Christianity and the Classroom

Re “Fire, Brimstone Over Faith,” Dec. 26: Stephen Williams’ action in infusing his curriculum with carefully selected quotes designed to promote Christianity demonstrates why Supreme Court justices and not fifth-grade teachers should decide issues that violate the Establishment Clause [of the 1st Amendment].

Williams’ counsel says, “No public school teacher should abuse his office by trying to indoctrinate his students,” yet that’s exactly what his client is doing. Williams quotes Thomas Jefferson’s comment on the Bible -- “The Bible makes the best people in the world” -- but fails to note that Jefferson, in a letter to John Adams, also wrote that there should be a “wall of separation” between church and state. Did Williams teach that Jefferson actually wrote a deist version of the Bible in which all the miracles were left out?

Williams’ actions bespeak a lack of faith in Christ’s message. Are not Christian ideals compelling enough to bring people to the faith without help from unethical teachers who use selective quotes? Evidently, Williams doesn’t think so.

Jim Corbett

San Clemente

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As a parent at Stevens Creek Elementary, the school accused of banning the Declaration of Independence, I am shocked with the misrepresentations of our community school. Since the lawsuit hit the media before Thanksgiving, the school has received more than 3,000 angry calls and e-mails from all over the country, many of which were extremely threatening, combative and profane. My daughter, who had another teacher for fifth grade, was taught the usual California curriculum, with the complete Declaration of Independence and religious context of our forefathers. We say “under God” in our Pledge of Allegiance. Our school is bristling with holiday decorations of every variety.

The Alliance Defense Fund, an out-of-state Christian advocacy group, has already tried this case in the media. I believe that our school was the unlucky target of its preexisting political agenda. How can the message of a tiny community school compete with that of a slick group of attorneys with its $15-million budget?

When this frivolous lawsuit is resolved in favor of the school district, I sincerely hope it is still a front-page story.

Jean Marie Merkhofer

Cupertino, Calif.

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We are a melting pot that is being persuaded by a religious group to the point of not being fair to other Americans that are not part of the group. Persecution is not limited to religion, and some Americans seem to forget that fact. The teacher should be a Sunday school teacher or a preacher, not a public school teacher.

School is a place for children to learn that there are other groups of people and worlds different from their own that are neither better nor worse than their own. Limiting education for the sake of limiting the ability to let young minds think for themselves is a true sin. An open mind is a gift that should not be wasted on bias or prejudice.

Bob Dieter

Lancaster

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The most important witnesses to whether Williams advocated his religious beliefs in class are his students. In your article, Mike Zimmers quotes his daughter, who was in Williams’ class, as saying, “I don’t think he’s very respectful of other people’s religions.... He talks about Jesus 100 times a day.” My son was also in Williams’ class with Zimmers’ daughter. He made very similar, if not stronger, statements.

No matter how you look at this, Williams did something wrong if kids felt that an authority figure, such as their teacher, did not respect their beliefs. Now, what is worse is that Williams’ lawyer and other advocates disregard what these children have said and endured.

Armineh Noravian

Cupertino, Calif.