School

I've been kicking this idea around for a few days, trying to decide if I really want to hit this topic. I just don't know about stepping on toes...

And y'all know me better than that!

I have heard comments from several different people in the last couple of months that all we need is to put God/prayer back in school and all the problems with education and schools in general will go away.

I get this little twitch in my neck when I hear that said and I bite my tongue and go on (reference "Swine Song" ) . This is something I have thought long and hard about and I'd like to explain exactly why I do not support prayer in school.

I'm married to a teacher. Her mom is a retired teacher. My mother taught kindergarten when I was younger and works as a substitute to this day. My younger brother works in special education. I've got about 47,000 friends from college that became teachers. I've seen education from the teachers' point of view.

I've also seen it from the student's point of view. Most of my influences in life have been either directly or indirectly from teachers. I was taught early on about rabble-rousers and miscreants by a lady named Scottie Bates - (cementing in the foundation of my heroes a bunch of revolutionaries and rebels). Another lady named Sandra Jackson taught me about all the beauty of literature and, in her own far more eloquent words, taught me that all good books have pissed someone off - and so much more. I was taught about mental toughness and teamwork by men named Danny Wiseman, Rick Walker and Allen Gossett.

I went to college and learned about critical thinking, writing and making an intelligent argument from Janet Smart, Steven Whitton and Harvey Jackson. I also did some higher studies in teamwork and mental toughness with Bill Burgess, Jim Skidmore and many others.

And by now you have to be asking what any of this rambling has to do with prayer in school. Well, nothing. That's the point. In fact, out of all the influences I mentioned, I've only seen two of them pray, and that was not in a classroom setting. In fact, several of these people left me in positions to question what I believe...which actually made it stronger. After looking at faith through the eyes of criticism and really asking why I believe what I believe, only then could I make an educated decision on faith. After all, "Mark Twain isn't a sweet old guy in an ice cream man uniform" and "Most of the people in this world didn't go to church with you".

I learned how to pray from my mom and dad as well as influences that I had at church (as well on my own while in drills with Wiseman, Walker and Gossett and working for Burgess and Skidmore). The point in listing my teachers and what they taught me is to say they are busy teaching the subject at hand. With ingenious (read mind-bogglingly stupid) policies like "No Child Left Behind" teachers have to spend the majority of their time teaching kids how to pass standardized tests and teach them actual material if time allows. This is not education, this is test-taking strategy transferal. It is unfair to teachers and students and devastating to our society. So, when exactly are they going to pray with their students?

The other reason I don't support prayer in school is because this is America - a nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles, by people who believed in a creator for...well...um...for whoever wants to come here and take a stab at the American Dream. How are Christians going to feel about the Pakistani-American math teacher leading class in a prayer to Allah? Probably about the same as the Indian-American parents are going to feel about the Southern Baptist geography teacher (let's pretend they still have time to teach geography in school) leading students in a Christian prayer. See what I'm saying?

And then there are those that would argue that we shouldn't allow people of "other religions" to teach in our schools. Guys...really...welcome to the 21st century. I want my kids to learn from the best available in the given field. Period. That First Amendment thing is a multi-lane highway that we can all drive on.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that our teachers have enough crap to deal with. Maybe we need to be as adamant about "prayer for school" as we are for "prayer in school". Maybe if we take some time to make the work of our teachers a little easier or just shoot them a note to say we appreciate them...yeah, that sounds good or maybe a note to the governor or the state assembly to tell THEM how much you appreciate teachers.

If you can read this...then you'll know I hate silly cliches...but thank a teacher anyway.