Girl suspended for saying ‘bless you’ at school

[Delta4Embassy]

I personally 100% believe there is a secular PC cultural war against Christian's in America.

Just an astute observation..........

Had wanted to write a book titled something along the lines of, "The marginalization of religious faith in the United States" but got into other things. But ya, agreed. Religious people are becomming the latest persecuted group it seems. While I disagree with religious assertions, I do respect them and the poeple who have the mental fortitude to assert them publicly. And think it's unfortunate we don't seem to have learned from history that persecuting religious people doesn't lead anywhere good.

 

[Pogo]

the teacher was obviously worried it might be contagious......can't have some poor atheist child at risk of going home blessed....

Little snarky so no points for you. It's a serious subject worthy of respectful discussion.

Actually it's most likely another instance of undereducated teachers enforcing separation of church and state. You CAN have religious expression in public schools SO LONG as it's neutrally presented. I think when this sort of thing happens then it's a teacher who thinks, incorrectly, no religious expression is permitted.

If all the kid said was "bless you" that's about as neutral as it gets. Not even a "God bless you" in it.

Please see post 15. It appears the entire story is grossly misrepresented to sell papers, and based entirely on a ten-year-old girl's (or whatever age she is) Nosebook post.

This is much less a story about what goes on in schools or separation of church and state than it is a story about what passes for journalistic ethics. And the gullibility of the public on the receiving end of it.

 

[UllysesS.Archer]

A young girl in Tennessee says she was suspended after breaking a class rule of saying “bless you” after a classmate sneezed.

When Dyer County High School senior Kendra Turner said bless you, she says her teacher told her that was for church.

Turner feels her teacher was taking issue for her religion. When she stood up for herself, Turner says she was told to go to the administrator’s office. She was later placed in in-school suspension for the rest of that class period.

Her pastor Rev. Becky Winegardner says they had just talked about how to stand up for their faith last week.

“There were several students that were talking about this particular faculty member there that was very demeaning to them in regards to their faith,” Winegardner said.

Students sent WMC a photo of the teacher’s white board that lists “bless you” and other expressions that are banned as part of class rules.

Girl suspended for saying ‘bless you’ at school | WGN-TV

Oh bullshit. Summa y'all are just so damn gullible to hack fake-news stories. Does no one vet these bullshit articles any more?

Your own link notes, "Turner's family met with school leaders Tuesday. They say the teacher claimed Turner was being disruptive and aggressive". This one goes further:

>> Obviously, there’s no recording of what happened, so this is inevitably the student’s word against the teacher’s, and the student got her side out before anyone else could respond.

So I called up Principal Peggy Dodds just a little while ago and got her side of the story before shit hits the fan in the conservative world.

According to Dodds, Turner was not given an in-school suspension. She wasn’t sent out of the classroom, either — she chose to walk out. And, most importantly, she wasn’t punished by the teacher for saying “God bless you” — however, the teacher did admonish her for “disrupting the classroom.”

Since I can’t verify the specifics of what was said (including the remarks about “Godly speaking”), let me offer this hypothetical:

The class was supposed to be quiet. Someone sneezed. Turner said *something* in response (it doesn’t matter what) and the teacher asked her to be quiet. Turner took that as a knock on her faith and felt the need to defend against it. The teacher only saw this as a further disruption and the situation escalated. The student, clearly frustrated, ran out of the classroom and, not long after that, posted something on Facebook. <<
​

PC-gone-wild is one thing but this appears to be the other side of the coin: martyr complex.

C'mon people. Use your heads. Quit stepping up to the counter every time some snake oil salesman opens for business.

Let's see, WGN or an atheist blog? HMMM? Which one should I trust more? HMMM?

Isn't that like asking who would win, the Dallas Cowboys or your local middle school team? I mean, I know Romo sucks, but I would still take the cowboys.

So let's go with WGN, but Pogo, you keep betting on your local middle school team.

 

[Sunni Man]

It's easy for even the casual observer to see there is a secular PC war being waged against Christians by the government, courts, and especially the media. ...

 

[Pogo]

A young girl in Tennessee says she was suspended after breaking a class rule of saying “bless you” after a classmate sneezed.

When Dyer County High School senior Kendra Turner said bless you, she says her teacher told her that was for church.

Turner feels her teacher was taking issue for her religion. When she stood up for herself, Turner says she was told to go to the administrator’s office. She was later placed in in-school suspension for the rest of that class period.

Her pastor Rev. Becky Winegardner says they had just talked about how to stand up for their faith last week.

“There were several students that were talking about this particular faculty member there that was very demeaning to them in regards to their faith,” Winegardner said.

Students sent WMC a photo of the teacher’s white board that lists “bless you” and other expressions that are banned as part of class rules.

Girl suspended for saying &#8216;bless you&#8217; at school | WGN-TV

Oh bullshit. Summa y'all are just so damn gullible to hack fake-news stories. Does no one vet these bullshit articles any more?

Your own link notes, "Turner's family met with school leaders Tuesday. They say the teacher claimed Turner was being disruptive and aggressive". This one goes further:

>> Obviously, there’s no recording of what happened, so this is inevitably the student’s word against the teacher’s, and the student got her side out before anyone else could respond.

So I called up Principal Peggy Dodds just a little while ago and got her side of the story before shit hits the fan in the conservative world.

According to Dodds, Turner was not given an in-school suspension. She wasn’t sent out of the classroom, either — she chose to walk out. And, most importantly, she wasn’t punished by the teacher for saying “God bless you” — however, the teacher did admonish her for “disrupting the classroom.”

Since I can’t verify the specifics of what was said (including the remarks about “Godly speaking”), let me offer this hypothetical:

The class was supposed to be quiet. Someone sneezed. Turner said *something* in response (it doesn’t matter what) and the teacher asked her to be quiet. Turner took that as a knock on her faith and felt the need to defend against it. The teacher only saw this as a further disruption and the situation escalated. The student, clearly frustrated, ran out of the classroom and, not long after that, posted something on Facebook. <<
​

PC-gone-wild is one thing but this appears to be the other side of the coin: martyr complex.

C'mon people. Use your heads. Quit stepping up to the counter every time some snake oil salesman opens for business.

Let's see, WGN or an atheist blog? HMMM? Which one should I trust more? HMMM?

Isn't that like asking who would win, the Dallas Cowboys or your local middle school team? I mean, I know Romo sucks, but I would still take the cowboys.

So let's go with WGN, but Pogo, you keep betting on your local middle school team.

Riiiiiiiight, because WGN, a commercial TV station, couldn't possibly have an interest in selling internet hits or TV ads. So you'll take a report based on a ten-year-old's Nosebook post over the principal and keep the persecution fantasy intact. Even though the link doesn't say "a girl was suspended" but rather, and I quote, "A young girl in Tennessee says she was suspended". Even though the CNN video in the link contains absolutely nothing whatsoever from the school.

Mister happy face for you!

​

Wanna buy a bridge?


Reading: a lost art.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Please see post 15. It appears the entire story is grossly misrepresented to sell papers, and based entirely on a ten-year-old girl's (or whatever age she is) Nosebook post.

This is much less a story about what goes on in schools or separation of church and state than it is a story about what passes for journalistic ethics. And the gullibility of the public on the receiving end of it.

Admittedly I didn't read the OP. But I've heard of these sort of things happening before so whether this particular incident was overstated is less relevant. It happens. That's irrefutable. But I'll conceed your point.

 

[Samuel_jc]

Please see post 15. It appears the entire story is grossly misrepresented to sell papers, and based entirely on a ten-year-old girl's (or whatever age she is) Nosebook post.

This is much less a story about what goes on in schools or separation of church and state than it is a story about what passes for journalistic ethics. And the gullibility of the public on the receiving end of it.

Admittedly I didn't read the OP. But I've heard of these sort of things happening before so whether this particular incident was overstated is less relevant. It happens. That's irrefutable. But I'll conceed your point.

The day after 9/11 it was OK to pray and ask God for protection everywhere in the USA must we lear that lesson again?

 

[Pogo]

Please see post 15. It appears the entire story is grossly misrepresented to sell papers, and based entirely on a ten-year-old girl's (or whatever age she is) Nosebook post.

This is much less a story about what goes on in schools or separation of church and state than it is a story about what passes for journalistic ethics. And the gullibility of the public on the receiving end of it.

Admittedly I didn't read the OP. But I've heard of these sort of things happening before so whether this particular incident was overstated is less relevant. It happens. That's irrefutable. But I'll conceed your point.

Actually it IS refutable. I just did. Something the OP should have done before posting.

How many other such bullshit stories can be/could have been similarly debunked given a simple minimal critical eye? I smelled bullshit here as soon as I read the title. This is why I have to wonder aloud to what level we have sunk when we're taking Nosebook posts from ten-year-old girls and making "news stories" out of them. That's what I see as the significant issue here. When we say "I've heard of this sort of thing before", well that's the effect of propaganda when nobody calls Bullshit and perceptions start trumping reality.

 

[UllysesS.Archer]

Please see post 15. It appears the entire story is grossly misrepresented to sell papers, and based entirely on a ten-year-old girl's (or whatever age she is) Nosebook post.

This is much less a story about what goes on in schools or separation of church and state than it is a story about what passes for journalistic ethics. And the gullibility of the public on the receiving end of it.

Admittedly I didn't read the OP. But I've heard of these sort of things happening before so whether this particular incident was overstated is less relevant. It happens. That's irrefutable. But I'll conceed your point.

Actually it IS refutable. I just did. Something the OP should have done before posting.

How many other such bullshit stories can be/could have been similarly debunked given a simple minimal critical eye? I smelled bullshit here as soon as I read the title. This is why I have to wonder aloud to what level we have sunk when we're taking Nosebook posts from ten-year-old girls and making "news stories" out of them. That's what I see as the significant issue here. When we say "I've heard of this sort of thing before", well that's the effect of propaganda when nobody calls Bullshit and perceptions start trumping reality.

First of all, you have no clue. Secondly, the girl's name is Kendra Turner, anyone wanting news on her, just google her name. And she is 17 a far different age than 10.

And the fact that you consider that you posting a blog from an atheist website, debunking, is simply

 

[Delta4Embassy]

School prayer | First Amendment Center – news, commentary, analysis on free speech, press, religion, assembly, petition

Everything ya need to know about school prayer, and more relevant, student's ability to exercise religious faith in a public school setting.

"Students’ expression rights
But what of the right of students to pray at school? Many people are under the mistaken impression that the prohibition against government-imposed prayers applies to students as well. Just like other forms of student expression, student religious speech is protected. As the Court explains in Tinker v. Des Moines, “students do not shed their constitutional rights when they enter the school house gate.” These “constitutional rights” include a student’s right to pray alone or in groups, as long as they are not disruptive to the school environment. To prevent students from engaging in such non-disruptive activities would violate both their free exercise of religion and free-speech rights."

So simply acknowledging someone's sneeze with "God bless you" would not have been disruptive. Depending maybe on how she said it, volumn etc. The teacher made a federal case out of it (literally.) When the better response would have been simply not acknowledging it in the first place.

 

[Pogo]

And btw since WGN is in Chicago (which is not in Tennessee), here's the page from WMC in Memphis where they got the story, complete with that station's "report". Notice once again that they describe the whole thing as "social media" story, that it's carefully worded to report not what happened but what the girl says happened, and that their sources consist entirely of the girl and her pastor -- and not a word from the school. Entirely from one side.

Wake UP folks. You're being played like a cheap banjo. TV "news" is not put there to disseminate the news. It's put there to sell soap.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Actually it IS refutable. I just did. Something the OP should have done before posting.

How many other such bullshit stories can be/could have been similarly debunked given a simple minimal critical eye? I smelled bullshit here as soon as I read the title. This is why I have to wonder aloud to what level we have sunk when we're taking Nosebook posts from ten-year-old girls and making "news stories" out of them. That's what I see as the significant issue here. When we say "I've heard of this sort of thing before", well that's the effect of propaganda when nobody calls Bullshit and perceptions start trumping reality.

The irrefutable part is that religious persecution occurs in public schools because if inadequate teacher education on the laws governing it as below,

"Other forms of student religious expression should be treated as any other type of student speech on campus. If a student’s private expression does not create a substantial disruption to the educational environment or infringe on the rights of others, the school should protect the student’s right to express himself or herself.

These guidelines were given additional support on Feb. 7, 2003, when the Department of Education issued a somewhat revised version — and warned that school districts failing to abide by them faced losing federal money.

“Even after repeated dissemination of guidelines, far too many school administrators still ignore their obligation to protect the religious-liberty rights of students,” said Charles Haynes, the First Amendment Center’s senior scholar. “Linking the guidelines to funding is a wake-up call that may finally push all schools to take the First Amendment seriously.”"

 

[Pogo]

Please see post 15. It appears the entire story is grossly misrepresented to sell papers, and based entirely on a ten-year-old girl's (or whatever age she is) Nosebook post.

This is much less a story about what goes on in schools or separation of church and state than it is a story about what passes for journalistic ethics. And the gullibility of the public on the receiving end of it.

Admittedly I didn't read the OP. But I've heard of these sort of things happening before so whether this particular incident was overstated is less relevant. It happens. That's irrefutable. But I'll conceed your point.

Actually it IS refutable. I just did. Something the OP should have done before posting.

How many other such bullshit stories can be/could have been similarly debunked given a simple minimal critical eye? I smelled bullshit here as soon as I read the title. This is why I have to wonder aloud to what level we have sunk when we're taking Nosebook posts from ten-year-old girls and making "news stories" out of them. That's what I see as the significant issue here. When we say "I've heard of this sort of thing before", well that's the effect of propaganda when nobody calls Bullshit and perceptions start trumping reality.

First of all, you have no clue. Secondly, the girl's name is Kendra Turner, anyone wanting news on her, just google her name. And she is 17 a far different age than 10.

And the fact that you consider that you posting a blog from an atheist website, debunking, is simply

Whatever. Her name and age aren't important. I picked a random number. What I posted was an interview with the principal. Go ahead and find something from that principal, or other school official, that contradicts it. Your facile guilt-by-association tactic is even lamer.

Until you can find that, you have a Nosebook post to go on for a source. That's it. Which says a lot about your sources and what you're willing to settle for in the interest of propagandizing bullshit.

 

[Pogo]

School prayer | First Amendment Center – news, commentary, analysis on free speech, press, religion, assembly, petition

Everything ya need to know about school prayer, and more relevant, student's ability to exercise religious faith in a public school setting.

"Students’ expression rights
But what of the right of students to pray at school? Many people are under the mistaken impression that the prohibition against government-imposed prayers applies to students as well. Just like other forms of student expression, student religious speech is protected. As the Court explains in Tinker v. Des Moines, “students do not shed their constitutional rights when they enter the school house gate.” These “constitutional rights” include a student’s right to pray alone or in groups, as long as they are not disruptive to the school environment. To prevent students from engaging in such non-disruptive activities would violate both their free exercise of religion and free-speech rights."

So simply acknowledging someone's sneeze with "God bless you" would not have been disruptive. Depending maybe on how she said it, volumn etc. The teacher made a federal case out of it (literally.) When the better response would have been simply not acknowledging it in the first place.

Once again, we don't know the teacher did any such thing. We have a girl's Nosebook post, and that's all we have. Are you in the habit of hearing one side of a story and then deciding, "guilty, off with their heads"? I'm not.

Already on Snopes

 

[SillyWabbit]

Even though I consider saying "Bless you" after someone sneezes to be silliness, I find making a big deal out of it to the point of suspending a child from school to be the definition of asinine.

 

[Pogo]

Even though I consider saying "Bless you" after someone sneezes to be silliness, I find making a big deal out of it to the point of suspending a child from school to be the definition of asinine.

There is zero evidence she was "suspended". For that matter there is zero evidence the incident had anything to do with saying "bless you". This is a bullshit "story".

 

[HenryBHough]

What does a believing Christian say when God sneezes?

 

[Delta4Embassy]

What does a believing Christian say when God sneezes?

One of those things that'll I'll obsess over and will keep me up all night. So to return the favor,

"Did Adam have a navel?" Enjoy.

 

[HenryBHough]

Silly.

Adam didn't have a navel (orange); he had an apple and, once he et that, he couldn't get rid of the bitch.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Once again, we don't know the teacher did any such thing. We have a girl's Nosebook post, and that's all we have. Are you in the habit of hearing one side of a story and then deciding, "guilty, off with their heads"? I'm not.

Already on Snopes

I read rather a lot. So yes, I"m an 'off with their head' hangin' judge type. Be nice if I could count on living for centuries, but as it is, with my reading list, I don't have time to read every little thing. The particular article isn't the important part. Could eliminate it altogether and still have pleanty of incidents to cite.