Elementary Students Penalized for Mentioning the Name of Jesus in Relation to Christmas
Recently a sixth grader was penalized for daring to mention the name of Jesus in an assignment to write a poem called “What Christmas means to me.” The poem read: “The best Christmas ever is when everyone is there. It is when everyone is laughing here and there. That is the Christmas I want to share. Christmas is about Jesus’ birth. About peace on Earth. This is what Christmas is about. It is when He lay in a manger. And the three wise men come to see. That’s what it means to me.”
11 year old Andrew Wright’s teacher circled the word “Jesus” on the rough draft and deducted a point saying “He and another child did a poem about Christ. I know we can’t discuss these type [sic] of things in school so I asked the two of them to do another poem of their choice.” After the parent’s objected to the principal the original poem, and grade, was reinstated, but the poem never made it to the Winter Writer’s Board in the Hattiesburg Public School District.
From a sermon by Tom Fuller, Why Should we celebrate Christ’s Birth?, 12/26/2009