OT Big time OMG I am mad

[Steph9072]

I got a call form dd's bus driver. You know what she did that was so bad??? She said the name Jesus on the bus. To be exact she asked one of her friends if she believed in Jesus. I was told by the bus driver that because she goes to a public school that Jesus can not be mentioned at all on the bus. I told her out of respect for the driver dd would abide by her wishes. But that she (the driver) may want to pay attention to the kids hitting, kicking, spitting and cussing on the bus instead of my six-year-old talking about Jesus.

When I got of the phone I spoke with dd who told me that her friend Emily had asked their friend Abby who sits across the isle if Abby believed in Jesus. Well Abby could not hear Emily. So dd who sits between them repeated the question. That is when the driver told dd to shut up. EXCUSE ME???? Then the little girl Abby continued to say no she did not believe in Jesus she believes in the devil being the all mighty being. Okay I don't care what she believes in. She could worship a worm. But if my daughter is told to shut up about her beliefs and this little girl can continue on with hers there is something wrong with the picture.

Come to find out this Abby has been hitting and spitting on dd. She told her teacher on Friday that Abby spit on her and her teacher told her not to *******

I have sent an email to the Principal to have a meeting.

Am I out of line for being so pissed off or does this sound reasonable to any of you that the bus driver would react this way?

 

[deedeetoo]

I guess I am amazed by the call from the bus driver. I doubt our bus driver know the kid's last names. They don't even work for the school system but for an independent company.

Is there a policy about behavior on the bus. Does it say anything about discussing religion? I don't think your dd did anything wrong. My kids talk about religion with their friends all the time. We are Baptist and DD's best friend is a conservative Jew. I think talking about these things helps them understand the world and teaches them tolerance.

If the bus driver reports to the principal or someone else in the school system, then I think you should talk to the principal about it. If the bus driver is independent, I would ignore it and if she calls again, politely tell her to mind her own business.

 

[PrincessHeart]

That's just awful! I did a quick google search and found this article: http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=1478. Apparently the Us dept of education has issued rules regarding the protection of the students rights of religious expression. The Bus driver is way out of line. I would suggest going to this article and looking at the links. One link is to the actual guidelines, so you could print them off and bring them in with you to the meeting with your principal. So your daughter has every right to express her religious views as do people of other relgions and atheists too.

 

[Steph9072]

Oh let me add that the school corp has no problem letting the kids out for Good Friday or celebrate Easter or Christmas @ school. I even bought books on the first Christmas and Easter from a book fair at the school.

Well, dh and I had been throwing around the idea of sending dd to a private Lutheran School next year. I meet with the Principal Thursday of the new school.

 

[bgirl29]

Wow, I would really be upset too!! I totally agree the bus driver should worry more about the swearing and spitting and other inappropriate behavior instead of your daughter saying Jesus. We have a transportation supervisor that I would be calling. Good luck with your meeting, I hope you get some ansers and help in dealing with the bus driver.

 

[Cnrtygirl]

I too have had problems with the bus this year dd10 has been hit, poked, hair pulled, etc... My problem was when I went to the school transpo director he said "kids are kids" and told me he would talk to driver. About 3 weeks later the bus driver called me and said that it was taken care of. I talked to dd and she said I was crazy if I believed him. About the time my dd was called a b**** ( she sent me text on her cell phone to tell me ) i went to the school again to demand to talk to principal, of course he wasn't there, talked to guidence cousler or something like that. He solved my problem. Kicked the kids off bus and also "created" a few things for this kid to do. I would worry more about tht then talking religion among young friends.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

What exactly is this bus driver doing that he can hear the conversations of all the kids? I would think he is should be driving the bus and not monitoring a couple of girls speaking amongst themselves. I would be super P.O.'d that my child got in trouble for something so ridiculous when they let another child spit on mine and that child didn't even get reprimanded. I would also like to know what the bus driver is doing with your personal information (phone # )? Isn't it the school that calls you if there is a problem? I would be more than concerned if a bus driver was calling me. JMHO.

 

[bumbershoot]

Call me crazy, but I thought the separation of Church and State governs the *school*, not the child.

The bus driver couldn't start asking kids what they believe in, but as far as I know, the kids can talk to each other about it in private. Lead a prayer in public before football game = no, bow one's own head for private moment before a test = yes (as far as I know)

I think that the bus driver just needs a little education on employee-of-state vs child-in-private-conversation.

 

[Marshay]

Not sure what your personal beliefs are but the ACLJ - American Center for Law and Justice has a whole website devoted to 'attacks on religion'. They give advice and even fight cases in court such as "children being told they cannot wear a cross necklace at school", "kids being told they cannot pray by themselves in school", etc.

Anyway, it might help you when you talk to the school since there is a lot of confusion about what is and is not constitutional when it comes to religion and schools.

I am not affiliated with this website but have listened to them on the radio from time to time. If nothing else, it sure makes interesting stories.

Best wishes!


Here is the bio from their site. (www.aclj.org)

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) specializes in constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C. The ACLJ is specifically dedicated to the ideal that religious freedom and freedom of speech are inalienable, God-given rights. The Center's purpose is to educate, promulgate, conciliate, and where necessary, litigate, to ensure that those rights are protected under the law. The organization has participated in numerous cases before the Supreme Court, Federal Court of Appeals, Federal District Courts, and various state courts regarding freedom of religion and freedom of speech.