EdWeek Article, "Teen Fights Nose Ring Suspension on Religious Grounds"

by The Associated Press

Posted September 16, 2010
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/09/16/376056usrelpiercingchurch_ap.html

With such a vocal society that will fight for it’s independent rights, it’s hard to draw the line sometimes between what can and cannot be allowed in schools. Considerations such as religion have to be carefully looked at. The idea of separation between church and state means different things to different people.  But the question is: What constitutes a religion? Can schools simply look at the dictionary definition of religion, or do schools need to take more of a sociological approach? Where is the line drawn from allowing students to bring their culture, which includes religion, into the classroom with them, and disallowing them to do so. On the contrary, each student has a right to attend school without having other’s views forced upon them…but what does this mean, exactly.

This article highlights what I think will be an ongoing issue in schools and school districts that struggle to hold the fine line between allowing students to express themselves independently, and create a safe learning environment that has minimal distractions to the learning process. 


Many school districts I have had experience with have found a "safe" ground with issues such as this. They allow student's freedom of expression so long as it does not create a distraction. In the Northwest, this allows students to have body and facial piercings, tattoos, mohawks and rainbow colored hair. Perhaps these things are not a distraction to the learning environment because they are mostly accepted in the society in which we live. Apparently, these freedoms are not as acceptable in North Carolina.