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Nov 6, 2009 11:02 pm US/Central
'I'll Be Home For Winter?' No Way Says Keller Mom
KELLER (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
What would you do if you had to sing a song about Christmas but couldn't
use the word Christmas? That was the dilemma facing a Keller ISD choir boy until his school realized that substituting the word winter for Christmas would be breaking the law.
Steven Johnson is a sixth grader at Chisholm Trail Intermediate school in Keller ISD.
He and other members of the choir had been practicing singing the song "I'll Be Home For Christmas." Steven had a solo part in it.
This week, his choir teacher told the class they'd have to change the words of the song.
Instead of singing "I'll be home for Christmas," they'd have to sing "I'll be home for winter." And instead of singing the words "and presents under the tree," they would have to sing "and presents just for me."
Cerissa Johnson, Steven's mom, said "I was shocked. I couldn't believe they would want to remove any reference of Christmas from something as harmless as a song."
Steven says his choir teacher had already taught them the original version of the song.
Three days ago, Steven said "(His choir teacher) said she really didn't want to change the songs. But Keller was going to change the songs. Instead of a Christmas program, it was going to be a winter/ holiday program."
In a statement to CBS 11 News, Keller ISD didn't even use the word Christmas, instead grouping it in the the category of "winter religious/customary celebrations." They also stated that "instruction involving holidays should remain neutral in nature without direct eveidence of religious preferences." But they wouldn't explain what that meant.
Roger Byron, an attorney with the Liberty Legal Institute called the substitute wording "offensive and discriminatory." He said there's no law that requires schools to cut the word Christmas out of anything. "Its okay to say Christmas and sing Christmas carols and eat Christmas cookies," Byron said.
In the end, Keller ISD said it would abide by the law - the copyright law, which prohibits the changing of words in the song. So now, Steven is back where he started, singing
the original words to a Christmas classic.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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