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Second Grader Suspended for Jesus Drawing
A Massachusetts teacher told her class to draw something, so a kid drew a picture of Jesus. And now he’s been suspended from the school.
OK, let’s regroup here. Christmas is a holiday generally celebrated by Christians to celebrate the birth of Christ, and a picture of Jesus is bad because?
Well, because he was on the cross, of course, where the boy had put “x”s in the place of his eyes. Which school officials have explained made the drawing violent in nature – after all, the “x”s mean death.
Um, they do know that’s what happened, at least according to the basic tenets of every Christian faith?
The boy’s father spoke with a Massachusetts paper, explaining he thinks the school has violated his religion. He also threw in there that this is an eight-year-old with special needs.
Set all that aside. What is disturbing about a kid drawing Jesus on the cross? It’s a sight Catholic kids in particular see from the first day they walk into a church and every Sunday thereafter. For Christian children, it’s a fact of life. And when a Christian kid is taught “Jesus is the reason for the season,” then told to draw a picture that symbolizes Christmas, it’s hardly surprising that a picture of Jesus would show up – and in the way he’s most often seen. The baby Jesus version won’t show up in most American churches for another week and a half when he’s slipped into the manger. Kids draw what they see.
The boy was forced to undergo a psychological evaluation, which came up with nothing – he wasn’t violent or a danger to himself.
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[...] Tuesday, we heard about a Boston area boy who was apparently suspended for drawing a picture of Jesus on the cross after his teacher asked the class to draw something that reminded them of [...]
Update - Boy Was Not Suspended for Drawing Jesus on the Cross | Strollerderby commented on Dec 17 09 at 4:14 pmdiera commented on Dec 15 09 at 5:10 pmEven leaving aside the religious meaning of Jesus on the cross – does this mean that if a second grader draws a dead person, he or she will be automatically suspended? That seems pretty ridiculous.
NYCityMama commented on Dec 15 09 at 7:02 pmAnd not leaving religious aside, even though I am not a religious person, I don’t see how this child did anything wrong, imposed his beliefs on anyone else, or violated any laws. Children, especially this young, draw what they know. And he obviously has heard the story, probably recently before the drawing, and to a young child this can be quite impressionable, thus the drawing. It’s very sad actually when a child is made to feel bad, he’s probably just beginning to register all he is learning in church, now add all the confusion imposed by the school…ugh…what a stupid mess.
bettywu commented on Dec 15 09 at 7:21 pmthis makes me so mad. This clearly stupid decision to suspend the kid and send him to counseling is not only an injustice for the kid, it’s the kind of thing that just feeds the paranoia of the religious right. They adore being the victim – just eat it up with a spoon and their Fox news champions will be on this like a bad suit in the summertime. Whether or not this had anything to do with religion, it will set back the cause of keeping church and state separate.
Alicia commented on Dec 15 09 at 7:28 pmI teach second grade. I get pics of dead people all the time. My fave is a social studies test we give where we learn about community workers like cops and firefighters. They have to draw a pic w/ a caption on the test and most of my boys draw a cop shooting a “bad” guy…
Stephanie commented on Dec 15 09 at 10:26 pmI have a friend who teaches in this town, and she assures me that the paper did not get this story right, that there is a lot more to it, and that because of the confidentiality restrictions on the school dept., their side of the story can’t be told. I haven’t gotten the full story from her, but would just like to caution everyone including the original poster that there are often two sides to every story, and it’s hard to judge what happened here just based on one person’s stiry.
Eric commented on Dec 16 09 at 11:44 ambettyuw, come on… now are we playing the victim, or are we the religion enforcing juggernaut? Or can we be both? And remember, its not paranoia if they really are out to get you! -jk
Lorraine commented on Dec 16 09 at 12:45 pmJust one more example of school administrators overreacting and getting it totally and completely wrong!
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Dec 16 09 at 2:16 pmAha! A story update… 1) when the kid identified the figure on the cross as *himself*, 2) kid was never suspended, just referred to a counselor, 3) Father is already holding press conferences at his girlfriend’s apartment demanding “compensation.” Interesting…
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/12/by_david_abel_g_6.html
diera commented on Dec 16 09 at 5:20 pmI should really know better than to react to the first version of any story like this.
Craig commented on Aug 26 10 at 10:13 amI am sorry but it IS a drawing of a man who has recently been tortured to death. That is kind of morbid but I don’t think anyone should do anything more than say “That is not a nice thing to draw for school”
cat commented on Nov 21 10 at 11:57 amPeople really respond emotionally whenever a religious figure is involved. It seems pretty obvious that the school has a policy about violent drawings/other violent behavior, and followed its policy. Of course these policies occasionally result in awkward situations, but overall, they’re for the benefit of all of the students at the school.
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