I'd like to say something here in regard to "putting God back in the schools." I was raised Roman Catholic, attending Mass every Sunday as well as religious instruction twice a week.
In fact, other than saying the Pledge of Allegiance each morning, there was no mention or discussion of God in the classroom. Other religions were mentioned in a historical/political context, but there were no major discussions about religion.
What we had in public school (back in the good old days), was God in the background. In other words, the schools accepted the fact that religion was a part of our family life and made no attempt to disrupt or deny that. Before "tolerance" and "diversity" became requirements, the schools were tolerant and diverse.
I remember at Christmas time we worked on enormous murals and door decorations. There were Santas and nativity scenes and stars and menorrahs and Christmas trees. There were no rules about what we could or could not draw or say. We were not taught in school to be sensitive and respectful. Those were things we learned in our homes and wore to school. When a student from a different state, different country, or different religion came to our school, they were not treated any differently. The teacher would introduce the new student and perhaps, for the first week after his or her arrival, would be inundated with friendly questions during recess or lunch. After the novelty wore off, the new student was simply accepted as one of us.
Why did this change? The first incident I remember took place about 15 years ago. A school a few towns away from where I live had various pieces of exceptional student artwork on the walls. Some of the pieces had been up for years. A Jewish couple moved into the area and enrolled their child in this school. During a school event, the couple became aware of one piece of student art which was Christian in nature. Suddenly, the school was embroiled in a lawsuit over the artwork. The Jewish couple claimed it offended their child. Naturally, the ACLU became involved. The Jewish couple won their case and the artwork was taken off the wall.
And so it began...
Yes, I agree. We can't even have carols sung in schools anymore. And we wonder what's replacing God in our schools? The enemy of our souls was only too happy to step in. Schools have been a mess since the 60's when prayer and God were thrown out. What a shame.