Parents Upset After Teacher Brings Ouija Board to Class
Hillsborough County teacher Theresa Clinton was cautioned after parents complained about her bringing a Ouija Board into a classroom at Burns Middle School.
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A Hillsborough County school teacher is in hot water after bringing a Ouija Board into her classroom.
According to Hillsborough County School District spokeswoman Linda Cobbe, fourth-grade Alafia Elementary School teacher Theresa Clinton has been cautioned after parents of students at Burns Middle School complained that she brought a Ouija Board into a reading class at Burns Middle School where she was giving a presentation.
"The teacher has been cautioned to consider the type of reactions the parents might have about what she brings into the classroom," said Cobbe.
Clinton, a Bloomingdale East resident, is the author of a book for readers age 8 to 12 called "The Ouija Board Diaries: Summoning the Spirit." Cobbe said Clinton brought some of her books, along with a Ouija Board, into the seventh-grade classroom at Burns for a presentation.
The book revolves around 12-year old Janie who has just moved to a new town and discovers that she lives in a house with the ghost of a teen girl. With the aid of a Ouija Board, Janie begins to unravel the mystery of what happened to the teen girl.
Cobbe said Clinton's motivation was simply to get the students interested in reading. At no time did the students use the board, said Cobbe.
However, the school district received several complaints from parents who said they did not want their children exposed to a Ouija Board, which has been linked to the occult and is deemed by many to be a tool used to summon demonic spirits.
Clinton was unavailable for comment.
What do you think? Did the teacher make a mistake by bringing a Ouija Board into the classroom? Give us your feedback in the "Comments" section.
J B
5:14 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012
She is an elementary school teacher at Alafia, not a middle school teacher. She teaches 4th grade. The classroom should not be used to push her book sales. Also, in my world, this type of book would not be read by either myself or my children and the thought that this teacher appears so ignorant to believe this would be acceptable to the mainstream is concerning to say the least.
Rose Anzaldi
10:53 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012
What world do you live in? I guess your kids don't read Harry Potter either.
Bobbi
9:30 pm on Monday, October 1, 2012
What would these parents say if the teacher brought a Bible to school? I do not care if she teaches 4th grade or 7th grade teacher had no right bringing ouija board to class.
Jery Elliott
5:14 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012
The parents of seventh graders need to relax. These folks probably also think that reading Harry Potter leads to kids practicing witch craft and that classroom guest speakers are trying to indoctrinate their kids into converting to Muslim. The Terry Kemple crowd is once again shooting their mouths off.
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Anyone with better than a 7th grade education and an ounce of common sense knows full well that Ouji Boards are bunk. It's a party game and apparently the source for this fun and humorous book aimed at middle school age readers. I, for one, am grateful for any lighthearted mystery that might interest kids to pick up a book instead of a game controller. Maybe if these parents read a little more and fretted a little less they could trust their kids to know better than to take seriously any book aimed at the tween-reader.
Rose Anzaldi
10:53 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012
It's a ouji board...an entertainment toy...where does all this demonic talk come from...what is wrong with the teacher showing the kids a visual aid. This is just crazy. I would have no problem letting my son read the book or look at the oiji board...I really don't think he's going to delve into devil worship. He reads Harry Potter...hhhmmm...I don't think he's turned into a wizard either....
Jery Elliott
1:09 pm on Tuesday, October 2, 2012
One can safely assume that the students had access to the book in their in-class library and one or more asked what a Ouji Board is and then the teacher brought it in to show them. I am fairly certain the same kids asked what a magic wand looks like or something similar. We should all be confident that the teacher is not summoning spirits into the classroom. Boo!
Jill Jofko
7:06 am on Sunday, September 30, 2012
REALLY?!?!?! Getting middle schoolers excited about books and reading is what is going on here! It's not like the speaker or teacher held a seance! These parents need to wake up and be concerned about the real threats their children are exposed to in middle school...drugs, bullying...etc!
Rose Anzaldi
9:30 pm on Monday, October 1, 2012
Couldn't have said it better Jill!
Annie
9:30 pm on Monday, October 1, 2012
Yes, Jill, REALLY. The ouija board is highly offensive and forbidden in Christianity. Occult activities are not a game to us, regardless of what you think about it. Reading matters, but WHAT kids are reading is equally important, and a ouija board is offensive and unnecessary in a world of wonderful books.
psinded
9:30 pm on Monday, October 1, 2012
No, it's not an entertainment toy! I was given one a a gift years ago when I was around 12. Niether me or the person who gave it to me considered it anything more than a game. I quickly became uneasy even having it in my room. Other family members began to "play" with it, and I can honestly tell you it is not a game. It opens doors under the guise of "it's just a game". Suffice it to say we got the "game" out of our house after several creepy experiences with it. This has absolutely no place in our schools! Get your head out of the sand people!
Annie
9:30 pm on Monday, October 1, 2012
Listen, if the Christian religion is off limits in a public school, so are the dark arts, which are about as religious as it gets. Either allow all religions in for equal time or allow none. Ouija boards to a Christian are like serving bacon sandwiches to Muslim or Jewish students, do you get that?
Jery Elliott
1:09 pm on Tuesday, October 2, 2012
No "Annie" ... I don't "get that". Please, explain.
Bobbi
9:30 pm on Monday, October 1, 2012
I prefer my children have Christian values. Do you believe in God ? I do and I also believe there are demonic spirits at work in this world and I want nothing to do with Harry Potter or anything that has to do with evil spirits. Be careful what you let into your Heart, Mind , and Soul. Why do you think moral values are such a rarity? There are too many people that live with the ideology of no absolute right and wrong only shades of gray....... Isaiah 5:20
King James Version (KJV)
20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Jery Elliott
1:09 pm on Tuesday, October 2, 2012
You are joking, right? This is a joke? You must be joking? Please tell me you are!
Rose Anzaldi
9:41 am on Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Actually I don't believe in God...I would like to think there is something out there more intelligent than humans. If you cannot distinguish a children's book or Harry Potter as being just a children's story instead of something evil or demonic, then I think you may be the one living in a fantasy world. Man is the evil one in this world we live in...we create our own suffering....after seeing what goes on in this world, your God seems pretty vindictive to me.
Thomas Gambill
9:41 am on Tuesday, October 2, 2012
These boards in fact summon demons to that location; as they are the real deal. You parents and writers that are not aware of this better wake your sleepy butts up to the reality of the supernatural because its soon going to bring you to your knees in due time. Jesus christ is coming back but not before literal Hell is opened upon this earth. The occult is alive and well, and is also the cause of many of your children committing suicide. WAke up.
Jery Elliott
1:09 pm on Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Seriously ... people like you are allowed out in public? You hold jobs and drivers licenses and mortgages? This has got to be a joke!
claudia
2:54 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012
That is just stupid if you think there is nothing more intelligent than humans, obviousy ur commentt just proved human aren't the smartest thing on earth