I find it interesting that I am asked to reflect on Religion in schools: The Debate Heats Up at a time when my school district is in a lawsuit with the ACLU. Over the past several months, I have been enlightened and baffled over the subject. First let me say, I am believer in my Lord Jesus Christ and I believe I can give honor to my God in the classroom without openly praying or observing a moment of silence.
According to the law, “teachers and school administrators are representatives of the state, and, in those capacities, are themselves prohibited from encouraging or soliciting student religious or anti-religious activity. Similarly, when acting in their official capacities, teachers may not engage in religious activities with their students. However, teachers may engage in private religious activity in faculty lounges”. (Religion In The Public Schools: A Joint Statement Of Current Law, 1995) I do not feel a moment of silence is soliciting student religious activity. There is a moment of silence in my classroom each morning, and I do not have any indication as to what my students are doing during that time. As a result of this blog and topic, I have monitored my students during the moment of silence. My findings: Their actions or gestures give me no concrete indication as to what they are doing, and I can only assume. There are some students that appear to be sleeping, some daydreaming and others waiting for the second they can continue talking with their neighbor. There are not any students that I observed bowing in prayer. Silence does not constitute prayer nor does it dictate that prayer must take place in the student’s heart and mind. The students are given a freedom of choice during the moment of silence. They can use the moment of being silence for prayer, meditation, reflection, or daydreaming. If the law prohibits students from observing the moment of silence in school, then I feel it is participating in ant-religious activity which is unconstitutional. In 1969 the U.S. Supreme court ruled the following in Tinker vs. Moines, “It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech . . . at the schoolhouse gates”. (The Lectric Law Library, 2011) Although this was ruled in 1969, today my religious rights have been stripped when I instruct in the classroom. I can no longer bow my head in my classroom, without the fear that I will be disciplined for promoting my religious beliefs. Yes, my rights have been stripped as a teacher, but stripping my students is unconstitutional.
The article, Religion in schools: The Debate Heats Up, also discusses a topic that has been in action as long as I can remember. Although the controversy is not new, the argument made by scientist stands to rewrite textbooks. According to the article, children are feeling intimated by their instructors when questioning the Darwin’s theory. (Religion In The Public Schools: A Joint Statement Of Current Law, 1995) I find this ironic that students fear humiliation when they take in information, reflect on the information, and question its authenticity. I thought this was part of the learning process.
In conclusion, I am saddened that so much time and money is being spent on whether or not a moment of silence is unconstitutional and the strengths and weaknesses of Darwin’s theory. I can reflect on three students in my class that I know have little adult supervision, works enable to eat, and sleep fewer hours than I do at night. If I can reflect on three, how many more there must be in our school systems across the United States? The moment of silence issue seems very trivial when I think about it from this perspective.
References
Religion In The Public Schools: A Joint Statement Of Current Law. (1995). Retrieved from ED Home: http://www2.ed.gov/Speeches/04-1995/prayer.html
The Lectric Law Library. (2011). Retrieved September 29, 2011, from Lectlaw.com: http://www.lectlaw.com/files/stu02.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment