A seventh grader’s assignment in Texas involving marking if something was “fact, assertion, or opinion.” Seems simple enough, right? Well, that’s until only the second point read, “There is a God.” Student Jordan Wooley thought that was a fact. And, her answer was marked wrong.
Fox & Friends posted a video of Jordan Wooley on their Facebook page Wednesday morning.
In the video, Wooley explains how her teacher told her that “both were things people were doing to get attention,” in reference to people who had gone to Heaven and came back.
Wooley’s statements came from a Katy School District board meeting from Oct. 26, as Religion News Service reported:
…
“I love reading so for me personally to have to fail reading because of what my beliefs are just shocked me,” Jordan said.
Jordan said the assignment was in fact graded, so she would have had to contradict her faith in order to pass.
Even more shocking about the grade was that Wooley wasn’t even trying to force her faith in God on anyone else. She answered that “There is a God” could be fact or opinion. The teacher still marked her answer wrong.
Wooley’s mother, Chantel Wooley, also saw another issue, beyond “that a kid was literally graded against her faith in God in a classroom.” She questioned whether the assignment was age appropriate, and suggested it could be for college students, but not for “impressionable 12- or 13-year olds.”
The Katy School District agreed that it was “ill-conceived” and the teacher is to be disciplined. But, as Religion News Service also mentions:
“Still this does not excuse the fact that this ungraded activity was ill-conceived and because of that, its intent had been misconstrued,” the district said in its statement.
Jordan said the assignment was in fact graded, so she would have had to contradict her faith in order to pass.
The school district said the teacher who came up with the assignment is distraught and that it’s crucial not to vilify the teacher without knowing her and her Christian faith.
This whole situation need never have happened. When “There is a God” is one of the very first few points, one has to wonder about the intent. The teacher and school district could have avoided this whole problem, and the teacher would never have to be “distraught” or “vilif[ied] if God wasn’t on the assignment to begin with.
