Prayer in Schools

There are many instances of prayer being in public schools. From the Pledge of Allegiance to Friday night football pre-game rituals. Or if you grew up in mostly conservative, Northwest Iowa like me, as you ran to get in line for lunch at a public school, the teacher would ask the person in the front what prayer the class would like to recite today. My teacher taught us many, my personal favorite was Johnny Appleseed. Being in second grade I had no idea this was against the law. Looking back on my education, do I feel like praying before lunch or saying the Pledge of Allegiance hindered my learning? Not at all. But what if I practiced a religion other than Christianity?

I think I would have been confused and have an internal battle between what my teacher (the person I think knows all at that time in my life) teaches and my family teaches me.

The United States of America was founded on freedom of religion. Saying the Lord's Prayer before high school football games or Johnny Appleseed before school lunch is not representing freedom. Instead the time could be used for a moment of silence. One could pray, one could reflect, or in second grade, a child could think about how fast they were going to eat in order to get out for recess. It leaves the freedom up to the child without placing one's own religious beliefs upon the students.