Religion in schools has been a very shaky subject. Prayer went from being said in unison, to a moment of silence and now in some schools, not even on the days agenda. Why is it that something that is so important is taken out of public schools? Many people have argued that incorporating prayer in school is unnecessary, offensive and even a waste of time. These thoughts about prayer are generated by persons of different religious beliefs along with people of no belief at all. So what is a teacher to do when a student needs that time a prayer and asks for permission? Turn down their faith or allow the student to pray? Firstly, a student shouldn't have to ask for permission to pray. Secondly, I believe the teacher should allow the student to pray. That moment of prayer can ease a students mind during difficult times such as standardized tests, dealing with emotions, bullying and peer pressure. A teacher can allow prayer by specializing quiet time for students to pray, do their work or simply clear their minds of the many things that could be troubling their lives.
For more information on prayer in schools click here: Prayer in School
I worked with a teacher who was magnificant at being 'politically correct.' She had a very strong faith but was careful not to cross the line while at work. She worked in a Behavior Support Classroom and set up a 'reflection table' for students to GET THEIR THOUGHTS and their acts TOGETHER.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really good idea to have in the classroom. When I was in school all we had was timeout which was usually associated with bad or disruptive behavior.
DeleteQuiet time can be used in lots of ways--parents can tell their children to use part of that silence to pray. When it becomes an issue for me, at least, is when students insist on leading classmates in prayer or announcing, "we should pray before we start this exam so God blesses our endeavors." One of my elementary schools was about 45% Jewish, 45% Catholic, and then 10% "other," so any mention of faith was very, very tense. Kids would actually demand to know, "do you mean your god or my god?"
ReplyDeletePeople have to be careful. When a PVAMU prayer ends "in Jesus' name we pray," it's a lawsuit waiting to happen. We're a public university, with staff, students, and faculty who are practicing Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Sikhs, etc. I can't imagine how it might feel to hear, at a graduation exercise, that only Christ is being asked to bless you if you are not a Christian!
If praying is how you were brought up then it exactly okay to pray if that is what you believe in.No one should ever be stopped because of there religion.
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