That's what a Utah teacher says when he tells a Catholic student to wash the Wednesday cross from the ashes of his forehead

She thought it was a little dust or black paint on her forehead.

Moana Patterson stated that she never thought it would be anything else because she had been teaching Grade 4 students for a long time, which always seemed to be a mess – and sometimes to wear them too. She handed the boy a wet wipe while he was trying to explain and told him to wash. And she went back to the board to teach.

A few hours after the end of class, Patterson's phone started ringing with so many messages coming in so fast that the screen was still on. "Did you see that?" "What happened today?" "It's okay?" Some included links to reports with comments from people who called it "ignorant" and "stupid". One person online said that she had had disrespect to religion. Many others have called for his dismissal.

The headlines indicated what the Utah teacher said she did not know: the mark on her student's head was a cross to mark Ash Wednesday's holy day. And people were furious – including the Catholic boy and his family – that she told him to clean everything up.

"I did not know it was a religious symbol," said Patterson at a press conference Monday. "I would never, never intentionally disrespect a religion or a sacred symbol. It was a total misunderstanding. "

Around her were parents and students from Valley View Elementary School in Bountiful, a northern Utah region that houses mainly members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the United States. Last days. They waved posters saying "We love Mrs. Patterson" with hearts drawn with marker. Some went to the microphone to defend it. Patterson wanted to explain what she was thinking for the first time.

She said that she had apologized to William McLeod, a 9-year-old boy. And she was put on administrative leave and Davis School District asked her not to talk about it.

"But I hope we can go ahead," she added after the applause and applause of the 40 people who surrounded her as she withdrew from the microphone after a brief statement.

District spokesman Chris Williams responded to an email on Monday saying he had no new statement. he said last week that the directors were investigating what had happened. "The actions were unacceptable. No student should ever be invited or forced to remove an ash cross from his forehead. "

Patterson, bowing his head, replied that it looked like a burr and not a cross.

The press conference, moderated by Republican Senator Todd Weiler, representing the area that includes the Valley View Elementary, focuses on what teachers and parents should do to talk to children about different religious practices and traditions. and ways to develop tolerance. Weiler said that he had told McLeod how the boy was the only child in his school to wear the ash cross on his forehead to mark the beginning of Lent.

The senator asked McLeod and his father if they wished to speak Monday during the event. The family refused.

Weiler said that when he had heard of what had happened for the first time, he was "a little shocked and disappointed". He then decided that "it could have happened".

"It's something that happens when people are not necessarily exposed to other cultures and religions," he acknowledged, especially in a state like Utah where there is a dominant religion.

All those who spoke expressed hope that this episode – which they often called misunderstanding – would serve to inform the community and to make people learn from the experience. Tiffany Ivins-Spence, who has a student in Patterson's class and three others in the school, said she believed such interactions were out of proportion, but that there was no bad intention.

"We love Catholics. We love Muslims. We love everyone, "she added. "We are here because we want to try better."

Ivins-Spence, who also volunteers at the elementary school, said that many of the teachers were crying when she entered on Friday. Many are afraid, she says, of committing a similar mistake and of being fired.

She pointed out that Patterson had already taught minority rights in other schools. But there has never been any diversity training at Valley View.

"We just want our teacher to come back," said Ivins-Spence.

Kimberly Fadden, who also has a student at school, said that it was "an honest mistake". Now the morale in the district is "the lowest I've ever seen". for Patterson to be reinstated this week.

At the end of the speeches, Patterson stood in the middle of the group of students and parents and tried not to cry. Nodding, she says she spent most of her life in a classroom.