My Brother’s Teacher Told Him to ‘Draw What Brings You Most Joy’: Since His Answer Was the Cross, It Wasn’t Allowed
In this opinion piece, Samuel Proctor argues that the idea of neutrality in public schools hides a growing state-sponsored secularism that suppresses religious expression. He recalls an incident from his brother’s middle school art class in which a teacher told the students that no religious imagery could be drawn, and the boy’s effort to depict a cross was blocked while the class’s secular joy was celebrated.proctor learned of the event on January 29, 2026, while he was driving to testify before Iowa’s House education subcommittee about a bill addressing students’ religious, political, and ideological speech in K-12 schools. He discarded most of his prepared remarks and shared his brother’s story,turning the bill into a real-world argument for protecting students’ speech rather than abstract theory. He emphasizes that the problem lies with the system, not the teacher; a student’s doodle should not be treated as the school’s manifesto. His brother understood that his private expression wouldn’t be mistaken for school policy and that a small cross wouldn’t disrupt education, yet the teacher could not permit religious joy while tolerating secular expression.
The piece explains that this story reflects a broader pattern. A 2019 survey found that many K-12 teachers across the country were unprepared to handle religion in schools and misunderstood First Amendment rights, leading them to overestimate restrictions and adopt a “better safe than sorry” stance. That mindset frequently enough translates into silencing religious students in the name of safety or neutrality. Proctor argues that a supposedly open environment without religion is actually a restricted stage that allows only one worldview: ideological secularism-the religion of the irreligious. He contends that secularism’s promise of a pluralistic environment is,in reality,an environment in which faith is diminished or discouraged.
This situation is unacceptable, he says. His brother had to struggle to find his voice, and in America, a young person should be born with it. The bill-House File 2106, renamed House File 2336-seeks to ungag students like his brother by mandating first Amendment training for teachers and increasing penalties for educators who censor student speech. It is not a perfect solution, but it represents a step in the right direction. As more states adopt similar measures, religious students can reclaim their voices while the culture moves toward greater open expression. The overarching message is to abandon the myth of secular neutrality; if public schools are so afraid of a 14-year-old’s cross that they ban it in the name of “joy,” they aren’t teaching tolerance but promoting exclusion and counterfeit neutrality. Ultimately, the piece argues that this pretend neutrality has failed students, teachers, and society, and calls for schools that are brave enough to let students be who they truly are.
The author notes that the views expressed are his own and not necessarily those of the site’s owners, and he invites others to contribute Op-Ed pieces via the site’s guidelines. There is also a note about advertising and related links.
Op-Ed
A wooden cross hangs over a door in an empty classroom at the Domgymnasium grammar school in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on March 25, 2020. (Ronny Hartmann – AFP / Getty Images)
By Samuel Proctor April 25, 2026 at 5:30am
The tall middle school boy sits back in shock, the words of his art teacher ringing in his ears. A slight frown creases his face as the teacher dismisses his dream of drawing a cross. He remembers the prompt — “draw what brings you most joy” — and asks the teacher if she is sure.
She repeats her command: “No religious imagery is allowed.” The rest of the class looks on in stony silence. And so the boy sees his peers’ secular joy promoted while his religious joy is prohibited.
That boy was my brother. My name is Samuel Proctor, and I am fed up with the myth of neutrality that hides the growing state-sponsored secularism.
I heard about my brother’s art class incident on Jan. 29, 2026. At the time, I was driving to Des Moines, Iowa, to testify before the House of Representatives education subcommittee. My mother called me and d that my brother had been prevented from drawing a cross on a middle school mural. It became clear that the school was sponsoring secular joy, but restricting Christian convictions.
Ironically, the bill I was speaking about — House File 2106 — focuses on the religious, political, and ideological speech of students in K-12 schools.
Scrapping most of what I had prepared, I simply d my brother’s story. As I sat before a room of legislators and community members, the bill came alive. It ceased to be abstract political theory, and became a shield to protect students like my brother.
Make no mistake: the system is the problem—not the art teacher. She simply believed that public murals could not include religious expression. But a student’s doodle is not a school’s manifesto.
My brother, who is not a defenseless victim, knew that his private speech wouldn’t be mistaken for institutional speech. He knew that a small cross would not interfere with educational operations. He knew that his teacher could not constitutionally permit secular expressions of joy but discriminate against religious joy.
And so, my brother kindly, but firmly, pushed back against his teacher. Today, a small cross stands on the middle school wall as a testament to his conviction and to his Christ.
But this story is not just about my brother. It is not an anecdotal misunderstanding, but a systemic problem. A 2019 survey found K-12 teachers across the country unprepared to deal with issues of religion in schools (Herbstrith, et al., 2019).
When given a short quiz regarding students’ First Amendment rights, our nation’s educators returned a failing grade. On average, they answered more than half of the questions incorrectly. This knowledge gap led many of them to believe that the law was far more restrictive than it actually is.
Such an error leads teachers to operate under a “better safe than sorry” mentality to avoid political or religious backlash. When school teachers only understand half of what the First Amendment actually means, “better safe than sorry” quickly becomes “silence the religious kids.”
This “open” environment sans religion is not truly open, but rather a restricted stage that allows only one worldview to perform. And that worldview is ideological secularism — the religion of the irreligious.
The myth of secularism promises a pluralistic environment where all faith systems are welcome. In reality, however, it delivers a cold environment where faith goes to die.
This is simply unacceptable. My brother had to fight to find his voice; in America, you should be born with it.
HF 2106 seeks to ungag students like my brother. Renamed as Iowa HF 2336, it has passed both houses of the State Legislature and is headed for the governor’s desk. The bill mandates First Amendment training for teachers and increases civil penalties for educators who censor students.
Is this a perfect fix? Goodness, no. But it’s a step in the right direction.
As more and more states adopt similar legislation, religious students will be able to find their voices again as we chase a culture of open expression. But first, we must abandon the myth of secularism.
If public schools are so scared of a 14-year-old’s drawing of a cross that they have to make “joy” illegal, they aren’t teaching tolerance — they are teaching exclusion and calling it neutrality.
Ultimately, this farce of neutrality has failed students, teachers, and our very society. We do not need safe, sterile, silent classrooms; we need brave schools that let students be who they truly are.
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