Prayer Time or Meditation Time in Schools

[govman6767]

Why must schools advocate belief in an imaginary being. I would prefer my children to go to school and have a minute of silence for spiderman. At least through current genetic manipulation and our advancement of science spiderman would be believable as opposed to god.

[John Kilduff]

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for the non-religious among us, this seems kind of like a school enforced timeout.

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the non-religious cant benefit from a minute or two of thought and introspection?

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as hm said earlier, there are plenty of opportunities for thought and introspection during the course of the school day. this just seems like a clear attempt to step around the no-school-prayer rule and i would argue that students would benefit a lot more from social interaction or guided instruction than enforced silence.

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Well, it seems we are getting more objections to the idea than than I would have thought.

Here is some of my additional thinking on the subject, and points I see in favor of a Moment of Silence.

Silence and relaxation are beneficial in ways other than spititual as well. Meditation, or even just following one's breath, has been medically shown to lower blood pressure and confer other positive health benefits, and to improve concentration.

When I was in pre-school, we had a nap period in the afternoon when we all took out our blanket pads and lay quietly on the floor. I think that was good too. In certain countries it is customary for people to take siesta after the mid-day meal.

Americans are generally too rushed and frantic, and life is pretty hectic; I think a moment of silence would probably be beneficial even for the overly hyper types who can't stand the thought.

I don't suppose many object to a 50-minute gym period or Physical Education in the school day.

Nobody is forced to pray during a moment of silence.

For those who wish to contemplate a knotty problem, or to
try to remember something, or to just relax, or to try to get in touch with God, or to try to get in touch with one's own conscience: a moment of silence provides a chance to do so without being subjected to a constant barrage of noise and outside stimulus.

As far as the "no-prayer-rule" you mention, I don't think there is a rule against praying in schools, only that there is a rule against a public school leading children in prayer. I can't imagine it would be constitutional to forbid children from praying silently of their own volition (or aloud, for that matter, if it was of their own initiative to do so. Are not children's rights to free speech and free exercise of religion protected also?)

A Moment Of Silence may also encourage some children to try a little prayer or to try to reach God. I suppose this is what you are objecting to? What is wrong with children (or adults) trying to be a little closer to God?

All of the above are some of my reasons for being in favor of A Moment Of Silence.

Thanks to everyone who has so far contributed to this discussion, and further comments are most welcome.

[Copernicus]

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for the non-religious among us, this seems kind of like a school enforced timeout.

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the non-religious cant benefit from a minute or two of thought and introspection?

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as hm said earlier, there are plenty of opportunities for thought and introspection during the course of the school day. this just seems like a clear attempt to step around the no-school-prayer rule and i would argue that students would benefit a lot more from social interaction or guided instruction than enforced silence.

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for some its a waste of time, for others, an enforced silence actually makes them think, an opportunity they might not seize without it.

Im a hard atheist, but have no problem at all with a moment of silence. I dont see it as an end-around school prayer at all.

[hmkpoker]

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for some its a waste of time, for others, an enforced silence actually makes them think, an opportunity they might not seize without it.

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You can really say this about every structured period in school. Shakespeare is valuable and enriching to some, and boring waste to others. Geometry is useful to some and annoying to the rest. Phys. Ed. is fun for some and demeaning and tiring to everyone else.

If you object to a moment of silence on the grounds that it is pointless to most of the students, can you defend any of the classes? Most people only have one or two classes that are actually interesting or useful while the rest of the day is just wasteful. If you want to get rid of any school activity that most people have no use for, then you'll end up getting rid of the entire school day.

[clowntable]

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You're describing an externalities problem, which can be dealt with by social norms, coase theorum, and arbitration.

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I'd be interested in learning how exactly this would be done.