on his face in the first place.
 
JacksinPA said:
Utah teacher forces student to wash off Ash Wednesday cross

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A teacher in the predominantly Mormon state of Utah was placed on administrative leave after she forced a Catholic student to wash off the Ash Wednesday cross from his forehead.

William McLeod, 9, had just returned to his school near Salt Lake City after attending Catholic mass when his fourth-grade teacher called the ash marking “inappropriate” and gave him a hand wipe to clean it off in front of his classmates, grandmother Karen Fisher said.
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Utah is a virtual theocracy, apparently intolerant of other religious views beyond the LDS.
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Interesting.

Seems to me it is a religious symbol and may not be appropriate in school.
 
Captain Adverse said:
Yes they must clearly be intolerant because as the report states, the teacher was praised and is still actively teaching...oh wait, she was placed on administrative leave pending investigation, but first called before the school board and compelled to apologize to the child and parent.

Yep...very theocratically intolerant that entire State must be. :coffeepap:
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That was the first thing that hit me as well. The part the OP quoted said literally the opposite of their assessment.
 
JacksinPA said:
Utah teacher forces student to wash off Ash Wednesday cross

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A teacher in the predominantly Mormon state of Utah was placed on administrative leave after she forced a Catholic student to wash off the Ash Wednesday cross from his forehead.

William McLeod, 9, had just returned to his school near Salt Lake City after attending Catholic mass when his fourth-grade teacher called the ash marking “inappropriate” and gave him a hand wipe to clean it off in front of his classmates, grandmother Karen Fisher said.
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Utah is a virtual theocracy, apparently intolerant of other religious views beyond the LDS.
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I am an atheist but this is nonsense, if he has an ash cross that is not an inappropriate thing, that is a simple smudge of ash on his face, why would that be an issue?
 
Manc Skipper said:
I grew up with many Catholic friends, socially and in school, and I don't recall ever seeing anyone sporting an ash cross.
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Having went to Catholic schools, in elementary a priest would come to the school and apply one to every student. I dont recall that happening in High school however
 
JacksinPA said:
Utah teacher forces student to wash off Ash Wednesday cross

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A teacher in the predominantly Mormon state of Utah was placed on administrative leave after she forced a Catholic student to wash off the Ash Wednesday cross from his forehead.

William McLeod, 9, had just returned to his school near Salt Lake City after attending Catholic mass when his fourth-grade teacher called the ash marking “inappropriate” and gave him a hand wipe to clean it off in front of his classmates, grandmother Karen Fisher said.
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Utah is a virtual theocracy, apparently intolerant of other religious views beyond the LDS.
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They are punishing a teacher for cleanliness? WTF? That is really unacceptable.
 
ecofarm said:
Is it appropriate for children to display one so?
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It is if the kid is a minority liberal... but since he was a conservative following his religious beliefs he was punished instead...
 
Rich2018 said:
Children should not be subject to religious symbolism.


The teacher was trying to protect the child.



Making children go to school with religious (or political) symbolism is child abuse.


The police should arrest the parents for allowing the child to have the cross on his face in the first place.
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It was on his forehead...
 
If one cant wear an ashe cross or a jesus cross pendant or a maga hat then we might as well have taxpayer funded potato sacks for every child. That will really get the message across.
 
DiAnna said:
Eh, I'm not religious; however, I support those who are. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, I don't care. I respect those who practice their religious beliefs. Freedom of religion, freedom from religion, is an American belief.

Those who rebuke any religion which does not support their personal beliefs are beyond my personal acceptance of what can and cannot be imposed upon me; You have the absolute freedom to believe in whatever religion you follow; You do NOT have the the freedom to dismiss anyone who does NOT believe in your personal religious dogma.

We are Americans; Christians, Jews, Catholics, Muslims, non-religious, anyone who considers themselves a loyal American who places their religious dogma above their support for Country above destruction of evil empires who threaten nuclear annihilation needs to back away, and consider what their children and grandchildren will suffer for their ambiguity.
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Well said and bears repeating.
 
Honestly, I was raised in a Catholic family and never heard of this until this incident.

That being said, yes I think the teacher should have gotten more info about it, but I don't blame the teacher either nor do I think she should face some huge punishment for what seems to be a mistake. Apologizing and agreeing to be more sensitive to all possible religious rites or practices in the future (at least getting an explanation for something that might seem like it could be something related to religion) should be sufficient. I honestly would not have realized that it was anything more than dirt either. And why would it be wrong for a teacher to help her students be cleaner if she could?
 
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