...Running Head: IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL PRAYER AT ECE INSTITUTIONS. The importance of the school prayer at early childhood education institutions. Introduction Prayers in institution are very essential for nurturing young kids, and it is also a medium conveying moral values to the students. Various organizations have morning assemblies where prayers are conducted before classes assume, by having prayers, critical moral is installed in the pupils, and it sticks in the minds as it becomes a habit. (Bhavya, 2014). On the other hand, prayers create a pious condition that enables the student to gain important values in life such as discipline and humility. Therefore; the students realize the importance of ethical values in schools. Prayers also encourage students to believe in the values created by the school and afterward implement them accordingly (Bhavya, 2014). It is also assumed that teachers participating in social education of the young kids should hold a cultural model that will guide their deeds and actions. In the same regard, the cultural patterns of the community members and the society influence the behavior of kids in trying to understand the world and the actions in it (Bhavya, 2014) Very many governments across the world are based on religious principals. For in instance in United States, the declaration of independence cites “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that God endows them with certain unalienable rights…” ...
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...School Prayer The issue of school prayer has invoked great controversy in our society. Some people feel that school prayer should be brought back into schools and practiced as part of the education process. The Supreme Court has continually denied allowing prayer to seep into the public school systems. Through years of controversy, many states started to adopt the “moment of silence” which was an attempt to bring back prayer in our schools. However, the school officials cannot suggest or have the kids pray, even though its true aim is clear, to encourage students to pray. Because of the “moment of silence,” there has finally been a neutral act to encourage prayer. There is a one sided claim that a mandated moment of silence in public classrooms amounts to an unconstitutional attempt to establish religion. The “moment of silence” is Constitutional, and a great way to encourage prayer for our students. Rufus Goodwin stated, “Praying, like poetry, is an activity that activates the human being.” In other words, prayer is a personal experience and intimate connection with our Father. People pray for several reasons such as personal benefit or for the sake of others. Prayers can consist of requesting guidance and assistance, confessing sins, or to express one’s thoughts and emotions (Goodwin R.). Why wouldn’t this intimate act with our Creator be an important part of the student’s day? Moments of silence often last one minute, but other amounts of time may be chosen. Sometimes...
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...America’s Decline: Banning Prayer in Public Schools Raymond Ballou PHI 200 Instructor: Michelle Loudermilk 3/31/12 America’s Decline: Banning Prayer in Public Schools A very controversial widespread issue today is the right to have volunteer prayer in public schools. This issue has been constantly debated for years whether prayer in public schools should be permitted. For more than 200 years, public schools were allowed voluntary prayer. Our forefathers built our nation on Christian values. The first English settlers came to America for the right to freedom and to worship God in their own way. In Colonial America, most schools were run by the churches. The first settlers in America felt that it was important that children learned to read so that they could read their Bibles. Prayer has been a part of our culture as long as there have been public schools; this helped the students develop morals and learn right from wrong. School prayer was a natural part of the settler’s school life. There is a casual relationship between taking prayer out of our schools and the downfall of our society today. The basic dispute over this issue is that it violates The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and the separation of church and state. The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States gives every individual the same rights. One right is the constitutional protection for the free exercise of religion. The second right is prohibition of the establishment...
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...If God is allowed everywhere on earth, then what makes schools different? Why should those who wish to pray be deprived the right? There are smoking areas in schools where people can stand and smoke, so why not make a prayer room in schools and colleges for those folks who desire to pray. Prayer is a good guide for students and it can make them feel great while they are getting educated in schools and they can make better decisions throughout the year. Prayer in school must be allowed in order to expose the youth of upcoming generations the diversity of different religious beliefs, thereby increasing cultural tolerance. Prayer is very significant for all the students and when learners start praying in school it can prepare them for being more...
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...Position Paper Introduction Looking back over the past two hundred and seven years, every session of the United States Senate has been opened with a prayer. Doing so has reaffirmed the Senates faith that God is the Sovereign Lord of our Nation. Barry C. Black currently serves as the spiritual advisor and counselor for the United States Senate with the title of Chaplin. Over the years, this position has ranged from part time, to now a full time position (United States Senate, 2011). Ever since Engel v. Vitale, people have been upset that God has been kicked out of the classroom. Engle v. Vitale was a landmark Supreme Court case, in which it was ruled that the public school could not be started or concluded with a formal reciting of a non-denominational prayer (Bill of Rights Institute, 2010). The following information will show both sides of the argument of if prayer should be allowed in schools. Background information will be given on the history of prayer in school and prayer in congress, and my personal thoughts on this important position. Argument There are many different viewpoints on the argument of prayer in schools. We will begin with the argument of allowing prayer in schools. The United States Constitution protects religious freedom under the First Amendment. The First Amendment states that Congress should not make any law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion (U.S. Constitution Online, 2010)...
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...student or does this Infringe on the rights of the parents? Dwanna Foster Grand Canyon University June 16, 2012 Should Teachers be involved in the Character Development of a student or does this Infringe on the rights of the parents? There is a question that states: Should teachers be involved in the character development of a student or does this infringe on the rights of parents? I absolutely believe that teachers need to be involved in character development of students because teachers have the skill to know how to effectively reach students. It is teacher’s duty to teach students the importance of character and how to deal with the issues the correct way when faced with them. It is a teacher’s duty to teach students the importance of character and how to deal with issues the correct way when faced with them. It is teacher’s duty to teach students the importance of being respectful, honest, responsible, confident, and how not to be procrastinators when it comes to getting things done and reaching their goals. All of these things make up the definition and forms an image of character. Teachers have a powerful influence on students’ lives and because of this it should not be taken lightly. We have the ability to help students see things in a way that they could have never imagine. It is a craft to being a teacher and a big responsibility as well because you have young minds in your hands that’s still developing. Does these matters infringe on parental rights?...
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... 7th The Jager v. Douglas case started when the Douglas County schools wanted to pray before the football games, but one young boy named Doug Jager refused to participate in these prayers due to his families’ religious beliefs (OpenJurist). This ended a tradition of Douglas County schools that had lasted forty-one years, and this led to Doug being harassed and even threatened by peers and people around school (Freedom from Religion Foundation). The problem was that in these prayers when they ended, it would end along the lines of “Jesus, in your name we pray” and so on expressing Christianity. Doug Jager felt this...
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...Prayer In School Kevin Magilligan Grand Canyon Univ Prayer In Schools The United States was founded on freedom. One of those freedoms is the Freedom of Religion. Our forefathers knew that there had to be a separation of church and state. This allowed citizens of the US to practice any religion they may chose and the government would not interfere. A plethora of court cases have ruled that having prayer in school is unconstitutional. While having prayer in school that is not sponsored by the administration is constitutional. Groups such as Moms in Prayer are for having prayer in schools. While the American Civil Liberties Union are against having prayers in schools. "To secure the people's right to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience: Neither the United States nor any State shall establish any official religion, but the people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, and traditions on public property, including schools, shall not be infringed. The United States and the States shall not compose school prayers, not require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity." Congressman Ernest Istook (R-OK). Prayer in school is a debate that has been going on since the 1960’s with the landmark case of Engle V Vitale. The case found that a school wide solicited prayer recited by the students was unconstitutional. This ruling led to other litigation where school sponsored prayer was not allowed, such as during sporting...
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...A Tale of Two Best Friend’s Childhood As someone with a sister two years older than me, I knew about the daunting summer reading task mandatory for Honors English at North Providence High School. That daunting task is reading the 617 page book A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Since my sister still had her copy of the book, I started reading before finals even ended way back in June, hoping to read about twenty pages a day to keep the torture in small doses. However, John Irving’s novel was far from torture. I tried to stick to my schedule of only twenty pages a day just so keep me occupied throughout the summer, but I failed miserably, and finished A Prayer For Owen Meany a week after finals. The book consists of motifs such as baseball, religion, friendship, war, inappropriate humor, school, and family which are highly relatable, regardless of gender or age. One incredible attribute to the story A Prayer For Owen Meany is how almost everything connects. As the reader I so easily overlooked “the shot” and wondered why Owen practiced it with John countless times. Clearly Owen would never be tall enough to play for the Gravesend Academy basketball team, and Owen was not even a fan of the sport basketball. However, at the very end of the book the importance of John and Owen’s shot is revealed. Irving writes, “’READY?’ he said; I passed him the Chicom grenade and opened my arms to catch him. He jumped so lightly into my hands; I lifted him up, as easily as I had always...
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...religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...” (as cited in Killian, 1994). This article calls for the separation of church and state as well as the protection of religious liberty. The importance of separation through the government not promoting or endorsing any form of religion, is often felt in the public school system. The reason that the separation is felt in the public education system is because public school is a government program so, it is not allowed to endorse any religion, however, the students who attend there must be allowed to retain their religious liberty. This conflict has brought about valid opinions and concerns for the different aspects of religion found in a school setting. These aspects include prayer in school being allowed in the school; the teaching of religion in...
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...An example people who were for the teaching of religion is found in a study in Ukraine where children were taught religion in their school 90% of the parents of the children were for the practice (Greer, 1970). Many examples of success are found in private schools who have shown that the ability to combine religion and education have a positive impact on the students if done properly (Marshall, 2014). But there are many cases were because the teacher teaches in a way that is bias to other religions. Marshall tells about how in the 1600 - 1800’s there are good examples of combining religion and educational teachings. The student would have to both do a detail research oh her school work along with a religious topic. This type of act showed strong behavior through the students in their environment around them. Students were more involved with their communities (2014). Professor Marion Maddox, author of academic and political commentator, stated “education about religion is too important to be left to amateurs. Our kids deserve to learn about all the tradition that make up our multicultural nation – from qualified teachers” (as cited by Marshall...
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...return to instilling "traditional values" in our children. One of the reforms that they called for was the legalization of a daily prayer in our public school system. They claimed that this would be a key first step in reinstituting the essential family values in our children. They called for a change in our laws which have forbidden prayer in schools. These laws have been upheld because courts have asserted that they violate the separation of church and state that is assured in our Constitution. Following this call for a new religious crusade many articles and editorials appeared calling for new legislation which would allow prayer in public schools. Polls were released which indicated that a large percentage of Americans favored new legislation on this subject, and more than one half of those surveyed claimed that they would be more likely to vote for a candidate in a national election who supported prayer in public schools. One has to question the intensity of this support because Bill Clinton (not a supporter of bringing religion into public schools) defeated George Bush (a supporter of school prayer) in the 1992 presidential election. Those who voiced their support for school prayer felt that it would strengthen the moral values of young children as they went through school. Those who want a change in the system claim that prayer in schools will instill family values that have...
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...4MAT Review McMinn Billy Madison Liberty University Summary In this book Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling McMinn drew in on the basic concepts on a Christian’s life along with the basic concepts which we believe Christian counselors focus on. He focused on spirituality, theology, and psychology along with the daily battles faced by Christian counselors in their personal and professional lives. In the book McMinn went into the most important components in the life of a Christian being prayer, scripture, confession, sin, forgiveness, and redemption and broke down in all the ways we are affected during our counseling sessions. In the book we are left with personal experiences from the author in which prayer and scripture should be used and in how much we should use them when dealing with each component in the life of a Christian. Many counselors are faced with regular struggles on knowing and deciding when it is the appropriate time to use scripture and the various biblical readings in there sessions because of various reasons such as not wanting to offend their clients, not wanting to have the client feel as if they are being judged, and not wanting to puncture another wound in an already broken individuals situation (McMinn 2011). The book began to open me up when McMinn stated that “Christian counseling is more complex than other forms of counseling because our goals are multifaceted” (McMinn 2011 pg. 39). He opened readers up to the fact...
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...Religious Principles at AUI Done by: Elias-Crespo Molato Omar Badaoui Abd Errahmane Morchid SSK1202 Spring 2008 Instructor’s Name: Mrs.Monica Sturgess Abstract The main objective of this research study is to find out the level of commitment of AUI students toward their religion. It had been revealed after going through the literature review that the main reasons that push students to ignore their religion can be related to the political regime that the government is approaching which combines religion with modernity, parents that don’t want to put pressure on their children, and the lack of connecting religion with the public schools curriculum. In order to get a relevant research, we have used both qualitative and quantitative methods. We have formed a survey and handed 70 copies to AUI students, Moroccan and exchange ones. Moreover, we have accomplished a meeting with the Imam of the mosque in order to use his experience to enhance our research. The result section showed that students at AUI have interest in their faith; however, since they are strained by studies, they don’t give much time to religion pursuits. These results have helped us to comprise a clear comprehension of the main aspects of this topic, as well as to correct some of the wrong images that we used to have toward AUI students like the lack of praying and interest to religion. Introduction Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane is a Moroccan University that is based on the...
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...Religion in the Public Schools: Public Prayer or Private Action? The differences between private and government sponsored religious speech can be difficult, but necessary to determine when dealing with religion in the public school system. In Kountze Texas, a group of cheerleaders are suing the school district because a ban was placed on their usage of religious banners before the local public school’s football games. The cheerleaders created banners, like many high school cheerleaders do, but the message painted on their signs were statements such as, “And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” The messages on the banners are religious speech and a violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution. Yes, the United States Constitution does allow for the freedom of religion, but it also separates Church and State. The cheerleaders painted these signs for a school organized football game; the educational institution is a public one and must abide by the United States Constitution and the separation of church and state. If the school were private, religious connotations would be permissible, but being that the school is public, the signs created by the cheerleaders would be considered government sanctioned. The Establishment Clause in the First Amendment states, “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Throughout our nations history there has been much debate of what the framers of the Constitution meant by establishment...
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