Teacher’s RIghts Violated
- on 05.03.07
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Public schools today taught themselves as the teachers of tolerance and diversity. They claim they have to teach about homosexuality, transgenderism, how to put on a condom and many other subjects many Americans find disgusting to teach to kids in primary and secondary education.
This tolerance only goes so far though. They refuse to let any mention of God be brought into the schools even in historical contexts such as
The words above were displayed on the wall of Mr. Johnson’s classroom in the Poway Unified School District, San Diego, California. The school ordered them removed. (Hat tip: Education Wonks)
The Thomas More Law Center has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the school for violating this teachers Constitutional Rights.
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Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center, commented, “Cleansing our Nation’s classrooms of our religious heritage and history and imposing viewpoint restrictions on speech to silence such expressions advance no legitimate educational purpose. In fact, such actions undermine the primary purpose of public education: to prepare students for citizenship in our Republic.” |
I agree. How can schools teach about the founding of our country without mentioning God? They cannot unless they want to rewrite history, which appears to be the case in this and many other public government schools across this great Nation.
I know there are some that will not see this as a violation of Mr. Johnson’s rights. They will claim the separation of church and state. Let me refresh your memory on what the First Amendment actually says:
Amendment ICongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. |
As you can plainly see, it says that Congress shall not establish a religion. The words separation of church and State do not appear in the Constitution. The words “wall of separation between church and state” were found in a letter from President Thomas Jefferson. Here is the full sentence from this letter [Emphasis Mine]:
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Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state. |
As you can see, not only does this letter state that the government should not establish a religion, it should not infringe upon anyone’s right to exercise their religion. In this case, the public government schools are preventing Mr. Johnson from both his free exercise of religion and also preventing the accurate teaching of history.
As we saw yesterday, with Congress passing so called “Hate Crimes” legislation, there is a direct attempt to curtail free speech in this country. It also so ironic that the people who claim to be the most tolerant and open minded are the one pushing for thought regulation and the trampling of First Amendment Rights.
In reading the excerpt from President Jefferson’s letter, another statement stuck out as profoundly against the action just taken by Congress and this school. That statement is “the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions”. I have to ask this question, how can public government school officials claim Separation of Church and State, while ignoring the fact that they are also now trying to regulate opinion?
