[wintertime]

There is a difference between public funds being spent on the government sanctioned teaching of Religious material, and the free exercise of constitutional rights in public.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The government school is in a Catch 22. Allowing funding to follow the child is a a solution to this Catch 22.

Where is the Catch 22? Please compare the following:

1) The very act of forcing children into government buildings and ordering them to be silent most of the day automatically prohibits the free exercise of religion of the children and their parents. It does not matter that these buildings are misnamed “schools”.

2) Allowing children to freely speak about their religion and exercise their religion would create chaos in the classroom, and subject other unwilling captive children to their proselytizing.

3) Forbidding the teaching of religion by the government teaches all the children that religion is unimportant, irrelevant, or ( worse of all) is so shameful it must be hidden like a bathroom activity.

4) Teaching about religion immediately puts the government into the position of establishing religion. Which religion gets the government imprimatur? And...There are parents who do not want their child exposed to any religion whatsoever.

So....Fichori....There is only **one** possible solution! Start the process of getting government out of the education business.

There is no possible way that government schools can avoid establishing religion. They will either establish are godless worldview or a God-centered one, and neither is religiously neutral. Government schools will silence religious speech and practice of religion.

[Fichori]

"So....Fichori....There is only **one** possible solution! Start the process of getting government out of the education business."

I am with you 100% on that!

This is how I see schooling options (Best to worst):

Homeschooling
Private/Charter schools
.
.
.
.
Government schools.

Homeschooling done right gives some of the best results.
Private and charter schools are right up there too.

Government schools give some of the worst results.

We need to stop spending money of failed institutions and start (like you said) funding the child!

If a child is excelling academically, the government should fund them, regardless of where they are learning.


Of course there will be people who say that, if a child is being taught Christian values at home and is being funded by the government, it is a violation of the separation of church and state (something that does not appear in the Constitution) and that by funding a child who is learning these Christian values at the same time, the Government is establishing a religion.

Completely absurd?

Not to the nannystater's!