It’s
A Matter Of Respect
By Jill
Jenkins
Recently an elementary school
teacher in Bountiful, Utah demanded that a student with an ash cross to
commemorate Ash Wednesday, wipe the cross off. According to a recent
an article in The
Salt Lake Tribune since most of her students belong to the Church of Jesus
Christ of the Ladder Day Saints, the teacher was unaware of the religious
significant of the cross and thought it was only attempt to disrupt her
classroom. The school district
placed the teacher on paid leave. Regardless of the teacher’s experience,
America has diverse population representing many different religious and ethnic
groups all with differing customs and rituals. All teachers should be trained to be more sensitive and
informed about customs and rituals that might differ from their own.
Belittling and defiling a child’s
culture or religious belief dehumanizes the child. It nullifies his importance as a person and insults not only
the child, but also his community and his belief system. The district rightly took punitive
action against the teacher, but needs to take a step further. Training teachers to identify and react
to behaviors, customs and religious beliefs outside their own might prevent a
similar situation from occurring again.
Teachers who cannot treat students with differing cultures and belief
systems with dignity should be eliminated from the profession.
Every child has a basic right to
feel important and safe in schools.
Every child has a basic right to feel respected. Respecting a child’s belief system and
culture is important for that child to flourish. If an educator fails to do that, they should no longer be
teaching in public school.