Prayer/Religion in Public Schools

First off, I will apologize to Kleptin. I waited until the last moment, almost, to post my portion of this round of the debate, and I am drunk. So, if this makes sense...Wow, i'd be impressed :-) Also, this round will be short and to the point. I believe that religion, in itself, is possibly the larger underlying issue than prayer here. Though prayer is usually more noticeable, religion is the umberella, with prayer being a piece under the umberella, if you will. The point of school is for children to become young adults, graduate with a degree which states they are competent in several different subject manner. Math, for most people, is when we have to do things like taxes, budgets and extra spending cash. Science is so we do not blow ourselves up, literally. History can be interesting and spread some amount of patriotism and appreciation for the past, while making us knowledgable enough to possibly get to the $32,000 dollar question on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. English is, of course, the language we speak which we attempt to master (some succeed, others like our president fail). Even P.E. teaches us that physical activity can keep us in shape and learn qualities surrounding the idea of "team", if we truly follow it. To me, religion and prayer teach almost nothing valuable in the education system. Morals are, and have been, made before all religions came into being. And they will be here long after all of todays religions are gone. Prayer itself is a submission to a higher authority for guidance and answers in a life that is, most certainly, uncertain. However, almost every church provides services at least two times a week: one on sunday, competing with the NFL, and one on either tuesday, wednesday, or thurday night, which some churches entitle "Youth Group". On the week nights, church engage in bible study and worship, but also provide a caring place where kids are able to go and usually 1) find a group of friends and 2) escape from a world that often inflicts cruel and unusual lessons at very inconvient times. I argue that the conflicts in school do not need another addition to their endless list, with something so powerful, mind numbing and often illusive as religion. First off, finding the right religion, or sect of a religon, to teach/pray towards is not possible, since we live in America and an idiot with a voice can have their opinion heard. I'm all for freedom of speech (i'm a history major), but some people really do not think before they speak and act, and this is something that children do not need to learn to enforce for future generations. Different religions teach different practices. The catholics do not believe in birth control watsoever, while many progressive forms of protestant christianity say that birth control is smart because it, ultimately, stops people from having kids who are, more than likely, too young to have them. Evagelical christians are so against homosexuality that many want a constitutional amendment, saying that marriage is between a man and a woman.....?.....How would a teacher deal with this issue if it came up in school, or if they found out a student was praying, in school, to rid them of what they thought were homosexual tendencies (the students praying to rid themselves)? I know some of these ideas are streches, but I present them as real scenarios in school settings which may not occur otherwise. Admittedly, homosexuality will occur with or without religion. There is a significant portion of America who is either not religious, or claims to be under the title of christian because they celebrate Jesus's birth in Decemeber, or Chocolate Bunnies in Spring. These people want their kids to be able to grow up in a healthy educational system that treats them as fairly as possible, molding them into students who work hard and are always goal oriented. Some students are religious, but are not "christian". Many reigions in America, including Judaism, Islam and Jehovah Witnesses, have different customs from modern day christianity. Jews celebrate different holidays, with Christmas not being one of them. Muslims, praciticing ones, pray 5 times a day and also celebrate other holidays. Jehovah Witnesses, amongst other things, do not celebrate holidays with gifts or vast celebrations and many do not salute the flag during the pledge of allegiance (something about not worshipping icons, images, symbols, etc). What happens during bible hour, or prayer hour, in school, for these kids? What are they to think? That they are incorrect in their views and must conform with a larger portion of the population? That they are somehow inadequate because of the views their parents taught them? Would not most of these kids see this as a type of punishment, insult, threat, or a feeling of being ostricized, if one of the activities in the course of the day was not intended for them? I assume we are talking about prayer and religon in the hours school extends from and not about after school programs, though I admit the topic did not state that specifically. So, let us stick to the hours the children MUST attend school. What are they suppose to do during this time of holy worship? I'm really drunk, so I'm going to sum up my argument for this round. Religion/prayer in school is not relevant to public education. To survive in the real world, one does not need religion unless they are applying for a job that is in some way religious: such jobs are few. Religion may or may not have good lessons for kids to learn, that is not the point. The debate comes down to this question: is it beneficial for religious practices, such as classes, worship and prayers to be in public schools during the hours where school is mandatory? Answer: No. There are plenty of other subjects students need to focus on which are important to their future. Part of being a kid/young adult is GROWING UP and finding out who your are at heart. If the kid desired a presence of religion in their life, there are plenty of kids in the school to show them the way. If not, churces are on nearly every street corner of America. And tell me a church would not be willing to take in a young, naieve follower to support future generations of religious Americans, pending they had parent permission? Let school stick to teaching lessons for an economic future: let church/religion/prayer attempt to help those who need it so, spiritually.