Submitted by Monique Stines, Aug 12, 2007 19:33

I think the problem is the hype on the term black magic here. The hard question is, if over a school break a priest had come to bless the school building would the educator in question have been dissmissed. I doubt it, but possibly a firm strike on the hand if it had been made into large issue by press, community outrage, etc... I would also say that a blessing or cleansing in another religion would most likely not have required the death of an animal. Whether she was wrongfully dismissed or not remains on the single factor of if a different educator has or does bring in a religious figure to bless/cleanse/etc... then they also would have to be dismissed now that the precedent is set. It also implies that this new motion for a moment of induvidual silent reflection is turned down because it could bring religion into schools by a child using that time for prayer. I think education even in a public forum should embrace knowledge and experiences. To seek to cleanse a single building of the presence of a system of beliefs is just as easy as trying to lock out an otherworldly spiritual being who encompasses everything. Ignorance breeds fear. Burning sage in a building leaves nothing more than a funny smell to someone who does not follow that system of beliefs. The most important part of this equation seems to be not even brought up in this article. Did her beliefs disturb her job to care for these children? Were any of these children even aware of her beliefs or the incident so abhorrent to the school board? What is a building? A pile of bricks in the sun? Unless there is some evidence of her beliefs affecting either the children or her ability to perform her job, i feel that her rights have been stepped on simply because she does not follow a more common belief system. She has been publicaly reprimanded for her actions and as long as she agrees to keep her cleansing ceremonies performed away from school grounds and not on school time, I believe she should be reinstated unless some more sensible evidence of her damaging the school children comes to light.

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