A Controversial Case

This discusses whether it is appropriate to display personal expressions of faith in classrooms and highlights the importance of respect, regardless of whether you disagree or agree with others’ opinions.

In December 2024, a teacher, Marisol Arroyo-Castro, was put on leave due to a cross on her wall, which had been on the wall for 10 years. She taught at DiLoreto Elementary and Middle School in New Britain, CT. She taught in Connecticut at public schools for 32 years and had never encountered anything like this. She had a conversation with the principal the next day after being told to put the cross in a drawer. When you strongly support something, you do not want to hide it; that is not a good feeling, having to hide your faith and beliefs. She had stated that, having worked there since 2003, she had seen teachers hang pride flags on the walls and photos of the Virgin Mary, but a cross was where they drew the line. She said in an interview that she felt like she was putting Jesus, her father, in a drawer.

Faith and Expression

In today’s generation, the world is filled with anger and hatred towards people and their opinions. The only thing that can fix this is mutual respect, regardless of whether you disagree or not. When you genuinely believe in something and it brings you a sense of safety and comfort, you should be able to express that. It is entirely okay to disagree with someone, but why can a teacher hang a pride flag if they support that, but if someone believes or supports a religion, they can’t show that? If everyone can agree and support each other’s opinions, it could be fine to see a cross on the wall, a pride flag, or anything else.

When Expression Crosses the Line

Students released some of the quotes that Marisol has said, including religious terms. This is where it can go wrong and out of hand, because respect is always important. Students are saying she said terms often, responding to bad behavior like, “Papa God is disappointed in you” and “You need Jesus”, the students told reporters these terms; this is where it gets wrong and disrespectful because displaying respect should be ok, but using religious terms to discipline or put down children is crossing boundaries and should have been noticed by her. How do we know if these are accurate quotes, though? Could it be Bias? They are little kids, are they always honest? But the teacher could also be biased and lying to save her career.

Protest, Belief, and Fear

As we know, protests have become increasingly popular in recent years, with people standing up to support their beliefs and showing others why they are so passionate about them. I think protests are amazing to a certain extent. As I mentioned earlier, our generation lacks respect, and often, when someone disagrees with another person’s opinions, it becomes a dangerous situation. This has led people to be scared of showing their beliefs because it is not always safe to do so. Faith from a religious person often gets attacked. Why is that? Why can’t a spiritual person show that? Respect is necessary from everyone, and rules are frequently broken because people cannot respect them.

Respect Above All

In this, I touched on multiple categories, including respect, religion, protest, and even bias. However, what I want you to take away from this is that, no matter what, learn to respect and be kind. Don’t push your beliefs on others; be yourself. If you want to share your thoughts or opinions, do it respectfully and in the correct settings or moments. How would you react to a situation like this?