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Shouldn't God have a place in school?
To the Editor:
I was recently made aware that our Mifflin County Elementary Schools, and Lewistown Elementary School (grades K - 3rd) in particular, forbids students from privately speaking of, writing about, or wearing apparel that mentions God at school. There have been multiple cases that I have been made aware of where young children have been singled out, humiliated, embarrassed and silenced for expressing a belief in God. They have been told, "Remember, God doesn't belong in school." Clearly, anyone who makes that comment doesn't recognize our freedom of religion and freedom of speech rights.
Yes, children do have the legal right to talk about God in school, also to bring their Bible to school, and even to read it aloud to other students at recess. The Supreme Court, since 1969, has held that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." In fact, there have been dozens of cases where it is made clear that a student may not be prohibited from expressing his or her views on politics or religion unless the school has reason to believe that the speech or expression will "materially and substantially disrupt the work and discipline of the school."
Guidelines issued by the United States Department of Education state:
"Students may express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. Such home and classroom work should be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance and against other legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school. Thus, if a teacher's assignment involves writing a poem, the work of a student who submits a poem in the form of a prayer (for example, a psalm) should be judged on the basis of academic standards (such as literary quality) and neither penalized nor rewarded on account of its religious content."
It is alarming to me that violations against our local children's rights have been tolerated in our community. It should be alarming to every freedom loving citizen in our community. These incidents, while clearly violating federal religious freedom laws and freedom of speech laws, just as importantly, if not more importantly, make the students feel that believing in and talking about God is bad and wrong. Is that really the message we want to send to our children? Do we really want our children to grow up believing it is wrong to believe in the Divine?
I do not have a child in school, or even a grandchild in school, but I strongly believe that as a believer, I have a God given duty to expose these kinds of actions against our youth, whether I am the parent or legal guardian or not. When it comes to children, I feel that it is everyone's responsibility to try to protect them when you are made aware that they are being wronged. An attorney once told me that, unfortunately, our children's rights are the most easily violated. Why? Because they often don't have anyone to stand up for them, and they aren't old enough to defend themselves.
I strongly urge each of you to do everything within your power to stand up for children. I strongly urge our local schools to better educate yourselves regarding the freedoms your students are entitled to, and in your actions, remember also that there are several studies that show that students with strong religious beliefs also have better grades in school. Please guard the children entrusted to your care.
If a child's religious rights are ever violated and the issue can't be resolved locally, there are agencies you can turn to for help. The American Center for Law and Justice is a good one (contact ACLJ.org/Help), but there are several others who frequently fight these types of abuses with great success. A quick internet search will list them for you.
God bless you and God bless America!
Charlene McClellan
Lewistown