Synthesis D, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Prayer in schools remains the topic of hot historical and political debate. In light of the recent democratic trends, and taking into account historical striving of America to liberation and freedom of thought, prayer in schools is considered by many as a form of religious discrimination and as a matter of imposing narrow religious beliefs on children. At the same time, many others suppose that prayer in schools could provide some space for reflection and thought without any religious subtext. In this controversial situation, the best solution would be to provide children and parents with a reasonable choice: those who deem necessary to participate in prayer or those who need some time for reflection should be given at least 10 minutes to do so, while those, who are not willing to participate in any religious initiatives will have a chance to spend these minutes on a playground or any other school activity free of religious content.

Can a moment of silence make a difference in schools? This question became the subject of acute discussion on one of the Internet forums. The reason for this discussion was natural and not unusual: “this past October Illinois became the latest of several states to impose a moment of silence in public schools. The new law, known as the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act, mandated a previously optional period of silence at the beginning of each school day” (The Free Library). From now on, students were expected to spend several minutes of silence and reflection at the beginning of each school day. Also, such reflection moments were expected to give students some time to think of what was going to happen during the day and in what way they would possibly resolve the issues that could emerge.

Not a prayer in its conventional form, but the mandatory character of silence looks like a convenient means to avoid punishment for breaking the federal ban on prayers in public schools. At the same time, Illinois lawmakers persuade the community that the new silence requirement for schools does not carry any religious subtext. Nevertheless, a federal district court at Illinois blocked schools from enforcing this law. The problem is not in the silence moment itself, but in the way the law will be implemented: the district does not have any single and effective implementation mechanism and risks discriminating against the basic religious rights of students. Those who vote for the moment of silence naively believe that it will secure schools from violence. Those who are against it cannot but admit that teachers intentionally avoid using the term “prayer” in their discussion of the law. Still, schools are primarily designed to educate and provide secular knowledge, and even ten minutes of silent reflection may potentially result in lower scores for those, who could have spent this time in learning.

The argument about prayers in public schools is not new, but the topic of silence or reflection moments in Illinois is even more problematic in that it represents a hidden form of breaking the federal ban on prayers in public schools. Many parents and education professionals fairly consider such moments of silence as those, which carry hidden religious implications and leave no choice to students. Such vision of the problem is obviously one-sided, and several different viewpoints should be taken into account. The current discussion of the problem shows several different viewpoints. On the one hand, the moment of silence provides students with a unique opportunity to engage in profound personal reflection on what is going to happen during the day. Whether it is a religious prayer or just a moment of thinking no one can (officially) decide. At the same time, parents and freedom voters cannot guarantee and check that the discussed moments of silence take the form required by law and that they do not impose any religious beliefs on students.

The current discussion of the problem also appeals to radical views and beliefs about the moment of silence. For example, someone tends to believe that “the moment of silence could prevent school shootings by giving wayward students time to reflect” (The Free Library). Whether such assumption has some share of truth is difficult to decide, but for the prevailing majority, such belief seems at least irrelevant and for the most part, absolutely absurd. For those who are aimed to disseminate violence and blood in schools, ten minutes of confusing reflection will hardly change the situation but may, on the contrary, become another stimulus to act. There is also an opinion that where schools implement the moment of silence law in a proper manner, such law will deserve a chance to exist. Unfortunately, even if properly implemented, the moment of silence in public schools still resembles religious prayers. In light of the constant religious tensions, such law can create an even more controversial environment. Historically, schools were designed to deliver secular knowledge to students and to confirm the relevance of religious freedom in the U.S. For this reason, it would be fair to assume that the mandatory minutes of silence could be potentially devoted to learning the most problematic material and improving the test scores for students, who strive to excellence.

In light of the historically secular character of the American education, it is still possible that the moment of silence could work for the benefit of American students and public schools in general. Needless to say, that the number of religious people in America constantly grows, while parents find it difficult to place their children in religious education environments. At the same time, more and more parents view prayer in public schools as something discriminative and something that can distort the way their children view the world around them. This is particularly relevant, taking into account the multiplicity of religious adherents and beliefs in the country. For these reasons, and to satisfy the needs of everyone, public schools could slightly redesign their approaches to the moment of silence.

For those, who keep to religious beliefs and principles, and whose parents are not against school prayers, the moment of silence can become a good chance for praying before the classes. To respect the rights of everyone, several minutes at the beginning of a school day should be really silent – without any sign of religious discrimination or conflict. Those, who do not consider themselves religious, and whose parents do not deem appropriate for their children to participate in school prayers, these 10 minutes can be successfully spent in an open playground, in the library, or in a direct contact with the teacher, discussing the most problematic aspects of their studies. It appears that if properly implemented, such moments of silence could potentially benefit everyone. In the discussed context, students will have a good chance to promote and protect their individual rights and to have a viable choice between a prayer, reflection or any other activity. Those, who consider themselves religious, will also feel that public schools respect their rights and desire to stay connected to their religious beliefs even during the school day.

Conclusion

Prayer in schools remains the topic of hot debate. This debate becomes even more problematic and controversial, taking into account the number of laws, which states implement against the federal ban on prayers in public schools. The mandatory moment of silence in Chicago schools has become the source of controversial opinions. On the one hand, the mandatory character of the new law looks like a discriminative attempt to impose religious beliefs on students. On the other hand, the law does not explicitly confirm the religious character of such silence. In order for everyone to avoid discrimination and to protect their rights, the school should provide students with a viable choice. Those who want to participate will have a chance for silent prayer, while those who are not religious will have a chance to spend this time in other activities, including library or playground. In this way, schools will balance the interests of everyone and will avoid violating the basic principles of freedom in the country.

Works Cited

The Free Library. “School Prayer by Any Other Name?” 2008. The Free Library. 15 October 2009 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/School+prayer+by+any+other+name%3F-a0173748626