The following comes from a Jan. 6 story on The Right Scoop.com.
Back in December before school let out for Christmas break, a first-grader at Merced Elementary School in West Covina, California, brought Christmas candy canes to school that bore a Christian message attached to each candy cane so he could share them with his teacher and classmates. But when the teacher saw the Christian message, she confiscated the candy canes, ripped the Christian message from the candy canes and threw them in the garbage and told the student that “Jesus is not allow in school”. She then returned the candy canes to the student so he could share them with classmates.
Advocates for Faith & Freedom, an Irvine-based nonprofit law firm, issued a letter Monday on behalf of Isaiah Martinez, a first grader at Merced Elementary School who took traditional candy canes as Christmas gifts for his teacher, Valerie Lu, and classmates on Dec. 13, 2013, according to attorney Robert Tyler.
Each candy cane came with a message attached that recited the history of the candy cane, including references to the candy as a symbol of Jesus Christ, according to the letter dated Jan. 6.
Attorneys say when Martinez brought the candy canes to class, Lu took possession of the candy canes, and after conferring with school principal Gordon Pfitzer, told Martinez that “Jesus is not allowed in school”.
Lu – at the apparent direction of Pfitzer – then ripped the candy cane message from each candy cane, threw the messages in the trash, and returned the candy canes back to Martinez for delivery to his classmates, according to attorneys.
In a statement, Tyler said the actions of the school district were “hostile and intimidating….”
The Christian message that was attached to each candy cane is below, according to a letter from Advocates for Faith and Freedom:
A candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he
made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols from the
birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ.
He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin
Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the
foundation of the Church, and firmness of the promises of God.
The candymaker made the candy in the form of a “J” to represent the precious
name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff
of the “Good Shepherd” with which He reaches down into the ditches of the world
to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray.
Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candymaker stained it with red
stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus
received by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by
Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.
Unfortunately, the candy became known as a Candy Cane — a meaningless
decoration seen at Christmas time. But the meaning is still there for those who
“have eyes to see and ears to hear.” Every time you see a Candy Cane, remember
the Wonder of Jesus and His Great Love that came down at Christmas, and that
His Love remains the ultimate and dominant force in the universe today.
To read the entire story, click here.
According to Valerie Lu, “Jesus is not allowed in school”. What she was silent about, however, is that the “Father of Lies IS”.
https://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/candycane.asp
Thanks for pointing out the SNOPES article, Anonymous. Some basic, good-old-fashioned critical thinking could have helped avoid this whole mess and kept everyone’s emotions sober. “Logic! Why don’t they teach logic at these schools?” – The Old Professor from THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE
Surprise, surprise, NOT! Well one could expect the cowardly Anonymous to give credit and belief to SNOPES! Snopes is a two person, left wing, demoncrat operation, reported to be heavily funded by left wing millionaires!
May God have mercy on an amoral Amerika!
Viva Cristo Rey!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
I had no idea. Thanks for telling me. I also had no idea that you despised me so much. Thanks for telling me. I am very hurt. I don’t think much of Catholics anymore.
” I also had no idea that you despised me so much.” = Perhaps those are the very same words that Jesus would say to those shepherds and sheep who have compromised the Catholic Faith in order to justify specific sins while protecting and enabling the ravenous wolves who are devouring His sheep.
kanonymous, Don’t be hurt, be honest with yourself. Kenneth Fisher does not despise you and neither do I. If we despised you then we would either remain completely silent or always praise you for your false charity and blinded ability to defend wolves in sheep’s clothing. You have only just discovered that SNOPES is funded by anti-Catholic value supporters so perhaps you can choose to view this as a sweet wake up call to stop enabling the wolves. The choice is your’s and since you have just been clearly shown that you are not always choosing wisely, our prayers are in full support that you eventually will.
“It is written in the Book of Proverbs that wounds from a true friend are preferable to kisses from flatterers (Proverbs 27:6). St Augustine also warns against the grave fault entailed in omitting to offer this help to one’s neighbor: “You do worse by keeping silent than he does by sinning.”
Be brave, do not be led by what others think or say!
– St. John Bosco
I do not fear at all what men can do to me for speaking the truth. I only fear what God would do if I were to lie.
– St. John Bosco
You guys are bizarre going after someone because they quoted a website. In general, I think this student seems to have been wronged, regardless of whether the story on the candy canes was true or false. But you two go after someone who merely quotes a website like they were questioning the Resurrection itself. It’s a website. That is all. Probably discovered through the Google machine, not through some nefarous attempt to hide the True Church. What folly you two involve yourselves with.
God’s warning to those who try and happily whitewash the evil of homosexual acts: “What folly you two involve yourselves with.”
Mr. Fisher, now that I am a little bit over your post I would like to tell you that I have never been a democrat. That was probably the word that set me off. And considering you are a former member of the democrats, I don’t feel that you should swing that bat at people.
And YFC, thank you for recognizing that my post was just a link to a relevant treatment of the topic.
When the candy canes with the little story attached to them were first for sale, I bought a lot of them and handed them out to everybody, too. There was no pretense that it was a historical story or even an legend. It was obviously a pious story. There was no indication then that anybody would think the story was true.
Hello???
Of course this family cannot promote the Christian message in a public school, any more than a Muslim family could promote Islam, etc.
That’s why they are called PUBLIC schools, so nobody gets indoctrinated, even if it’s for the good.
If you want to deal with religion, attend a Catholic school.
Would you want some kid handing out pamphlets from Chick Publications, that Protestant (and VERY anti-Catholic) group which people used to give kids at Halloween???
I do think the parents went a little too far with this. When I went to public high school in the 1950’s Christianity was mentioned in all the social studies books right along with the basic tenets of the major religions. We were allowed to sing such Christmas songs as Silent Night as the majority of the students were Christians, but others were not forced to sing such carols. That might not be allowed now in many areas for various reasons. Jesus should be allowed in schools, just as some of Buddhism, Islam, etc. is also taught but not to the point of proselytizing unless it is students discussing the matter together on their own. Otherwise, ALL the religions are going to do this. Teachers, school workers and students should be allowed, and usually are, to wear the religious symbols of their faiths. Many Christians like the candy cane for Christmas as it looks like a shepherd’s crook. It does seem a Catholic priest was involved in changing the shape in the United State from just a stick to a crook shape. The teacher’s comment was insensitive to a first grader, never the less, and should have been put in a better way. It is best to check with a child’s teacher before bringing holiday treats of any kind since many of the teachers in public school are not Christians but Buddhist, Jewish and other religions. This would avoid such conflicts. A lot of the New Age “stuff” should be left out of schools also. There are many teachers who push astrology, etc. among the faculty which should be avoided.
I should add to my last line AND among students.
Geoffrey, you said “so nobody gets indoctrinated”! If the students in Miss Lu’s first grade class were not being “indoctrinated” then what would you call her very direct statement “Jesus is not allow in school”* to be other than “indoctrination”?!
Indoctrinate — To instruct in a body of doctrine. To teach to accept a system of thought.
Doctrine — Something that is taught. A tenet; dogma.
Tenet — A fundamental principle
Dogma — A principle or system of Principles.
Principle — A basic truth, law, or assumption.
* (by the way if Mis Lu was quoted correctly in the article she doesn’t even speak proper English!)
Thanks, Tracy, I lost my dictionary in my last move and I can’t seem to find one online.
YFC, Geoffrey seems to have forgotten the meaning of indoctrination. Until now, I hadn’t considered that you had too :)
The Snopes article is not a real investigative piece. It is a “debunking” piece with little actual substance. Many Snopes articles are just as questionable as the subjects they attempt to treat. And what relation does it ultimately have to the acts of the teacher and principal? Although the school might have an issue in restricting material that it considers proselytising, the actions of the teacher and principal seem quite heavy-handed as reported here. Poor kid who was trying to share a sweet gift and a message of hope!
Religion is part of CULTURE. The teacher and principal are ignoramuses.
Prof. McCaffrey, it is precisely BECAUSE religion is still part of our American culture, that God is such a threat to those who wish to “Fundamentally change America”!
I do not believe for one second that Miss Lu nor Mr. Pfitzer are ignorant of what they are doing. They believe that their BELIEF system IS the correct one and they will do whatever it takes for EVERYONE to follow what THEY know TO BE right. Since they do not believe in teaching the Ten Commandments and they do not believe that God gave us a Free Will, their only recourse is to impose Tyranny in their school.
Tracy, I quite frankly would no longer send a child of mine to most public schools, especially with the “Core Curriculum” they are pushing now. Some of the books recommended are pure porn, not just erotic but porn. Books for teenagers were censored when I went to public high school. I can still remember the spaces between some words in the books where offensive material had been taken out. There seems to be no moral foundation to teaching any longer in many public school, and it will only get worse if it is controlled federally if the politicians are not living good lives themselves. Teaching and working in a public school now, I am sure, is like walking on egg shells with so many different cultures and religions and non religions. One never knows who one will offend unless a teacher knows their students well. Many students are being brought up in homes where the parents have had not only one or two marriages but even three or four, or are living without the benefit of marriage with the opposite sex, or having an affair with the same sex openly. If you tell a student parents should be married, you are apt you get “your head chewed off” for saying so as some of the facility might be living the same “lifestyles”. All one can do is to lead a good moral life oneself and hope to set a good example for such students. There really is no discipline in many of these schools any more. Is anyone surprised that there are killings on campus? They should not be. What was sown is now being reaped. Many who do not follow the Ten Commandments in one thing, do not follow it in others. Sorry for being so cynical but truth is truth.
Anne T. yes the public schools are a problem, but so are many of the Catholic schools. Most of our Catholic schools around the nation have for years been following a non-discrimitory hiring policy. This means that regardless of the applicant’s belief system, if he/she meets the educational requirements for the teaching position he/she has equal rights to be hired. Yes, we have atheist teaching in our Catholic schools! Now, most diocese around the nation have also adopted the Federal Governments Core Curriculum!
The sad truth is that your child might be much better off in a public school classroom taught by a Catholic or Protestant Christian than in a Catholic school classroom taught by a pro-communist atheist. I have observed for years that the best way to ensure that your child rejects his/her Catholic faith is to send him/her to Catholic school.
This travesty needs to end!
I agree, but first and foremost good teaching must come from the home, and in so many cases that is not happening.
Tracy you are right. I had a friend who sent her child to a Christian private Elementary school. She felt that they were more conservative than her local Catholic school. She said at least if they taught heresy, her son already knew it is not a Catholic school and that she would take that opportunity to teach the truth (but they mostly taught biblical ideals that didn’t go against her Catholic faith) but if he went to a Catholic school and there was heresy being taught, how will she be able to tell them that their Catholic school was incorrect. She made sense.
Also my little sister, in her younger years, attended a Catholic Elementary and still till this day, in her adults years, she tells people that what she remembers the most was a little girl teaching others about magic (witchcraft) and new age stuff. She no longer attends mass nor any other church for that matter. Its sad and tough in our family for the spiritual battles are great.
Here in Tiburon, California, the public school invited Buddhist monks to come in and spread their beliefs, while also doing kungfu things.
When we parents asked about having a rabbi to come in and talk about the Passover, or our priest to tell the children about Lent, we were given a strong “no!” from the school’s leader — who is Chinese and Buddhist!
So much for equal treatment of religions in public schools!!!!
I don’t think many people realize how emboldened the Chinese are, now that they realize that they control much of the property in California! This is only the beginning! In the mean time, the Bishops are still concerned about Mexicans being victimized by us evil Americans. Ha! Are they in for a rude awakening!
Tracy you are funny….lol
Susan fight it….contact Christian legal resources to help you fight this!
I’m so grateful that my kids now attend a Charter School that does allow you to share your faith. My son did a report on St. Thomas More. Also a student was allowed to share her Catholic faith by some of her religious drawings. Another child was allowed to share their biblical stories. Even though it is a public charter school, I am grateful that this is being allowed, that each child is respected to share their faith.
Well then you should take your case to a group like the American Center for Law and Justice or the Catholic League. They cannot let one religious minister come in and not another.
In this case, the teacher violated the student’s free speech rights.
Religion should not be pushed and condoned by the TEACHER using STATE RESOURCES to students at a state required school. That invokes the establishment clause. In this case, this was a student, handing out a religious message to OTHER STUDENTS, who were free to accept or refuse the item—along with the message.
Jon J, you are correct that students at certain times have the right to talk about their faith in public schools, and also to pray or meditate quietly by themselves or with other students, as long as no student is being harassed and prudence is being used. Students are also taught about other religions but it I supposed to be done in an objective way without getting into preaching doctrine.
The message on the candy cane should have been shorter and much simpler, I believe, for first graders. A message such as, “Most Christians celebrate the birthday of Jesus at this time of year. Some Christians like to use candy canes as treats as they look like shepherds crooks and remind them of the shepherds whom they say came to see the Baby Jesus at his birth.”
This was the way most information about various faiths was taught or allowed in public school when my children went there. That method avoids arguments with all the religions and Christian denominations bringing in all their various doctrines and teachings. The children were taught in their history books, or Social Studies’ books, the basic tenets of the major faiths in their area, so they could better understand their fellow students. Discussions about doctrine can be done in private, of course by students as long as the student is not forced into an argument.
My computer is not working well, so please excuse any typos I might have made. It is skipping letters.
Correction: My fifth line should read, “but it IS supposed to”.