He wouldn't do those things, he's right with God!

The student who wanted to pee on me was suspended this morning. His mother came to pick him up and then came to my room to have it out with me. "He wouldn't do those things. He's right with God. He's been baptized. He goes to church." I said "I'm just telling you what I saw. He's got to go home."

I'm not one for organized religion and I don't go to church much. My students all seem to believe in God and go to church regularly. Some go every day. They bring bibles to school, Jesus bookmarks, folders with rainbows and angels, and wear "I love Jesus" barrettes. The students I would classify as the worst behaved are always the most pious. The God that they believe in is angry and vengeful and full of hate for unbelievers and homosexuals. One day early in the year the kids were talking about who is going to go to Hell. I mentioned that I don't go to church very often. They went nuts. "Mr! You are going to go to Hell!" "Mr! You are going to burn forever!" "You better get to church, Mr!" This was coming from students that beat up weaker students on a regular basis, used horrible profanity as their primary means of communication, and attacked me physically and verbally on a regular basis. Spending all that time in church did nothing for these children. Certainly nothing positive, anyway.

The worst behaved students never miss a day and go to church every Sunday. Count on it.