It sounds like such a minor, correctable problem.
David was given an assignment in his music class a couple years ago:
He was to sing a song of worship for a grade. His teacher also instructed him to point skyward at certain points of the song. She said that he was to do this to show he loved God.
That didn’t sit well with David’s family (they’re atheists), so his father Matthew called the school.
Neither the teacher nor the principal would respond.
Matthew then alerted the media:
They were very happy to speak with us. They sent a camera crew to the school and then to my home. The school backed down from their position and did not require David to perform the song of worship for a grade. We also mandated that we did not wish for David to have any future contact with that teacher.
The school learned its lesson, things were made right, and life went on…. right?
Of course not.
David and his family are still having serious problems as a result of the complaint:
Our neighbors turned on us. We endured threatening phone calls and even had trash thrown on our front lawn at night. School became unbearable for David. Teachers would single him out and he would get reprimanded on a very regular basis. We then received a notice from our landlord informing us that we were to be evicted for non-payment of rent. We were completely paid in full and he knew it.
It gets worse.
The school isn’t cooperating with the family even though they’ve decided to homeschool David!
Ugh…
Just read the whole story, as told by Matthew.
If you have any advice for the family, they’d love to hear it.
My suggestion: Call the ACLU, Freedom From Religion Foundation, or any other group who might be willing to help you out in a legal manner. If these claims can be backed up, this should be an easy case. Legal victory won’t turn back time or make the community embrace the Godless, but it will allow you to move on to a different, better place.
(via Atheist Revolution)
[tags]atheist, atheism, discrimination, bigotry, civil rights, Christian[/tags]