Went to a GREAT SYATP Rally at C3 last night!! The message was fantastic and the band was awesome! What an experience to see our Middle School and High School Youth taking the initiative to share Faith and make a difference in their schools in such a positive way! This year’s SYATP annual event will be held throughout Johnston County and across the state and country this Wednesday, September 27 at 7:00 a.m. Encourage your teens to check it out! http://www.syatp.com Thank you C3 for inviting teens from other local churches and the community to attend the Rally with your youth! Together we can make a difference!
I'm glad this came up. Is it "proper" to be passing out literature and hanging up posters at the middle school? Can I send in stuff for Judaism/Hinduism/Muslim events? Can my son pass out cards during lunch and between classes? Hang posters on the walls? Just wondering.
I think if ANY group wanted to advertise a function, religious or not, they could. Have they TRIED???????? Proper or not, TRY first before worrying about whether it's "proper" or not. Just my non-hostile, low-key, opinion.........
I'm just asking a question. What is the school board's position on passing out religious materials? http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060505/NEWS/60505001/1004
I did not say you did, I just tried to indicate your method described in your post may be irresponsible.
Exactly, kids chat on the bus and pass notes in between classes - but I don't think that posters for an outside Religious Event plastered on the walls of a Public School Building is appropriate. Then, it gives a feel of coming from the Administration and not from peers.
Good Question... I think it is important to note that this is not a school event. If there is literature, it is probably an invitation from a friend to friend. I have not seen any information, other than the website, about this annual event. I’m also not aware of posters being hung at schools. My kids were invited by a friend of theirs who attends C3. I went with them to see what SYATP was all about and was inspired about how open and friendly the student initiative is (certainly NOT fanatic). I would not be offended at all if one of my children’s Jewish, Hindu or Muslim friends shared information about their faith when they were talking in or away from school. (We have family friends in all three faiths). In our home, we frequently talk about different faiths and different dominations – how else do our children learn? After all, we all worship the same Father. We should take a chance and work together to change the world for the better!!
Re: Good Question... There were posters on the walls, and those religions do NOT all worship the same father. How about Paganism? Would posters inviting kids to worship Mother Earth at a Midnight Winter Solstice Celebration be okay? Just sayin'. I'm just curious as to what the policy is, that's all. I found the JCS website difficult to navigate, so I sent an email to one of the board members.
Re: Posters? There were at Cleveland Middle last week. I'm just curious as to what the policy is, that's all. When I was a kid, I remember a poster in our cafeteria that had a cartoon pic of a kid and a caption that was something to the effect of "I'm not garbage, cuz God don't make no trash". That was twenty five years ago in Jefferson City, MO and at that school all of the black students just so happened to be in Special Ed. :roll:
Thank you for your Great questions Cleo!! Since I myself was sent to the principle’s office in 6th grade for having a conversation with another student about the Virgin Mary, I have always struggled with finding a positive way to bridge the gap between federal law and personal conviction when it came to the subject of God in our schools. Your questions have led me to seek more information and have opened my eyes to the fact that our children have more rights than I ever imagined in our public schools!!! If you are interested in learning more about the position of the US Department of Education on this subject, check out their website: http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/08-1995/religion.html Here is an excerpt from their guidelines for Religious Expression.... RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS Student prayer and religious discussion: The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment does not prohibit purely private religious speech by students. Students therefore have the same right to engage in individual or group prayer and religious discussion during the school day as they do to engage in other comparable activity. For example, students may read their Bibles or other scriptures, say grace before meals, and pray before tests to the same extent they may engage in comparable nondisruptive activities. Local school authorities possess substantial discretion to impose rules of order and other pedagogical restrictions on student activities, but they may not structure or administer such rules to discriminate against religious activity or speech. Generally, students may pray in a nondisruptive manner when not engaged in school activities or instruction, and subject to the rules that normally pertain in the applicable setting. Specifically, students in informal settings, such as cafeterias and hallways, may pray and discuss their religious views with each other, subject to the same rules of order as apply to other student activities and speech. Students may also speak to, and attempt to persuade, their peers about religious topics just as they do with regard to political topics. School officials, however, should intercede to stop student speech that constitutes harassment aimed at a student or a group of students. Students may also participate in before or after school events with religious content, such as "see you at the flag pole" gatherings, on the same terms as they may participate in other noncurriculum activities on school premises. School officials may neither discourage nor encourage participation in such an event. The right to engage in voluntary prayer or religious discussion free from discrimination does not include the right to have a captive audience listen, or to compel other students to participate. Teachers and school administrators should ensure that no student is in any way coerced to participate in religious activity. *************** Oh, by the way, I'm cool with the Wiccan posters at school if that means more freedom to express faith in God. They too are invited to participate at SYATP. All students are welcome to pray together for their schools and their nation. SY@TP!!!
Did you miss that part? Isn't passing out literature and putting up posters coercing? In a middle school where children feel enough pressure as it is to fit in? I think it qualifies as coercion. Is that children who believe in God, or all children? Your child violated other children's rights last week. :?
I don't think anyone can be "coerced" into anything. If you go to an event that is not "you", so to speak, there had to be a thing called "interest" or curiosity in the event for you to even show up. I mean, we have the freedom of choice here in this country, did we forget that? Trust me, there are more pressures in middle school then posters and flyers about religious activities. I would think that a religious function would be about the safest thing there is. It may teach kids about morality. Is that SO bad?? Kids would be safer there than romping the roads all night joy riding, partying or on cell phones making plans to sneak out of the house to meet girls 8 miles up the road at 1:00am....WHICH in fact DID happen to friends of mine with kids in middle school. :shock: Now I know not all kids do that and alot of kids are good kids with good heads on their shoulders. But let the kids decide what they want when it comes to functions like this. It's NOT a bad thing. If parents teach them the beliefs they want them to follow, then the kids will make the right choice for themselves. Bottom line is that this really isn't a big deal. There ARE bigger deals going on. And I'm trying to write in a reasonable tone. The last thing we need is religious bashing. :roll:
I'm not bashing religion at all. I am seriously asking if this is within the law. And how can one prove coercion? I see it in the statute quoted on the previous page - but how do you prove it? Aren't kids coerced and pressured into skipping, doing drugs, having sex - couldn't they then be coerced or pressured into prayer esp in the Bible Belt? Guidelines were set forth by SYATP - and they were not followed and it sounds like the school supported it. That's all I'm saying.
i view it as the same thing as the posters we used to put up for football games, pep rallies, dances, etc. Also just like all the posters on the walls trying to get people to join Drama Club, Chess Club, etc. If you are interested, you will check it out - if it is not your thing - you won't. i do not view posters advertising as coercion of any type and if some children have such low self esteem that they believe they are coerced by being exposed to different things by way of posters of fliers, then those parents need to do some serious work with that child.
