Prayer in School
Should Prayer Be Allowed in Public School? I Think Not
First of all, kids are extremely impressionable, especially in elementary schools - and anything their teachers say is taken at face value as undisputable fact. Sure, parents influence their kids, but it is almost impossible to overestimate the impact that a teacher will have on a child. Many times a parent will ask a teacher, "Can you please tell my child that *insert lesson here*" because they know that if a teacher is the one to relate the information their child will be more prone to believe it than if it comes from Mom or Dad. If a teacher tells a 9 year old something, about anything, that child is going to believe it - no matter how much their parents try to dispute it.
Educating children about different belief systems and religions is a good thing, I am absolutely in favor of it, but you need to present those beliefs as just that - beliefs, not facts. Recently in my daughter's school they have been doing a lot of things to celebrate Aboriginal Day. Activities like listening to a native storyteller talk about the traditions of her people and share some of their legends are a great way to teach kids about the beliefs and religions of First Nations people, and I support that. However, they've also been starting off the day with a traditional Cree prayer in place of singing "Oh Canada", which really irritates me. The prayer starts off with a Cree elder saying 'Let us all face East, which reminds us that we are all one people under one God.' If he said, 'The Cree people believe we are all one people under one God.' I wouldn't mind as much, but he doesn't, he says we are one people under one God - presenting his belief as fact.
I work in the school as a teacher's aid, and thus have some semblance of authority to these kids. How do you think this Cree elder, or any religious person for that matter, would feel if I went into school one day and told all the kids 'There is no God.'? No doubt the school would be flooded with angry letters and I would no longer be welcome there - and rightly so, but how is that any different than the kids hearing this elder over the PA system saying 'We are all one people under one God'? Instead, why not just have the kids learn to sing "Oh Canada" in Cree and bypass the whole sticky situation?
I send my daughter to school to learn many things, but another person's personal religious beliefs are not one of them. If you want to educate kids about diversity that's great, and I support that, if it's done correctly. However, presenting religious ideas as fact is not the way - at least not in public schools.
Published by Rhonda Parrish
Rhonda Parrish is a happily married mother of one who lives in Edmonton Alberta Canada. She's been published extensively online under a variety of pen names and has recently found some success with print ma... View profile
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10 Comments
Post a CommentWhat are you afraid of, that your child will learn the truth about Christ. This no prayer in school thing is a ploy of athist to make promote the devils work. We all know how that will turn out.
It is vitally important to teach our children to pray no matter where they are in public or in private throughout their lives.
As a teacher, I encourage students to pray. It is exciting to hear a child pray to the One and Only true God of all creation. And yes, I do have influence over these students, so much so that I will be held accountable before the Lord one day for how I lead the children. That means that I better be teaching them correct information especially in reference to praying to Jesus. What made our country so great? Christ. How did public schools first start? On the godly principles and pray.
George Washington: "No morality without religion". "We trust, sir, that God is on our side. It is more important to know that we are on God's side." "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day." "The philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next."
~ Abraham Lincoln
It is vit
As a teacher, I encourage students to pray. It is exciting to hear a child pray to the One and Only true God of all creation. And yes, I do have influence over these students, so much so that I will be held accountable before the Lord one day for how I lead the children. That means that I better be teaching them correct information especially in reference to praying to Jesus. What made our country so great? Christ. How did public schools first start? On the godly principles and pray.
George Washington: "No morality without religion". "We trust, sir, that God is on our side. It is more important to know that we are on God's side." "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day." "The philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next."
~ Abraham Lincoln
It is v
Ill pray for you... oh.. and im in school right now. Sorry.
I guess I just wanted to post, that I disagree.
I just feel if, my kids are forced to believe in Evolution and the Big Bang, then they
should have the right to pray.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this subject :)
i have three notes about this on face book. links are here below. i encourage you to read all of them to know more about it. the third goes into non researched writing.
1st... http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=32066083984&id=664390446&index=1
2nd... http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=32067023984&id=664390446&index=0
3rd... http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=32068898984&id=664390446&index=0
i think dat skools should have prayer
this is why there is so much violence in schools. First, we took away the teacher's way to punish a child then they took away our's as parents to correct our own children! So lets put prayer BACK INTO SCHOOL and OUR LIVES
you are an absolute moron. There is nothing wrong with saying grace before you eat at school or before a snack. We all did it and turned out just fine. Have you heard that song by Bucky Convington? If not, go listen to it. You are probably against Pledge of Allegiance also. If you don't like how things are done there are roads that will lead you straight out of the good ol' USA. Quit trying to change things that doesn't matter. Go feed the hungry or house the homeless.