A Moment of Silence

[mopar]

I know that Illinois has a mandatory moment of silence in schools each day. I also know that this law may be changing. It is very controversial right now. What are your takes on a moment of silence in the school? Do you think it pushes prayer on students?

[Chef Dave]

We don't have a moment of silence at our high school but during a catering event last month for a county convention, I noticed that a member of the school board led the conference in moment of silence. They had originally been scheduled to have a prayer prior to dinner ... but this was changed at the last moment.

[mopar]

If I followed the story correctly, I think that the moment of silence originally began as a moment of prayer. However, it got changed at the last moment to silence to not promote religion in schools. Yet, some people think that the moment of silence is promoting prayer.

[Boxcar]

I don't have a problem with moments of silence.

I can appreciate these moments on days such as Vetern's Day, Sept. 11, ect. because they ask us to pause, remember, and reflect. Yes, some pray during these times, but others just think.

As for everyday occurances, I can see stopping to think about how lucky I am to have the food in front of me, the clothes on my back, and the house i live in. I can also see praying during this time.

I can see how the silences are similar to prayer time, but I don't think they can be said to be the same. You do with the moment what you want. You aren't being forced to pray. You are being asked to pause for a moment and think.

[mopar]

I think that is the idea the state wants to get across. However because they started with a moment of prayer and then changed the wording, many people are still objecting to the moment of silence. The wording changed long before hitting the schools.

[teacherninja]

I'll be more impressed when they can legislate a solid 6-8 hours of silence.

[Boxcar]

LOL.

Hey, the preschoolers have a long moment of silence for naptime. (Well, as silent as you can get preschoolers.)

[mopar]

Yeah right, 6-8 hours. They are having trouble even keeping the moment legislation passed.

[leafy seadragon]

A moment of silence is a lovely idea; a moment to reflect, a moment to be respectful. A moment to stop. Prayer or no prayer, it doesn't matter. We do it for special occasions remembrance day etc. A little meditation probably wouldn't hurt either!

[mopar]

That's kind of my take on the idea. However, it seems that the legislation can't figure it out. It'll be interesting to see where this goes and how many other states begin the practice or not.

[kingrichie]

I know that Illinois has a mandatory moment of silence in schools each day. I also know that this law may be changing. It is very controversial right now. What are your takes on a moment of silence in the school? Do you think it pushes prayer on students?

That's a very good question. What does the moment of silence represent? Is it meant to signify prayer or is it show respect?

[mopar]

From the original legislation, I believe that legislators wanted to implement a moment of prayer. The moment then changed to a moment of silence. Many of my fellow teachers have been discussing this same question at school. For most of us, we believe it is a moment to think about the day and get your thoughts together. I would be more curious now on how parents would handle the message.

[Chef Dave]

The problem with school prayer is whose prayer do we use? Which god do we pray to? Although this country is predominately Judeo-Christian, there are also Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Druze, Taoists, Pagans, people with other belief structures, and people with no beliefs at all.

Given a choice between school prayer and a moment of silence, I would support the concept of a moment of silence since this is all inclusive and respectful of all religions and/or belief structures.

[merrynl]

We start each day by saying the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a moment of silence. I hear far more objections to what I'm teaching (I'm a science teacher so I get topics like evolution, formation of the universe, age of the Earth, etc) than I do about whether or not we should have a moment of silence. Though to be fair, I'm also new here so perhaps I just haven't been around long enough to hear the debate in my school.

[teach1027]

In one school I worked in we did have a moment of scilence, in my current school we do not. I do not feel that it is intended to promote prayre, but instead a moment of reflection and respect. In my former school we started the practice after September 11.

[Bananas]

Yes Illinois has required this moment of silence after the Pledge of Allegiance is said. It is treated as a time of reflection about what the day ahead holds in our district. This could be thinking about what work is incomplete for the day, what is for lunch, or what will happen in PE. There is a case in court concerning this, so some schools are not doing this practice.

[Spectre]

We do the moment of silence each morning. Of course, I live in the Bible Belt, so this kind of thing won't be terribly controversial. Some school boards still begin their meetings with a prayer in this part of the world.

[mopar]

I know that many of the teachers at my school do not object to the moment of silence. However, many of the legislators are not fully for this practice and their is debate about the issue. It has been extremely interesting to see the two sides.

[Bananas]

We do the moment of silence each morning. Of course, I live in the Bible Belt, so this kind of thing won't be terribly controversial. Some school boards still begin their meetings with a prayer in this part of the world.

Our ministerial association has a breakfast for the teachers each school year on the first institute day. They collect school supplies for the students who can't afford them. They are on hand to say a prayer at each board meeting.

[MrsAtkinson]

I am extremely bias to a moment of silence. I am from NY and lived through 9/11 and I am also a Marine so I've dealt with loss at war quite closely. I think that it shouldn't be a problem at all. I am also a realist though and probably would avoid it to avoid confrontation and just getting thrown through the rumor mill.

[maridee]

No matter which school district I've taught in, students always begin their day with the Pledge of Allegiance. There is no moment of silence.

I would have no objection if this moment of silence were to follow the Pledge because I know not all students belong to mainstream religious majorities, especially in more urban areas.

However, school districts in my rural area recognize students have Wednesday evening church services and seldom schedule school events for that night. Not even many school boards meet on Wednesday nights for the same reason. There are always exceptions, of course.

I can recall only one incident that made me think one of my students belonged to either an extremely conservative religious background or even a non-Christian religion. I was teaching a long unit on Ancient Egypt and Nubia and the lesson for that day was on the religious traditions Egyptians believed in.

I thought I had made it clear that I was talking about the facts of the Egyptians' religion. So I discussed their many gods and goddesses and some of their rituals. Hmm...one of my students was absent the next day--and the next....

I actually ran into the "missing" student and his father in the store afterward. I said hello and introduced myself and said that I missed the student in class. The student looked embarrassed and awkward. But the father said he had been sick. So I only said I hoped he was feeling better and that I'd see him in class when he came back to school.

Things that make you go 'hmmm....'

I believe the student didn't want to come to class because of the subject matter under discussion. Can I prove it? No, of course not.

As I said, this was the only time I had an incident like this. Maybe I'm lucky--or maybe it was just THAT student.

[EngSoph]

Maridee,

There's nothing that you could have done. You implemented a lesson that was entirely appropriate. Unfortunately, many individuals, especially parents, are not willing to detach their creed from the mere fact that the existence of humanity is diverse. Furthermore, as a personal opinion, individuals that are either oblivious or restrictive to the realities of society, to some degree, perpetuate stereotypical notions towards unfamiliar customs and creed. It is also unfortunate that some parents’ personal beliefs affect their very own children’s opportunity to be knowledgeable; we as educators are attempting to enrich children so that they are prepared to become responsible and educated adults.

[Boxcar]

I just wanted to add that a teacher needs to be careful. Don't assume it was ''that student''. The student may not hold the same beliefs as the parent, but s/he may have to obey the parent.

[maridee]

Maridee,

There's nothing that you could have done. You implemented a lesson that was entirely appropriate. Unfortunately, many individuals, especially parents, are not willing to detach their creed from the mere fact that the existence of humanity is diverse. Furthermore, as a personal opinion, individuals that are either oblivious or restrictive to the realities of society, to some degree, perpetuate stereotypical notions towards unfamiliar customs and creed. It is also unfortunate that some parents’ personal beliefs affect their very own children’s opportunity to be knowledgeable; we as educators are attempting to enrich children so that they are prepared to become responsible and educated adults.

I could not agree more. Well said!

[maridee]

I just wanted to add that a teacher needs to be careful. Don't assume it was ''that student''. The student may not hold the same beliefs as the parent, but s/he may have to obey the parent.

In this case, I can't really tell what went on. But this was a 6th grade class and I believe the student was not old enough to significantly disagree with his parents.

Of course, this is just my opinion. And I could be wrong!

[Boxcar]

Hmmm...

That is a point. A lot of research says that children don't begin to question beliefs and form seperate identities until adolescence.

[muinteoir]

Texas has a minute of silence. I've seen a couple of kids actually pray, most just stand there; I have no idea what's going on in their heads.

Those that are more cynical in the state have said that the minute of silence mandate and the law requiring both the Pledge of Allegiance and the pledge to the Texas flag are just smokescreens to make the public think the lege cares about education. It's easier to pass meaning less laws than it is to fix the funding problem.

[kathy813]

We have had the moment of silence in Georgia for a long time now. My high school students pretty much ignore it (silently) or use the time to finish their homework.

When it first was introduced by the Georgia legislature, one teacher in my county refused to recognize the moment of silence in his classroom. He said it was a transparent attempt to bring back prayer into schools. He ended up being fired and lost several appeals before moving to another state.

[MissTeach]

I didn't realize so many states had a moment of silence. We don't have it, but I would not object. Anything we can do to get middle schoolers to be quiet and think is a good idea!