EDUCATIONALLY SPEAKING

Gay Geiser-Sandoval

I know I should stay out of the fray between separation of church and

state. It produces two kinds of responses. One is the intellectual and

abstract understanding of what it is and why it is necessary. The second

response is that advocating for separation is an affront to that person’s

specific religious beliefs and their right to free speech. Since the

school board hasn’t met for some time, I will jump into the fray.

The Daily Pilot recently ran an article about one of the student body

presidents of a local high school. The president said that he is a strong

Christian, and wanted to use the visibility of his position to espouse

that point of view. He said he wanted to get more kids at school involved

in Christianity. Obviously, I have no problem with this student holding

strong Christian beliefs. Nor do I have a problem with a student

encouraging their friends to listen to and consider those beliefs. The

stickier part comes if a student body officer of a public school wants to

use that official position to influence others to follow his or her

religious beliefs.

For instance, what if one of the student body presidents was a Muslim and

began using his position to try to get students to practice his religious

beliefs? What if she or he wanted to have students kneel and pray to

Allah at specified times during the day in the quad? What if the

president was a Black Muslim and wanted to hold sermons on the oppression

of whites against blacks during pep rallies? What if the president was a

Wiccan, and asked to have her fellow students practice witchcraft at

halftime of a football game?

If one believes that there should be no separation of church and state,

then the type of religious beliefs being advocated over the school’s

public address system, at rallies, or by teachers, should not matter. If

a third-grade teacher wants to preach the wonders of voodoo in class, how

would you feel if she cut up a chicken in front of her students and

shouted incantations? What if a teacher brought in snakes, fell into a

trance, and spoke in tongues? If you believe in religious ceremonies at

school, such as prayers over the public address system, then logically,

the acts outlined above should be allowed just the same as mainstream

forms of Christianity. If you believe that the 1st Amendment permits

proselytizing at school, then it must allow all faiths to proselytize.

However, I expect that parents might be storming the principal’s office

and the school board meetings if certain religious beliefs were advocated

on school time in school-directed activities.

For these reasons, I believe that there is a clear purpose in the

separation of church and state when it comes to public schools;

especially in a country where religious beliefs are a varied as skin

color and economic wealth. I think many would be surprised at the number

of world religions practiced by students in our school district, as well

as the variation of Christian beliefs held by students and their

families. I hope all of the members of each school’s student council hold

strong beliefs, both ethically and religiously. I hope that they practice

such beliefs and share them with others during class breaks and outside

of school. But, I don’t think student officers, teachers, or others

school personnel in authority should preach their views to an audience

who is not there by their own free will.

I hope that as our district’s students study the intricacies of the

Constitution, they see that the drafters were not against religion, nor

against allowing citizens to hold strong religious beliefs. They just

believed that preaching should be done in a place other than a

governmental institution. Don’t you think it is a safer way to assure

that the beliefs you want instilled in your children will not be tainted

by others outside of your knowledge or presence? There are some beliefs

that I hope our student leaders advocate at every turn. The first is

honesty; in taking tests, in doing homework, in communicating with

parents, teachers and fellow students. I would even like to see them

promote honesty with themselves (To thine own self be true.) Second, I

wish they would advocate respect. It would include respect for those

that are challenged physically or mentally. It would include respect for

those that don’t speak the same language, or don’t look the same, from

skin color to jeans’ size and style. It would include respect for

teachers and fellow students, so that when one is talking, the rest of

the class is listening. It would include self-respect, so that one isn’t

ingesting harmful substances, mutilating one’s body, or participating in

dangerous behavior.

Since student leaders can’t expect students to follow what they

advocate unless the leaders also behave in that manner, that will be the

first challenge. But, if each council would adopt the practice of these

beliefs as their goal, it would make more of a difference than all of the

rules, counselors, assemblies, speakers, and DARE programs we could pay

for! Go for it!****

I’m glad the new strategic plan is not something that is going to sit

on the shelf. One of the goals was to get more fine arts, including

drama, into our schools. Costa Mesa High School, which is a seventh to

12th grade school, is still without a drama teacher three weeks before

school begins. If you know of anyone who is interested, please have them

contact Principal Andy Hernandez right away. At this time, he is even

looking for a walk-on coach.

* GAY GEISER-SANDOVAL is a Costa Mesa resident. Her column runs Mondays.