Student banned from writing about God as 'hero'
Posted: Oct 17, 2013 6:48 PM CDT Updated: Oct 17, 2013 6:56 PM CDT
By WMCTV.com Staff
SHELBY COUNTY, TN -
(WMC-TV) - A teacher told a 10-year-old student that writing about her hero in school could violate the first amendment in the classroom. After some help from attorneys, Erin Shead finally turned in her paper about God.
"Of course students can talk and write about God in school," said Liberty Institute Attorney Jeremy Dys. "Young teachers, like Erin's, have been barraged with so much false information for so long that they are afraid that a 10-year-old student's coloring assignment might violate the First Amendment. That kind of intimidation by the ACLU and Freedom from Religion Foundation is wrong and is precisely what Liberty Institute was founded to combat."
When first given the assignment, Erin asked if she could write about God. After the teacher said no, Erin wrote two assignments including one about God and the other on Michael Jackson.
The teacher rejected the assignment relating to God. According to Liberty Institute attorneys, students then openly mocked Erin's belief in God, which caused her to ask her mother about religion in school.
After discussions with attorneys, Shelby County Schools reversed the decision of their teacher and allowed Erin to turn in her original assignment about God. Erin earned an A.
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http://www.wafb.com/story/23723139/school-district-allows-student-to-write-about-god-as-hero-after-attorney-weigh