The discipline handed out by the Bismarck School Board to one of its teachers was proportionate to the situation, if seeming harsh.

The issue was a video chosen by a middle school teacher, Michael Nider, to show during an eighth-grade health class. He got it from Godtube.com, and the film, "A Letter from Hell," supposedly presents a message on the dangers of drunken driving. But to dramatize the message, a boy who is dead writes a letter from hell, lamenting his location because his friend hadn't brought him to Jesus.

It was in no way a wise choice of teaching material. It got Nider a suspension, loss of pay that will amount to nine days, taking into account winter break days, a letter of reprimand in his file and having the remainder of the one-semester class taken from him.

The religious aspect can't be overlooked, but the underlying educational issue is that if a teaching aid - particularly one not sanctioned - creates an atmosphere of hostility for the students, even one student, it works against principles of sound education. There always is the matter of whether teaching material is age and grade appropriate. In this instance, it wasn't.

If it was a one-time lapse of judgment, it shouldn't wreck the career of a teacher who hasn't been on the receiving end of disciplinary action otherwise.

It was swift action on the part of the district administration and later the board to defuse what could have been a worsening situation had it got into a protracted back-and-forth between a teacher, students and parents.

When religion and public school education intersect, the chances are that there could be real trouble. In general and in comparison with many parts of the country, there is not overt hostility toward people's faith beliefs in our local public schools.

People can mourn the "good old days" when there could be a Christmas program at school rather than the mid-winter concert. But they should be content that students not holding to the Christian faith can feel of value in their schools and not singled out as being different.

The corollary is that the public school system doesn't need to be adversarial to any participant's system of religious beliefs, including the Christian one - as long as everyone understands and agrees there are limits to the expression of it.

Educators always are searching for a way to turn a situation into a "teachable moment" for students, even for the teachers' own benefit. The importance of having any curriculum or teaching aid conform to established district standards and policies is a lesson not to be forgotten.

Now it's time for everyone involved to move on and to let the "Letter from Hell" video fade into oblivion.