I Feel The Passion Deep Inside, In A World Full Of Fear, Full Of Lies

In Jesus' name he wrote. But he didn't get

an "amen" from his teacher. In fact, he got penalized for it.

That boy is 11-year-old Andrew White.

The youngster wrote a poem about

Christmas but his teacher shaved off

points from his grade for writing about Jesus.

In fact, the teacher, Latasha Atkins,

insisted that mentioning Jesus was not

allowed and asked him to write a new poem.

“Some educators need education that

the story of Christmas is not banned

from public schools," said Mathew Staver,

Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of

Liberty University School of Law commented.

Here's how the story unfolds: White and

his classmates were assigned a creative

expression paper for the Winter Writer’s

Board as part of his sixth-grade language

class at Thames Elementary School in the

Hattiesburg Public School District. He could

choose among three topics, and he chose to

write a poem about “what Christmas means to me.”

After turning in his rough draft, Atkins

circled the word “Jesus” and deducted one

point from his grade. The teacher explained to

White that he was not allowed to mention Jesus

at school and would need to rewrite the poem for

his final draft without using the word “Jesus.”

In obedience, White attempted to rewrite

the paper according to the teacher’s instructions.

However, White's parents discovered what

happened when the teacher notified them that

Andrew was late turning in the final draft.

Atkins sent an e-mail to Andrew’s mother

explaining the situation. In her e-mail, she

specifically stated: “He and another child

did a poem about Christ. I know we can't

discuss these type [sic] of things in school

so I asked the two of them to do another

poem of their choice.”

White's parents encouraged him to use

his original poem as his final draft.

Andrew’s poem, “A Great Christmas,”

reads: “The best Christmas ever is when

everyone is there. It is when everyone is

laughing here and there. That is the Christmas

I want to share. Christmas is about Jesus’

birth. About peace on Earth. This is what

Christmas is about. It is when He lay in a manger.

And the three wise men come to see.

That’s what it means to me.”

Principal Carrie Hornsby sided with

White and his parents, changing his grade

to a 100 and conceding that there was

nothing improper in using Jesus’ name.

Hornsby then instructed each teacher send

out a letter for all the parents to read

regarding religious expression at school.

The letter clearly explains that religious

expression is permitted under federal guidelines.

However, despite promises that these

papers would be posted on the Winter

Writer’s Board for all to see, Atkins has

refused to post any of the papers from the class.

"I am relieved that the situation was
resolved by the principal but horrified
that a sixth-grader was told by his teacher,
‘we can’t discuss these types of things in
school'," Staver said. "I don’t understand
why some people don’t get it. Christmas
is a state and federal holiday. Schools are
closed to celebrate this holiday. Obviously,
Christmas is constitutional.”

Let us end on a light note,

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