Thursday, September 20, 2012

 

Prayer in School? Maybe.


When I was a kid, the city in which we lived had faith-based schools with excellent academic records.  I received a solid education in both core subjects like language, arts, science, math, and social studies, as well as religious education. As students. we attended chapel before school, prayed in the classroom several times a day, and wrote AMDG (an acronym for "to the greater glory of God") at the top right or bottom left corner of every assignment. That was appropriate, because it was a faith-based school. We also wore uniforms, addressed adults as Ma'am and Sir or Mr. or Mrs., and were generally held to a higher standard of behavior than the kids down the street at the public schools. Even after school, if you got caught doing something inappropriate while wearing your uniform, you were subject to discipline by the school.

When we moved to another part of the country, the faith-based schools in the area were not as good as the ones we were used to. As such, I was enrolled in a secular school and also enrolled in after school religious education programs (yes, plural, but that's a topic for another day) because my folks felt that religious education was important.

That's how it is supposed to work.  If you believe that religious education is important for your children you take steps to make it happen. What you don't do is expec, blic school to provide religious education. So, while I'm not opposed to religion or prayers, I don't believe they belong in public schools.

Americans need to get something through their thick skulls. In 1776, this may have been a largely white, largely Christian,

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