Posted on 12/24/2007 6:18:30 AM PST by wintertime
When high school freshman Dawn Sherman learned that Illinois had a new law requiring public schools to provide a moment of silence each day for "reflection and student prayer," she was outraged.
Not because the law meant lost learning time in her honors math class -- which would be 15 seconds shorter -- but because "it was clear that we're supposed to sit and pray, or sit and watch other people pray," said Dawn, who is an atheist.
Along with her father, Rob, the Buffalo Grove High student has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law, which some Illinois school boards have raced to embrace and others have defied.
"I don't go to school to talk to God," she said. "I'm in school to learn."
The debate reflects a long-standing national fight over school prayer. The Supreme Court in 1962 ruled that official sponsorship or endorsement of prayer in schools is a violation of the 1st Amendment. Over time, state lawmakers found they were allowed to require moments of silence as long as students were not forced or encouraged to pray.
But there were limits: In the mid-1980s, an Alabama mandatory "moment of silence" law was found unconstitutional by the high court because "there was a clear legislative record that they were trying to advocate getting prayer back into schools," said Charles C. Haynes, a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center in Washington.
(snip)
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia also require such moments of quiet in the classroom. In more than 20 other states, teachers are allowed to decide whether they want such a classroom time-out.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
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There are several issues involved in this story.
On one level, we see that government schools and the First Amendment are utterly incompatible.
Regarding the establishment of religion: The government school is in a Catch 22 situation. It can not both have and not have a moment of silence. The government bureaucrat is forced into making a binary dicision. No matter what it decides the government will establish the religious worldview of some and undermine that of others.
There is a freedom of association problem as well that can not be resolved. As the girl states, ""it was clear that we're supposed to sit and pray, or sit and watch other people pray." Some students do wish to associate with others who pray, and some do not. Again the government school bureaucrat is faced with a binary decision. No matter how he decides the government will establish the religious worldview of some and undermine that of others.
Also?....Isn't anyone worried about those who do want to pray throughout the day, and would genuinely prefer to have their religious beliefs woven throughout the curriculum? What about their free speech? Fifteen seconds of free **silence** doesn't sound like free speech to me! The fundamentalist atheists have won this one with or without the 15 seconds of "silence".
Then there is the establishment of religion problem: It is NOT religiously neutral to imprison kids in government buildings and then forbid them to pray, nor is a curriculum scrubbed of religious referrences and content religiously neutral. On the contrary, the students are taught that government favors, and smiles upon atheism and agnosticism. The school bureaucrat is again in a Catch 22 because no matter what he decides about curriculum he will establish someone's religious worldview and trash that of others. Why? Answer: ALL education is highly moral, ethical, cultural, and political in content and consequences and can never be religiously neutral.
Yes, some parents can afford to ransom their child from this dreadful god-less environment by paying private and homes school expenses, but for the rest there isn't much choice. Their choice is the god-less government school or police action. ( Real bullets in those guns on the hip.)
There is the personal level. Atheist fundamentalists are becoming more aggressive recently. I have also notice more articles being published by atheists that seem to be an attempt to convert others to their religious and philosophical worldview. I believe this father and daughter's actions reflect this aggressivness.
And finally, I really do wonder about so-called "Christian" teachers would teach in, and cooperate with a government school that would only "allow" 15 seconds ( or none) to pray. What they are teaching the students is that Christians are wimps! That is what they are modeling as behavior, not only for the non-Christians, but for the Christian kids in their classes. If so-called "Christian" teachers think they can "sneak" in some Christian morallity in their classes, then what they are teaching the children is that Christians are sneaky. What thinking non-Christian would want to accept a religion like that???!!!
Is is any wonder that 85% of kids from Christian homes abandon the faith 2 years after graduating from government school, and 90% of homeschoolers remain faithful.
I wonder if it's really her or her father who is "outraged"?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
but i bet she likes that “holiday’ break from school.
“Is is any wonder that 85% of kids from Christian homes abandon the faith 2 years after graduating from government school, and 90% of homeschoolers remain faithful?” No, it’s no wonder at all and it’s the very reason that I’ve advocated for all true Christians to remove their children from Public Godless Commie Gov’t schools! And I believe it’s the responsibility of all childless Christians to monthly contribute to either a Christian school or to an open fund to assist homeschoolers. The evil that would hijack your children knows that it needs only one generation of youth to win the battle.
Make no mistake about it however, you’ll be slammed for this post as will I, by an odd assortment of pro-gov’t school types on this site.
This is somewhat related but here goes. I sell coffee and breakfast items at my daughter’s high school to raise money for the marching band program. After the final morning bell, an administration higher-up gets on the intercom and welcomes the kids to school. He leads the kids in a moment of silence followed by the Pledge of Allegience. I notice while I’m cleaning up that the kids, athletes, nerds, regular kids and slackers alike ALL stop and stand where they are until the announcer releases them for the start of class. There’s no one joking with their friends or not paying attention. It was very cool. Kudos to the kids of Hamiltion Southeastern!
This one sentence sums the issue up perfectly.
A rational extension of this point would mean that the entire notion of "public schools" has no place in a free nation.
It’s Christmas.........why don’t you give it a rest.
Happy New Year.
A suggested topic might eliminate any confusion that non-prayers might have.
such pettiness is unbecoming a mature adult.
Panties
wadded.
It’s Christmas.........why don’t you give it a rest.
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Why should I give the government school defenders a rest,,,,even on Christmas Eve?
This complaint is ridiculous. The 15 second moment of silence set aside in the school day is NOT specifically for prayer. The 15 seconds of silence is not FOR anything; it’s for everything. That’s why it is Constitutional. That SOME students use that time for prayer bothers the little girl, but probably her father, who most likely is looking for a lawsuit lottery hit, shows how intolerant she is, how oppressive atheists are to everyone else, how narcissistic they are, how utterly devoid of compassion and human kindness they can be. Outrage over 15 seconds?!?!
Lukewarm morality and ethics would cause plenty of confusion regarding religion in general and especially Christianity.
If Christ would spit luke warm Christianity out of his mouth is any surprise that students do the same? Hey! Just look at the stats. 85% of government schooled Christian kids leave the leave within 2 years of graduation!
Also...I really do wonder about so-called "Christian" teachers who would cooperated with this travesty! What they are teaching kids is that Christians are lukewarm wimps!
I agree....the people that are so easily “outraged” are outrageous
just wait until she has to bow to mecca 5 times a day or lose her head or sustain an honour killing....what type of outrage will she profess then???
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You get it! You understand. Government schools are a freedom of conscience nightmare.
Do you also get the other message?
Any so-called Christian teacher who cooperates with any government school that is serving up lukewarm morals, and ethics. They are teaching their students that Christians are wimps!
If they try to sneak in a little Christian morality, they are teaching the students that Christians are sneaky.
She’ll get to scream....once.
The moment of silence is for the students to prepare to block out the cultural Marxism they are about to hear for most of the day.
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