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Religion & Law

: Thoughts in a Haystack

Why the Banner is Star-Spangled

By John Pieret

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The incident began on a Wednesday in late January, when the girl did not stand for the pledge. Her teacher yelled at her, demanded that she stand and then sent her to the office for her defiance, Quereshi said. The school system confirmed the sequence of events.
The next morning, the girl again refused to stand for the pledge. This time, the teacher called two school police officers to the classroom to escort the girl to the office.

That was not an incident in a private school. The teacher was using the power of the state not only to humiliate a student but to physically intimidate her.

Fortunately, the school realizes how inappropriate the teacher's behavior was:

A school spokesman said Tuesday that the teacher's actions were a clear violation of the school's regulations, which are based on state law. The teacher, who also has not been identified by either side, will have to apologize to the student, spokesman Dana Tofig said.
"The policy is very, very clearly stated," Tofig said. "Our teachers are expected to know the students' rights and responsibilities. . . . A mistake has been made, and it will be rectified."

Given that the student was reportedly "mocked by other children in her class," the ACLU is exactly correct that the teacher should not only personally apologize to the student and promise to respect her rights in the future but that the incident should then be discussed in the class so it can become an educational opportunity. Anyone who thinks that might be too humiliating for the teacher or undermine her authority should just remember how humiliating it is to be dragged off by police for exercising one's Constitutional rights or how the authority of the Constitution, the supreme law of our land, is undermined by petty bureaucrats with delusions of grandeur.
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Full post as published by Thoughts in a Haystack on February 28, 2010 (boomark / email).