{"id":13102,"date":"2019-03-12T11:06:21","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T15:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=13102"},"modified":"2023-02-21T15:52:18","modified_gmt":"2023-02-21T20:52:18","slug":"4th-graders-teacher-forced-wash-off-ashes-mass-ash-wednesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2019\/03\/4th-graders-teacher-forced-wash-off-ashes-mass-ash-wednesday","title":{"rendered":"A 4th-grader\u2019s Teacher Forced Him to Wash off His Ashes after Mass on Ash Wednesday"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The 9-year-old had no idea that when he went to school that day that his teacher would tell him the cross on his forehead was inappropriate and make him wash the ashes off.<\/em><\/p>\n

William McLeod who goes to a Utah public school was prepared for questions about the cross he wore on his forehead for Ash Wednesday, but what he didn\u2019t know was that his teacher would make him wash the ashes off in front of all his peers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really bad,\u201d he told CNN. \u201cI went to the office and I was crying and I felt like I was in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

William had gone to school directly after an Ash Wednesday Mass at his Catholic Church. The cross was placed on his forehead as a mark of the beginning of Lent, the Christian season of preparation before Easter. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection of Jesus Christ \u2013 His suffering and His sacrifice, His life, death, burial and resurrection.<\/p>\n

William\u2019s grandmother told him he didn\u2019t have to get ashes if he didn\u2019t want to and if he left them on his forehead at school, people would likely ask him what it was for.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are going to look at you like you\u2019ve got dirt on your head,\u201d his grandma told him, \u201cand that\u2019s OK. You explain this is Ash Wednesday and you\u2019re Catholic. And he goes, \u2018OK, I want to wear them.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

She had no idea that just hours after that conversation she would be getting a call from the school\u2019s principal who told her that William\u2019s teacher had asked him what was on his forehead and he told her it as an ash cross for Ash Wednesday. The teacher told him it was \u201cinappropriate\u2026so take it off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was furious,\u201d she told CNN. \u201cThis is who we are. This is part of our life as Catholics.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was shocked more than anything.<\/p>\n

The Davis School District has since\u00a0apologized for the ordeal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are sorry about what happened and apologize to the student and the family for the teacher\u2019s actions. The actions were unacceptable,\u201d according to a statement Friday to CNN. \u201cNo student should ever be asked or required to remove an ash cross from his or her forehead.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, the district called its director of educational equity, who is also an ordained Catholic deacon. He ended up reapplying the ash cross to Williams\u2019 forehead that afternoon. William\u2019s grandmother had mixed feelings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have our different beliefs,\u201d she said, \u201cand we all have to be respected for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

William\u2019s teacher also ended up apologizing with a note asking if they could move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI accepted her apology. I kind of feel bad for her,\u201d he said. \u201cShe\u2019s a great teacher, and I don\u2019t want her to lose her job.\u201d<\/p>\n

When CNN asked whether he\u2019d get ashes placed on his forehead, he said without hesitation that he would.<\/p>\n