Dearborn Schools Investigate Teacher For Pushing Christianity On Students

DEARBORN, MI — Dearborn Public Schools are investigating whether one of its teachers went too far in talking about her belief in Christianity in a Woodworth Middle School world religion class. Numerous parents voiced concerns at a recent Board of Education meeting, some asking the district to discipline or fire the teacher.

Students reported the teacher talked about her baptism, read from her personal Bible and showed the seventh-graders a clip from the R-rated film, “The Passion of the Christ.” Kifaya Shami said her son vomited after seeing the clip because he can’t stand the sight of blood. She complained about the incident to the school’s principal, but doesn’t feel she was taken seriously.

“Basically, it sounded like a bunch of excuses to me,” Shami told the Dearborn Press and Guide of the principal’s explanation.

The teacher was not named during the Board meeting, but officials said she had only been with the district since January. District officials said they are investigating the incident. Trustee Mary Lane said she watched the film clip after hearing complaints from parents.

“I did look at the video, and I had a hard time sitting through it,” Lane told the newspaper. “I’m very sorry for the students who watched that.”

Dearborn Schools Board President Mariam Bazzi said the district is “looking at our policies, procedures and curriculum” in response to the incident. The board is not directly involved in the investigation into the teacher’s conduct, but Bazzi said a thorough investigation would be done and appropriate response taken. If the teacher was deliberately trying to convert students, then the penalties would be more severe, Bazzi told the Press and Guide.

Fatina Abdrabboh, executive director of the American Muslim and Minority Advocacy League, said after talking to numerous students and parents that the teacher’s conduct seemed to be “proselytization.”

“The law is pretty clear on this, and this is not the thing that should be allowed in the school district,” Abdrabboh told the newspaper. “We need to teach our students how to think, not what to believe.”

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