Should We Have Prayer in Public Schools? It's an Individual Choice

I have seen many fliers and articles in the local paper vying to return prayer to schools. They make the claim that prayer will solve all the problems of our school system, get rid of violence, and make students want to learn. In short, they promise a miracle. It is wonderful that people are concerned with the problems of school systems and want to do something about it. I am not sure that bringing prayer back into schools is the right answer.

To those who are called Christians, my question is: When did prayer ever leave the school system? And for that matter, whose fault is it, really? I understand that public prayer has not been allowed in public schools for many years. But no one can tell a student what to do during their own time: lunch, break, before school, between classes. If you want prayer in schools, then individual students do have that right, if they choose to take it. If they have chosen not to take the opportunities given, then who is to blame?

On the other side of this issue, not every student in this school system is Christian. In spite of what the churches teach, these students are entitled to this right. In fact, the right to choose a religion is guaranteed by law. This means that individual students can pray if they want to pray. But it also means that those students who do not want to pray cannot and should not be forced to pray. One of the purposes of schooling is to give our children a chance to learn on their own, a chance to discover things for themselves. In spite of what the news media tells us, our children can and will learn. We simply must allow them. Most parents want what is best for their children. But I also know that, as a teacher, I can never truly understand what my students are going through in their daily lives. Even in a few short years, the world has changed greatly.

Let us rethink this issue and allow our children to learn to think and choose for themselves, to make mistakes, to try and fail, that when they grow up, they will be prepared for the legacy of horror we have left them. Let us believe in our children, in our students, that they will make the right choice. Whether we like it or not, they are our future.

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