| One of my parents from last year emailed me (at school mail...) a forward about how the Ten Commandments are written all over the Supreme Court building, every session of Congress starts with a prayer by a paid preacher (paid by MY taxes), and how "Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies." The point of the email is that if the Ten Commandments, Moses, and Bible verses are plastered all over federal buildings, and so many of the forefathers went to church, "How, then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for the past 220 years is suddenly wrong and unconstitutional?"
After I finished reading the email, I didn't know what I wanted to do first - throw up or write a letter to my congressperson (or email the parent and ask her to stop sending me dumb forwards).
Now, I though the people who left England to live in the "New World" (north of the border) - the people who, in essence, founded this country - did so because they wanted to live in a place where no one would tell them which God to worship and how.
I also thought that somewhere along the way, someone had written in to the Constitution something about a separation between church and state. Was I wrong?
Around the same time I read this email I also drove by a car proudly proclaiming "Let our kids pray in school" on its bumper. Now, I have never, and will never, tell a student to *stop* praying. The only time I could ever see myself, or any other teacher, doing that is if the student is creating a disruption and/or not allowing his fellow students to learn. But if a student takes a moment to quietly pray, and does not disturb the people around him, that's fine with me. He has a right to pray, SAME AS the student next to him has a right to NOT pray, or to not pray the same prayer as him.
I have never forbidden a student her right to freedom of religion. (One of my students brought the Book of Mormon to read during SSR, I also had one or two students bring the Bible - the only time I told a student to put away the Bible was because he'd brought an "illustrated" Bible with comic-book-like drawings. Comic books are not allowed during SSR, their books must have paragraphs and chapters, that's why I asked the student to put that book away - and I explained it to him, I told him he could bring a Bible to read but it had to have paragraphs and chapters.)
I have, however, forbidden a student her right to free speech. During our mandatory Moment of Silence everyone in the room must be quiet (I'd love to know how the kindergarten teachers manage that). If a student tries to speak during that time, I tell her to stop. I do not allow *her* to speak. But I have never not "let" a kid pray in school.
Now, I have a question. I thought the main point of Christianity was the whole love your neighbor, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and be kind and loving in general thing. Aren't the same people who are fighting so hard to force Catholic prayer in school and to paste the Ten Commandments all over schools the same people who fight to cut welfare, health care for low-income families, and other such programs?
Things that make you go hmm... |
