Student suspended for bringing rosary beads to school
posted at 4:51 pm on May 21, 2010 by Cassy Fiano
[ Education ]
A devout Catholic teenager was suspended for the crime of bringing his rosary beads to school. The school claimed it could be showing gang affiliation or endangering “the safety, health, morals or welfare of himself or others”.
The ACLU, shockingly, is seemingly silent on this.
The parents of a high school student from Rockland County are demanding answers after their ninth grader was suspended for wearing rosary beads to school.
He was suspended even though the school doesn’t even have a policy banning them. So did the principal go too far? Jason Laguna is a former altar boy and proud Catholic. He got his rosary beads as a gift, thinks they look cool and sometimes wears them under his shirt at school. But last Friday, right before dismissal, he pulled them out on his way out. He was given a one-day suspension from Fieldstone Secondary School. His mother calls the punishment extreme, considering the 14-year-old is a member of student government and, according to his last report card, “is a pleasure to have in class.” Laguna says she was told the school has an unwritten policy regarding beads because they could be used to show gang affiliation. The principal claims it was insubordination, saying Laguna’s actions, “endangered the safety, health, morals or welfare of himself or others.” Jason was supposed to stay home Friday, but late Thursday the district superintendent put that on hold pending further investigation. It may not be divine intervention, but his mother has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union as she continues to fight the suspension.
Yeah, this kid belongs to a gang all right. It’s called “the Catholic Church”, and those thugs are dangerous. They’ll shank you if you don’t watch your back!
In all seriousness, how could rosary beads, of all things, endanger the morals of others? The health and safety part will obviously get the typical school administration double-speak about how they could offend some poor non-Christian and cause violence (just like wearing the American flag on Cinco de Mayo!). But morals?! I really want to know where they got that one from. One would think that being a devout Catholic, and showing it by wearing rosary beads, would speak well to this boy’s morals. But not at this high school!
Also curious: how is a student supposed to follow an “unwritten” rule? It sounds to me like the typical religious discrimination found in schools today against Christianity, and the school just made up an excuse to stop this boy from expressing his faith. Amazing and ironic, isn’t it, that a student would be persecuted for his religion in a country founded by people seeking to escape religious persecution and discrimination.
I did some searching to see if the ACLU has taken up the case, but didn’t find anything. I don’t expect them to; after all, they don’t look out for the civil liberties of Christians.
Cross-posted from Cassy’s blog. Stop by for more original commentary, or follow her on Twitter!
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If the principal claims insubordination, it’s because he told the kid to take it off or hide it and he refused. I’m a teacher and I know how these situations quickly escalate. He told the kid to take it off (he was in the wrong here, I agree 100%), the kid refused (he was also in the wrong: kids have to listen to authority in schools unless they tell them to do something dangerous or morally objectionable), the principal writes the kid up for insubordination for refusing to do what he said (totally understandable).
The guy was wrong for telling the kid to hide or take it off, but the kid should have just done what he was told and brought it up later. The answer to people abusing power or being stupid is not to be belligerent, you have way more impact by obeying and then getting your story out. If you do nothing wrong, your point will come across much more clearly.
Living4Him5534 on May 21, 2010 at 5:34 PM
Although you have a valued perspective on this issue, there are times when a kid learns to be an adult and stand up for himself, his beliefs, and right over wrong. This seems to be one of those times.
No “authority” likes to be challenged. It is stressful for the authority. Unfortunately those in authority aren’t always right and react in a fit of power rather than demonstrate true authority and consider the bigger picture. And actually enhance their authority by thoughtfully considering other reactions than the knee-jerk variety. Sometimes their reaction is for their own convenience, political correctness, to cover some other misconstruction they missed earlier and had been in the hot seat for. Many reasons.
The kid? Been there, done that. Having been a complete and thorough pain in the butt challenging authority throughout school I learned some lessons the hard way, but then, so did some of my authority figures. It was a good “teaching moment” for all of us.
Robert17 on May 21, 2010 at 6:04 PM
@Robert17
Hey, I think the kid had guts for not complying with the teacher, and if I was told to remove a cross necklace I would like to think I would have told them to shove it. However I realize that as a youngster I was a heck of a lot more respectful than that, and I would have put it under my shirt, left school grounds, taken it back out, and then brought up the issue the next day.
It’s not about not questioning authority, it’s about doing it the proper way. If the kid would have brought it up to the school board I guarantee the principal would have been found in the wrong and the kid would be vindicated. The fact is now he’s in trouble for insubordination, which he is guilty of, and that will color the way some people view the case.
I just think that we have way too much of the “question authority/you can’t tell me what to do” mentality in our schools nowadays. Mostly because of my actual teaching experience. I think students today could really do with a healthy dose of manners and respect.
Living4Him5534 on May 21, 2010 at 7:41 PM
So all the principal has to say in his defense is “Respect My Authoritie!”
agmartin on May 21, 2010 at 7:52 PM
@agmartin
Have you ever worked in a school? There is a very fine line between things working and a dangerous environment for the students and faculty. If the principal or a teacher tells a student to do something in school and it isn’t illegal, dangerous, or morally objectionable, the students must obey. Otherwise by definition it’s insubordination.
I am a Christian and as anti-nanny state as you can possibly get. But I think people are getting wrapped around the religious aspect of this case and missing some other important points. This kid isn’t a freedom fighter and the principal isn’t Hitler. Mistakes were made on both sides.
Living4Him5534 on May 21, 2010 at 8:21 PM
@Living4Him5534 —
According to the story above, it was right before dismissal and he pulled the rosary beads out on his way out. If he was leaving, then why would he need to comply? He was leaving school already. And the principal first said it was insubordination, and then endangerment. Which is it? Refusing to take rosary beads off hardly endangers anyone. Insubordination? If he can’t handle teenagers not doing what he tells them to do, perhaps he shouldn’t be a high school teacher. I can understand not letting kids run wild, but if you tell a kid on his way home to take off a rosary, something that doesn’t even affect anyone, and he says no — is it really even worth making a big deal over? The principal needed to just let this go. In every aspect of the issue.
Cassy Fiano on May 21, 2010 at 10:00 PM
If a student claimed they were wearing a ‘Muslim prayer Necklace” would it be the same outcome?
What the kid could easily say is its a Mexican immigrant prayer instrument, and then carry an ‘Our Lady of Guadaloupe’ prayer card.
You can beat the liberals at thier own game, if you wish to play that way.
Cromagnum on May 22, 2010 at 1:27 AM
Rosary beads are to be held, not worn. The kid can keep the rosary in his pocket and wear a crucifix. Or he can get a decade bracelet and wear that if he wishes to wear prayer beads.
With that, the kid was wrong and uninformed about the beads or if he was simply wearing them as an adornment, if worn as an adornment then they are not truly rosary beads.
Since the principal sees them as gang gear worn by a non gang kid (we all know who the gangsters are) then he needs some guidance on how to handle even the simplest of difficult situations.
ericdijon on May 22, 2010 at 9:51 AM
I think people who break “unwritten” rules should always be given the benefit of the doubt and maybe a warning instead.
What grounds do they have anyway? “Johnny broke an unwritten law.” “So give him an unwritten summons.”
DrAllecon on May 22, 2010 at 8:40 PM
So, gangbangers are the new muslims? Didn’t a teacher have to stop wearing a small cross around her neck in France because it might offend islam?
Blake on May 22, 2010 at 10:30 PM
Gee, I was taught that it was sacrilegious to wear them as a necklace though I know them do it in jails and prisons. Putting that a side, if it was under his shirt how many people could see it?
Blake on May 22, 2010 at 10:33 PM
them = they
Blake on May 22, 2010 at 10:33 PM
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Ed Morrissey on May 23, 2010 at 3:15 PM