Kaunas
The administration of the 29th Middle School was called on the carpet for having neglected its atheist work: One of the school's alumnai, Jonas Ivanauskas, enrolled in the seminary.
Class 6F homeroom teacher (Mrs.) Dana Mikaliūnienė is very zealous. Whether the students are willing or not, homeroom teacher Mikaliūnienė ties a red scarf and you are a Pioneer. Student Laima Sutkutė dared to remove the scarf which had been imposed on her in this way and consequently suffered much unpleasantness. Finally, the student's mother was summoned:
"Your daughter is the only white crow in her class," the homeroom teacher reproached the mother.
Gargždai (R a y o n of Klaipėda)
Justinas Stanijauskas was being buried on September 9th of this year. His daughter is a student in class 4C of the 2nd Middle School. Wishing to show her sympathy to the student who had lost her father, Homeroom Teacher Petrauskienė brought her students to the funeral, but upon seeing a priest waiting at the grave site, she ordered the children to place the flowers under the coffin supports next to the refuse pile and leave the cemetery.
It is unfortunate that such vulgar teachers work in our Soviet school system and cause so much pain for the family instead of offering sympathy at a very sad time. It is better not to attend the funeral at all, than to behave in a coarse manner.
Molėtai
Students of the Molėtai Middle School—Virginijus Kisielius of Grade 8B, Julius Bareikis of Grade 8C, and Romualdas Gudonis of Grade 7A burglarized the Molėtai church on March 26th of this year. They took the tabernacle key, a cross from the side altar and two beautiful candles, one of which they found in the sacristy attic. The visit of the uninvited guests was detected when the priest could not open the tabernacle door and distribute Holy Communion during services.
After coming to school, the students began to show off the things stolen from the church and the theft quickly became evident. The boys began to feel uneasy, but the teachers encouraged them.
In every class, as soon as the teachers came in, the children began to talk of the church theft as an extraordinary event. Only a small fraction of teachers reproved the students' bad behavior, but others— Kazlas, Gaidienė and others—pretended they did not hear. Even sadder, grade 8B Homeroom Teacher (Mrs.) Vitalija Sabuckienė placed the blame on Grade 8B student Vida Žiegždrytė, accusing her of reporting the students' theft because she is a faithful churchgoer. The teacher turned the petty thieves into heroes. During a class program, the homeroom teacher, Mrs. Sabuckienė reviled Vida and allowed the students to ridicule her as much as they pleased. The poor children became confused in such an atmosphere: Vida felt actually guilty, the thieves triumphed, and the rest made fun of Vida. The girl returned home in tears and was thoroughly confused.
Vida was persecuted throughout the school year.
The behavior of the student Kisielius was not investigated any further although he was known as an accomplished thief who had often robbed students and the school itself.
The church theft was an excuse to further intensify atheist upbringing in the school. By the end of the year atheist questionnaires had to be filled out three times. In class, teachers pointedly excluded and shunned Vida, who suffered deeply from the rejection.
Šiauliai
The funeral of Gintaras Skorubskas, a graduate of the 8th Middle School in Šiauliai, was held on October 1, 1978. The school administration had already pleaded with his parents beforehand not to invite a priest to the funeral, and students were warned not to attend church.
When the funeral procession stopped at the church, principals (Mrs.) Jonaitienė and (Mrs.) Lukšienė did not even allow the students into the churchyard. Those who nevertheless succeeded in entering the churchyard were chased out by the head of the atheist club, teacher Grebeničenkaitė. The younger students obeyed the teachers, but the upper-grade students drew Teacher Lukšienė away from the churchyard gate and boldly assembled in the churchyard. Seeing that people were milling about, the priest urged everyone to enter the church. Teacher (Miss) Grebeničenkaitė stood at the church door, took from the students their flowers and threatened the students who entered the church. The students crowded inside even without flowers. Principal (Mrs.) Jonaitienė ran up to help. She pulled students aside, asking which school they were from. The principal told students from the 8th Middle School: "You cannot go into the church!"
One courageous girl laughed when she heard this order: "I'm not afraid of church . . ." and went inside. Seeing that all her efforts were in vain, teacher Grebeničenkaitė threatened: "Wait, you'll get it tomorrow!" Then she stealthily entered the church to observe how the students were behaving inside—were they praying or not, were they kneeling or standing fearfully glancing around. Everyone knelt at the start of the services, only teacher Grebeničenkaitė remained standing.
After the funeral, the teachers showered the students with reprimands, ridicule and threats. History teacher Vaičiugienė ridiculed and criticized the priest, accusing him of lack of humanness.
