Prayer In Public Schools

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Prayer in Public Schools

Prayer in Public Schools

Religion appears on many American symbols, from the Star Spangled Banner, to the Pledge of Allegiance, to our currency with the slogan “In God We Trust,” to our government’s tradition of using the Bible for swearing in public officials. Some may even believe that this country was built on a religious, Christian specifically, background. Religion is part of the foundation of America making prayer in public schools the controversial issue it is today. Religion has always been in our school curriculum whether in History or in many readers. There is no possible way to simply teach a world’s history without the involvement of religion. Religion has been the source of war, hope, and in some countries …show more content…
In an article, The Unconstitutionality of State Statutes Authorizing Moments of Silence in the Public Schools, explains how a moment of silence was intended to be a religious exercise, because it was only endorsed when school prayer was taken out of the schools, and at the same time first thing in the morning just like announced school prayer was announced first thing in the morning. (THE UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF STATE STATUTES AUTHORIZING MOMENTS OF SILENCE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 1983). Many were fearful that some children would feel forced to pray due to peer pressure of other students (Ott, 2005). Even some teachers were worried that it would lead to bullying or contention in class. Among many elementary students there is some uncertainty of what the moment is for; some using this moment to daydream. Even some teachers and students would say they use this moment to reflect upon or prepare for the day (Irwin, 2000). This moment of contemplation, which is remarkably helpful within the classroom setting, additionally achieves positive outcomes for the students’ lives on the whole. Not only is it a “good class management technique,” as history teacher Warren Southerland testified (Hancock and Wingert, 1994), but it causes the students to focus, by eliminating distractions and helps the student improve concentration for better outcome of …show more content…
You need some stronger topic sentences and more support and discussion. Remember that your goal is to illustrate each of these ways of thinking about prayer in school so that it is clear to your reader. You get away from prayer in school in some places. Let’s chat about this draft tomorrow night, and you can spend another week working to improve it before submitting it for a grade.

References

ACLU isn’t anti-religion, anti-prayer. (2014). Washington Times, The (DC), 2. Retrieved from http://ebschohost.com
Ford, A., & McMahon, M. (2016).Counterpoint: Prayer should be taught in religious institutions, not in schools. Points Of View: School Prayer, 3. Retrieved from http://ebscohost.com
Hancock, L., & Wingert, P. (1994). Silence in the classroom. Newsweek, 124(14), 48.
Retrieved from http://ebschohost.com
Heinrich, J. (2015). The devil is in the details: in America, can you really say “God” in school? Retrieved from http://ebscohost.com
Irwin, V. (2000). What kids think. Retrieved from http://ebscohost.com
Not a prayer. (1982, May 26). New Republic. p. 10. Retrieved from

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