Teacher punished students for saying ‘Bless You’ in class

[rug]

September 30, 2011

Vacaville high school teacher said he will come up with a different way to keep order in class after complaints that he was knocking 25 points off the grades of students saying "Bless you" after a sneeze.

The teacher, Steve Cuckovich, told FOX 40 Sacramento that the point deduction had nothing to do with religion.

"It's got to do with an interruption of class time," he said.

He said a student would sneeze, prompting several students to say "Bless You." The sneezer would then thank each of the students who said "Bless you."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/09/teacher-punished-students-for-saying-bless-you-in-class.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+lanowblog+(L.A.+Now)

[FSogol]

1. Everyone should punch the kid who sneezed. Soon, no one would waste class time by sneezing.

:shrug: :crazy:

[MarianJack]

2. This smells like a good ole'...

...right wing circle jerk.

PEACE!

[Kurovski]

4. Amen.

*FAP*FAP*FAP*FAP*

[Pirate Smile]

3. I thought this was horrible until I saw them talking to some kids from the class. The issue was that

one kid would sneeze. One kid would say "God Bless You", followed by 20+ students saying it - staggering it one at a time. Then the sneezer would say "thank you" - followed by 20+ students saying "you're welcome" - staggering it one at a time.

The issue really wasn't "God bless you". It was students screwing with the teacher.

[procon]

5. It's the oldest stunt there is...

Oh my goodness, that a blast from the past! We used to play that trick when I was in school 50 years ago. It was partly in fun, but mostly to annoy the teachers -- especially the ones we didn't like -- and interrupt class as the "bless-yous" and "thank-yous" and laughter echoed around the room several times before the teacher regained control.

I suspect the motive is the same today and this more of a class prank than anything to do with 'religion'.

[1monster]

6. I had the kids do the coughing bit, where all of them would start coughing

at the same time at timed intervals.

I was able to get it to stop immediately. And I'm a sub, not the regular teacher.

This teacher needs some serious classroom management training -- and soon!

[Deep13]

7. *deleted*

[lunasun]

8. This is some story my grandma would send me......plleez ...Fox40...

[LeftishBrit]

9. I suspect that the teacher was punishing the kids for being disruptive

Some kids deliberately sneezing, and others expressing exaggerated noisy concern, is a common enough way to disrupt a lesson. I doubt that the religious meaning of 'bless you' even came into it. Most people don't think of the literal meaning of the phrase in this context. It's as though a teacher punished a child for stomping out of class without permission shouting 'GOODBYE!', and this got represented as a punishment for using an abbreviation of 'God be with you'.

That being said, deducting 25 points from an academic grade for being annoying in class seems an inappropriate punishment (e.g. a detention or a note to the parents or even depriving them of some enjoyable activity 'because you all have such bad colds' would seem more appropriate) and I am not surprised that the teacher seems to have problems with discipline if this is typical of his style. But treating it as some sort of war on religion is ridiculous! And if the parents use this sort of argument to excuse their kids' misbehaviour, they may end up raising very unpleasant individuals.

[darkstar3]

10. Well said.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

11. Would he punish em for speaking German if they said "Gesundheit?"

:shrug:

[AsahinaKimi]

12. interesting word ...interesting orgins

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesundheit


*just a note, in Asia one ever says anything after a sneeze. Its of no more of interest than a cough.

[dmallind]

13. Ah - another "I was fired for being Christian" story

Every single one of them the same.....

I was fired for being Christian after I repeatedly refused to do my job or thought rules for other people didn't apply to Christians because that's what society taught me.

I was punished for being Christian after disrupting a class in a carefully orchestrated display

I was discriminated against for being Christian when I was told it was not OK for me to discriminate against those Christianity tells me are inferior.

The inverse is much less likely to need a non-sequitur qualifier.

Darrel Lambert was kicked out of Eagle Scouts for being an atheist.... and refusing to lie about it.

Ira Chemers was fired for being a non-Christian...and saying that it was OK to be a non-Christian.

Larry Hooper was shot for being an atheist....and saying he was one within earshot of a Christian.

[darkstar3]

14. +1

[Jim__]

15. Knocking 25 points off a grade seems excessive - and inappropriate. - n/t