After reading the attached letter from an LHS 2014 graduate, as well as several others from students, I feel I should also tell my story. What’s right is not always popular. What’s popular is not always right.” --Poster from Beverly Millers classroom, circa 1990. This status update is not going to be popular, but I feel compelled to share it. I must share because nearly every day I work with young people who for a variety of reasons feel ostracized from their community. They are lonely. They are hurting. Sometimes what other people say and do (not always intentionally) serves to intensify these feelings. Some of them have considered suicide. I would like readers to pause for a moment and try to take the perspective of such young people growing up in Lebanon. I was once one of them. My grandmother and I moved to Lebanon when I was six. I didn’t grow up in church but always had an interest so when I could I tagged along with friends and neighbors. The rest of the time, I read the Bible and other books on my own. I also watched religious programing on television. There was quite a confusing array, and I never really felt like I fit in. While attending Lebanon Junior High School, I was for a time devoted to a small Christian sect that chose to celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday as it is done in traditional Judaism. I tried to keep my faith to myself. I knew the majority wouldn’t treat me very favorably if they knew. Keeping silent worked until the day my belief system clashed with my athletic schedule. I had to tell coaches why I couldn’t participate on Saturday. The responses hurt. I was ignored and treated like a strange foreigner. I was cut from an important Thursday competition. I was ridiculed in front of my teammates. A proselytizing staff member felt a duty to help me see a different theological perspective. Eventually, after many letters, trips to the staff member’s church and long debates, I was told that there wasn’t much hope for my soul if I couldn’t see things from the “correct” perspective. It hurt, especially coming from someone I respected and learned so much from. I still love this person. The actions were misguided (and unconstitutional) but the intentions were sincere. Eventually, in my search for ultimate truth, I became disillusioned with my church. I also quit athletics. My circle of friends in high school was centered on others who saw themselves as misfits. They could always be found in the Lebanon High School Art Department, so that’s where I stayed….when I was at school. My family life deteriorated when I was in eleventh grade and I was forced to move out on my own. Because of fantastic, loving educators like my former coach, Linda York, Maggie Corry, Dorita Roderick, Don Lewis, Ellen Martin, Beverly Miller, Tom Gottman, Dave DeMuth, Alva Hazell and Kevin Lowery.…..hope was not lost. Somehow, I found my way despite circumstances that did not tilt statistics in my favor. I owe them my life. And because of them, I am about to enter my twentieth year as an educator. It wasn’t their overt statements about God and faith if they made them. It was their ACTIONS. It was their consistent demonstration of enthusiasm for students and learning. It was their LOVE. If these actions were also a manifestation of their devotion to God, they never had to say so. Ultimately, whatever subject matter we are required by the state to teach cannot happen unless students feel safe and respected. It’s even better when we have rapport with them….a relationship. In order to do that effectively, we must accept them unconditionally. It is not our place to judge. It is not our place to indoctrinate them on matters of spirituality, even simply the belief in God. Even if the Founding Fathers really had made Christianity the official religion of the United States, which “Christianity” would get that honor? I was told I would burn in Hell for following the wrong one, let alone the myriad other religions, agnosticism or atheism. It is this bewilderment that led me to the Department of Religious Studies at a secular state school---Missouri State University. And guess what? I never knew that a course could be taught about the Bible and religion without betraying personal bias. The professors (such as Dr. Victor Matthews) in that department taught their courses with such neutrality and professionalism that I felt compelled to reexamine my own prejudices. I now have respect for faith and people of faith that I came to realize on my own. Academics and travel helped me heal and find faith once again. I want my students to be aware of the much wider world outside of Laclede County. They will become part of it and I want them ready to embrace that without losing who they are. I want to do my best to welcome each of them into my classroom, regardless of their appearance, background or belief system. I am thankful that the Establishment Clause protects everyone’s freedom. Can we please try to be more careful with each other in the interest of love and respect? I am really certain that this is embedded in the teachings of Christ. whyevolutionistrue.wordpress/2014/06/03/yet-another-lebanon-student-writes-in/
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 16:56:52 +0000
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