Religion and Schools

Hey, there, Boomers!

I was one of those rare kids that liked school. I almost never missed a day.

I went to public school for kindergarten and first grade, and also 10th and 12th grades. Other than that, I went to Catholic schools. But, I believe very strongly in public education.

When I was growing up, public schools had better facilities than parochial schools. My friends went to schools with gymnasiums and real athletic equipment. My "gym class" was in a meeting hall with mats on the floor for "tumbling." In ninth grade an ancient woman taught us archery. The only time I had access to a swimming pool was in 10th and 12th grades at the public school I attended those years.

As someone who always loved art, you'd think I would have preferred the public school's fully automated potting wheel (!) to one I had to kick with my foot. My grade school art teachers were nuns--possibly the ones too old to teach academic courses. But when it came to academics, the Catholic schools always kept pace or were better than the public schools, and they did it with the commitment of the nuns and priests and the tuition money paid by mine and other families. Public schools were publicly funded and served the tax payers.

Separation of Church and State

Fast forward to charter schools and faith-based initiatives. Just like the Catholic schools I attended, charter schools are private schools. As such, they are not subject to the same restrictions as the public schools. But unlike those Catholic schools, today's charter schools get public money, yet are free of public oversight. I believe this is a dangerous departure--private schools should find their own funding and leave the tax dollars for public schools.

The lines between public and private funding are blurring. Public money is going to support private (mostly Christian) schools, while at the same time, there are people calling for prayer in public schools. My belief is that when we merge church and state this way, we move towards a theocracy like Saudi Arabia.

Religion must be protected from government, and government from religion. That is the only way to ensure religious freedom--something fundamental to the founding of this country. Don't 'we all want to have the freedom to practice religion the way we see fit? Isn't that more important than imposing Christian prayers on every child of school age, including those who are Jewish, Muslim or Hindu? I think it is. I think public schools exist to teach children, not to indoctrinate them in a particular religion.

Peace! Phyllis