At see-you-at-the-pole events yesterday in Sumner Count, Tennessee, teachers involved in a lawsuit over religion in schools attended but did not participate.
Andrew Schmeltzer, an English teacher and assistant baseball coach at Wilson Central High School, sang along to student-led hymns but said he was careful to step aside when prayers began. “As long as I don’t do any leadership with that, that’s fine,” he said.
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Sumner school officials distributed guidelines before See You at the Pole telling school employees that if they choose to pray on campus, it must be done out of sight and earshot of students.
One student seemed to understand well why these restrictions are in place:
Tucker Archie, a Wilson County Central senior who prayed at his school Wednesday, said he can appreciate the arguments over the place of religion in schools.
“That’s always going to be a battle,” he said. “Honestly, I wouldn’t want a teacher kind of enforcing Muslim beliefs — or any kind of beliefs.”
