No one would think it was wrong to say “Bless you”, until a schoolgirl in Tennessee was suspended for saying ‘bless you’ to a classmate who sneezed.
Kendra Turner was suspended from Dyer Country High School, TN. after saying “bless you” when her classmate sneezed. Her teacher told her that kind of talk was for church.
“She said that we’re not going to have godly speaking in her class and that’s when I said we have a constitutional right,” Ms Turner told WMC.
Ms Turner says she was standing up for her religious beliefs, but when she defended her actions she was sent to see school officials, who sent her to in-school suspension.
The teacher’s whiteboard has a list of banned expressions, including “bless you”, “boring”, “I don’t know, “my bad” as well as banning “other peer expressions”.
School officials told Ms Turner’s parents that she shouted “bless you” across the room, and it was a disruptive outburst.
However, the Turners believe the teacher is anti-religion.
“There were several students that were talking about this particular faculty member there that was very demeaning to them in regard to their faith,” said Ms Turner’s pastor Becky Winegardner, who says she reminded the students of their rights.
Some students have since come to class wearing #BlessYou t-shirts to show their support.
Ms Turner’s family met with school authorities this week, and the teacher told them the Year 12 student had been disruptive.
“It’s all right to defend God and it’s our constitutional right because we have a freedom of religion and freedom of speech,” Ms Turner told WMCA.
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