Artifact Six

Shalyn Helman

Edu 210

Professor Webb
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Karen White teaches a Kindergarten class, during which she discover that she was a

Jehovahs witness and informed the parents that she would no longer be involved in activities of

religious nature. Some of these activities include decorating the room for holidays, plan a gift

exchange during the Christmas season, sing happy birthday, or do the pledge of allegiance. The

parents then started to protest and Bill Ward the principal advised that she be dismissed on the

grounds that she could not meet the needs of the students.

Within the court case Engel V. Vitale it was concluded that students cant be compelled to

recite a state-composed prayer at school. They cant be subjected to prayer under any

circumstance. In my opinion this can be brought up in the case of Miss White. How this is, is

because by making students not celebrate things like birthdays, Christmas, and other holidays is

making them follow her own religion as a Jehovahs Witness. Although the students in this case

where just subjected to prayer it still relates.

In the court case Lee V. Weisman the students before were force to participate in a

graduation prayer. The U.S supreme court concluded that the prayer could not be forced upon

children therefore must be removed, because it was not fair for students to miss their own

graduation ceremony. This also relates to the case with Miss White, because in this situation she

is forcing her own religion onto the class by not letting them celebrate these different holidays.

By not letting them celebrate she is taking away their choice the same as what was happening

within the graduation ceremonies.

Stone V. Graham ruled that the Ten Commandments being in every classroom of public

schools was and is still unconstitutional. This was because it promoted one certain religion and
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was not fair to people who did not follow Christianity. This relates to the case in an odd way,

which would be that even though the teacher enforces her own religion upon the students.

However that may be true but it also takes the other religions away almost making it a non-

dominated class by one religion. One can almost say by celebrating Christmas it promotes

Christianity in the classroom which is not okay.

McCollum V. Board of Education, this case brought forward separation of church and

state. Within this case it was ruled that schools could no longer practice religion in the school

setting because it was a violation to the constitution. Now this one seems far fetch from the case

we have at hand, but at the same time it does fit. By not celebrating anything Ms. White is

removing all religion from her class room not just enforcing her. Therefore by her putting a stop

to Christmas the pledge, and other holiday within schools she is actually following the

constitution within school.

This is a hard case to tell which way exactly the court would rule based on the cases at

hand. On one side she is forcing the students to practice the religion she follows and stop doing

the normal things that happen during the holidays for these children. However she is also

removing religious holidays and practices from her class all together so I dont know if she is

completely in the wrong, had it just been to remove the things it would be a different story, but

she is removing them for her own religious gain so I do believe that the court will not side with

Karen White.