Student Suspended for saying "Bless You"

[orangeblossom]

 IMO, that is ridiculous. The picture is allegedly a picture of expressions you can't say in this class.

wgntv.com/2014/08/20/girl-suspended-for-saying-bless-you-at-school/

A young girl in Tennessee says she was suspended after breaking a class rule of saying “bless you” after a classmate sneezed.



When Dyer County High School senior Kendra Turner said bless you, she says her teacher told her that was for church.



Turner feels her teacher was taking issue for her religion. When she stood up for herself, Turner says she was told to go to the administrator’s office. She was later placed in in-school suspension for the rest of that class period.



Her pastor Rev. Becky Winegardner says they had just talked about how to stand up for their faith last week.



“There were several students that were talking about this particular faculty member there that was very demeaning to them in regards to their faith,” Winegardner said.



Students sent WMC a photo of the teacher’s white board that lists “bless you” and other expressions that are banned as part of class rules.



Turner’s parents say the school leaders claim the outburst was a classroom distraction – that Turner shouted “bless you” across the room.



WMC reports it was told only Dyer County School Superintendent Dwight Hedge could comment, and he apparently did not return phone messages, an email or a knock at his door.

[smock]

I don't know, it seems pretty stupid, dumb, and boring to care about this stuff, but it's been a while since I used to hang out at a hs. My bad.

[katfco]

I have heard of some teachers banning it because it can be a distraction--when one student sneezes and then 25 others say "bless you," it can become a time waster. But claiming it's an attack on religion or that it's even a religious phrase anymore? Granted, it originated out of religious beliefs, but it's pretty far removed now.

[Deleted]

No one should say my bad.

[pamela]

In general banning it and all other forms of acknowledging a bodily function of someone else wouldn't be a problem to me. But if the teacher really did say that "that is for church", that I see as doing it because of religious affiliation.

[meshaliuknits]

Aug 20, 2014 15:37:54 GMT -5 @helenabonhamcarter said:

No one should say my bad.

*makes mental note for future GTGs*

Sent from my EVO

[erbear]

Meh. It can be annoying to have someone sneeze and twenty kids yell Bless You for a few seconds but you move on.

[Deleted]

People say bless you without thinking though. So it's a really stupid thing to ban. Who the fuck would remember?

[meshaliuknits]

Also, I would be the smartass that says "salud"

Sent from my EVO

[katfco]

Aug 20, 2014 15:42:37 GMT -5 @helenabonhamcarter said:

People say bless you without thinking though. So it's a really stupid thing to ban. Who the fuck would remember?

I'm interested to know whose story is accurate. She says she said it to the person next to her. Understandable to say it without thinking. School personnel say she yelled it across the room, being disruptive. 

[blink]

I was walking out of the gym and sneezed and someone said bless you as I walked back. Considering strangers don't talk to each other in the gym, I'm going to say it was probably a relax for her just like it was the rando in the gym. And I dunno, I think it is kind of dumb and stupid to ban "bless you" but none of the other common utterances for post-sneeze.

ETA: If she did actually shout it across the room, I can see coming down on her for shouting and even getting the punishment that she got for that. Why not just focus on the shouting and less on the harmless phrase? 

[oliverboliverbutt]

Eh, in-school suspension for part of one period for what I assume was the arguing with teacher rather than the "bless you" doesn't rile me up. I do think that it's silly to ban "bless you" unless there is some background, though.

[penguingrrl]

That's ridiculous. Saying "bless you" after hearing someone sneeze is a reflex to me and I don't know that I could just not say it. And I'm not religious at all.

[josieposy]

What are "other peer expressions"?

[twotrue]

Aug 20, 2014 15:39:57 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

Aug 20, 2014 15:37:54 GMT -5 @helenabonhamcarter said:

No one should say my bad.

*makes mental note for future GTGs*

Sent from my EVO

I always think of this as a CA saying so it doesn't surprise me you say it. But I must know, do you say Hella or Hell of (or which one did you say back in the day)? And do you say 5 or THE 5 when referring to the freeway? These were serious points of discussion back in my dorm days.

sent by phone

[msmerymac]

Aug 20, 2014 16:03:15 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

That's ridiculous. Saying "bless you" after hearing someone sneeze is a reflex to me and I don't know that I could just not say it. And I'm not religious at all.

Same. I do it because it seems polite, not because I ACTUALLY think your soul is trying to leave your body.

[meshaliuknits]

Aug 20, 2014 16:26:50 GMT -5 twotrue said:

Aug 20, 2014 15:39:57 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

*makes mental note for future GTGs*

Sent from my EVO

I always think of this as a CA saying so it doesn't surprise me you say it. But I must know, do you say Hella or Hell of (or which one did you say back in the day)? And do you say 5 or THE 5 when referring to the freeway? These were serious points of discussion back in my dorm days.

sent by phone

I use hell & hella. I also switch back & forth from 5 and the 5. I think it's from growing up in the middle.


ETA but I'm totally getting a shirt that says "i hella love Oakland" for A's games.

Sent from my EVO

[2curlydogs]

Aug 20, 2014 16:17:32 GMT -5 josieposy said:

What are "other peer expressions"?

The classroom equivalent of "other duties as assigned"?

[thejackpot]

The things that upset teachers are really baffling.

[elleblue]

Aug 20, 2014 16:26:50 GMT -5 twotrue said:

Aug 20, 2014 15:39:57 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

*makes mental note for future GTGs*

Sent from my EVO

I always think of this as a CA saying so it doesn't surprise me you say it. But I must know, do you say Hella or Hell of (or which one did you say back in the day)? And do you say 5 or THE 5 when referring to the freeway? These were serious points of discussion back in my dorm days.

sent by phone

Not mesh, but CA native. I don't say hella (in SoCal and that's almost exclusively a NorCal expression) but I do say The 5, The 405, The 101, etc. 

[Miss Phryne Fisher]

Aug 20, 2014 16:50:26 GMT -5 thejackpot said:

The things that upset teachers are really baffling.

As are the things that kids will come up with to disrupt class. 

[Alyssa]

Aug 20, 2014 15:34:35 GMT -5 katfco said:

I have heard of some teachers banning it because it can be a distraction--when one student sneezes and then 25 others say "bless you," it can become a time waster. But claiming it's an attack on religion or that it's even a religious phrase anymore? Granted, it originated out of religious beliefs, but it's pretty far removed now.

Oh please, how ridiculous.

[thejackpot]

Aug 20, 2014 17:10:57 GMT -5 Miss Phryne Fisher said:

Aug 20, 2014 16:50:26 GMT -5 thejackpot said:

The things that upset teachers are really baffling.

As are the things that kids will come up with to disrupt class. 

I teach hs, I know very well the lengths they will go to. I just have enough classroom management to deal with them in a rational manner. 

[meshaliuknits]

Aug 20, 2014 17:21:46 GMT -5 Alyssa said:

Aug 20, 2014 15:34:35 GMT -5 katfco said:

I have heard of some teachers banning it because it can be a distraction--when one student sneezes and then 25 others say "bless you," it can become a time waster. But claiming it's an attack on religion or that it's even a religious phrase anymore? Granted, it originated out of religious beliefs, but it's pretty far removed now.

Oh please, how ridiculous.

Eh, I can see it. That occasionally happens in my office & we are older and more mature (in theory) than HS kids.

Sent from my EVO

[katfco]

Aug 20, 2014 17:21:46 GMT -5 Alyssa said:

Aug 20, 2014 15:34:35 GMT -5 katfco said:

I have heard of some teachers banning it because it can be a distraction--when one student sneezes and then 25 others say "bless you," it can become a time waster. But claiming it's an attack on religion or that it's even a religious phrase anymore? Granted, it originated out of religious beliefs, but it's pretty far removed now.

Oh please, how ridiculous.

I'm not saying I agree with banning it for that reason, but I can understand a teacher being tempted to just say, "forget it, no one's allowed to use the phrase," if a class was goofing off repeatedly with it. 

[elleblue]

I'm not bothered that the teacher didn't want the phrase used in her classroom, but I am bothered that the teacher allegedly used the reason of it originating from religious beliefs as an excuse to ban it. That seems like an odd justification because 1. it's evolved into a non-religious phrase and 2. it seems like an odd hill to die on. 

So what I'm wondering, is that actually what the teacher said to the student? And what exactly does it mean when the student says she defended her beliefs? 

[Deleted]

Wow, we could barely get a suspension for a "f--- you," let alone for a "bless you."

In our district, you couldn't be suspended for shouting something across the room unless it was insulting someone very badly. On the other hand, this could be something that was used in a weird, mocking sort of way repeatedly. Still, that'd be a one-day lunch detention at most at our school.

I don't care if there's some little punishment for saying this in an annoying way because context is everything in this case. But a suspension?

[Deleted]

*sigh*

I skimmed and didn't see that it was just a suspension for the rest of that class period. That's pretty normal with discipline so the kids don't strut back into the class like the conquering hero after being sent to the office.

[katfco]

Aug 20, 2014 17:32:33 GMT -5 elleblue said:

I'm not bothered that the teacher didn't want the phrase used in her classroom, but I am bothered that the teacher allegedly used the reason of it originating from religious beliefs as an excuse to ban it. That seems like an odd justification because 1. it's evolved into a non-religious phrase and 2. it seems like an odd hill to die on. 

So what I'm wondering, is that actually what the teacher said to the student? And what exactly does it mean when the student says she defended her beliefs? 

This is according to the student, who apparently made it about religion before that day. She had talked to her pastor about it and the pastor encouraged her to do "what was right." She and other students believed it was suppression of their religious beliefs and that the teacher was demeaning their faith. 

I'd just like to hear what other classmates say. Did the teacher say, "We're putting 'bless you' on the list because it's religious speech"? Because that's what this girl is claiming. 

[kadams767]

Aug 20, 2014 15:51:43 GMT -5 oliverboliverbutt said:

Eh, in-school suspension for part of one period for what I assume was the arguing with teacher rather than the "bless you" doesn't rile me up. I do think that it's silly to ban "bless you" unless there is some background, though.

I agree with this. One class period of in-school "suspension" isn't really what I consider suspension. My high school had a dedicated room where teachers sent kids for the balance of the period if they were being disruptive. It was definitely not considered "suspended" if you had to go there. Actual in-school suspension was something else entirely.