Does anyone else remember prayer in school?

[BillStein]

In the summer between fourth and fifth grade, the SCOTUS ruled against school prayer. I have horrible memories of being the only non-xtian in class, and having to explain why we didn't pray to Jesus, or read from the NT.

Who else remembers the bad old days?

[rrneck]

1. Too long ago to say for sure. nt

[BillStein]

3. Yuck

I just did the arithmetic... Engel was 1962- Jeeze, I am old

[Arugula Latte]

2. Thankfully no.

I do remember a couple teachers sort of pushing Christianity, though. Interestingly, the two worst ones were science teachers. One was the "Young Life" leader and would use class time to try to get people to attend the meetings. I was always worried my grade would suffer because I didn't go, but I did get all As in his class.

[BillStein]

4. I never had a problem with teachers

They were, in my memory, an understanding group. My worst memory is the classmate whose mother told her I was a "christ Killer". This was second fu*#ing grade!

The teacher spoke up and told her we didn't read from the NT out of respect for me. I might as well have had horns and a tail.

[Warpy]

6. That's pretty funny

Every Catholic school I went to (and I went to a few, my parents moved a lot) was not only integrated as to color, it also had Jewish kids in the classes because the parents thought their kids would get a better education from the nuns.

It worked nicely to keep the rest of us relatively unprejudiced, but I don't think the nuns ever respected anyone's feelings about religion.

The first time I heard a stupid kid scream "Christ killer!" was a southern Baptist thug in the south. It didn't do any good to point out the Romans did the actual job, either. I guess the joy of being utterly ignorant is that you get to hate your betters.

[Mr.Bill]

10. Well, as Lenny Bruce said,

You're lucky we killed him back then. If we killed him in the 20th Century, there would be generations of christian children wearing little electric chairs on chains around their necks.

[progressoid]

22. Bwaaaahaha

I must listen to more Lenny Bruce.

[awoke_in_2003]

16. What I never got...

was that if it were prophesied that he was to die for our sins, someone would have to kill him. I thought we were supposed to be thankful for that

[Warpy]

5. I remember an hour of babble study twice a week

in the south, when we apostates (Catholics, Jews and kids from Asia) were packed off to the library. While I preferred sitting in the library to sitting in a classroom listening to some bozo thump the KJV, it was enough ghettoization to make us all prime targets for gangs of bullies.

I was a little kid, but I clapped and cheered when the USSC ruled on that one and kicked the thumpers out and back into their churches.

[mbperrin]

7. We still pledge two flags every morning "under God"

even though clearly the US is under Canada, and Texas is under Oklahoma. Look at any map.

[LostOne4Ever]

8. Before my time

But I do remember having a "moment of silence," and a mandatory baccalaureate ceremony. Not to mention a biology teacher who had some comic clippings about prayer being taken out of school and made it clear he though it should be brought back.

OH, and a junior high English/speech teacher/ coach who told us there are no atheists in foxholes, that guns dont kill people, people kill people, and that if girl doesn't want to get pregnant should doesn't have to let the guys in (he had a student leave the room and told her to knock but not to come in unless we told her to "come in" to demonstrate).

HOWEVER, that last part was in response to this assembly we had were the presenter pretty much blamed all teen pregnancies on the guys. Also, the Jr. High teacher also encouraged us to disagree with him and present our own opinions, so he was not that bad. The biology teacher, on the other had, was not as accepting of dissenting opinions.

Honestly I liked the jr. high teacher quite a lot, I just disagree with his views =P

[Rob H.]

9. When I was in high school in the mid-Eighties

we had a minute of silence every day during homeroom. I didn't notice anyone praying but I thought it was kinda stupid. All most of us did was sit there watching the clock until we could start talking again.

[Auggie]

11. Pretty certain they were moments of silence ...

favored by only a few teachers. Always had inspirational songs played over the public address system. Some, I think, were hymns. 4th grade, around 1966-67. I was agnostic then -- too afraid/naive to be vocal about it, and, that I -- gasp -- might be wrong!

[TxDemChem]

12. As I am only 30,

The only thing I recall were moments of silence. Looks like I got off lucky.

[awoke_in_2003]

13. Only when I went to a christian school for a few years...

I was born in 68.

[Curmudgeoness]

14. I remember.

I was in public schools, and there was the pledge and a prayer every morning.....I don't remember for certain, but I think we had to recite the Lord's Prayer. It was really pathetic because we had several Jewish kids in grade school. They stopped the prayers in 3rd or 4th grade, probably because of the SCOTUS ruling, but I didn't know at the time.

Then again, except for being aware of the Jewish kids, I didn't care one way or the other----I was going to Sunday School at the time too, and Bible Camp, and Religious retreats. Ugh.

[rexcat]

15. I remember...

prayers in school and then one day we didn't do anymore. At the time I was in public elementary school and did not understand why we stopped but also did not care enough to ask what was up. It was one of those things we did without putting too much thought into it, like the pledge of allegiance.

[Phillip McCleod]

17. i always hated that bedtime prayer..

..

'now i lay me down to sleep / for the lord my soul to keep / should i *FUCKING DIE!!! GOD WHAT WILL MY MOM THINK?!?!? WHAT ABOUT MY SISTER?!? MY DAD WHO YEH IS KINDA REMOTE BUT I FUCKING ***LOVE*** HIM ..


GODDDDDD DON'T LETTT MEEE DIEEEEEEE!!!!111'

..

yeh.. not child abuse at all.

[Jokerman]

18. We had a stubborn, older teacher who continued group prayer into the late sixties.

Mrs. Reagan also showed my 2nd grade class "Animal Farm" because it was animated and anti-communist so it MUST be appropriate for children.

When she was given an ultimatum about the prayer, she retired from teaching.

[backscatter712]

19. That was before my time.

I'm glad it's not done in public schools anymore. If people want to do the religious thing, they can do it on their own time and their own dime, and without the force of government coercion.

[frogmarch]

20. Oh, yes.

I had several prayerful grade school teachers, and my 6th grade teacher started each day by reading to us from Genesis. That was the year that “under god” was added to the flag pledge.

[RebelOne]

21. Yes, I remember them well.

After all, I am 74 years old.

[progressoid]

23. Just before games.

I was only in sports until the 9th grade but we always had to huddle for a prayer before heading to the field or court. Weird.

Really fucked up the mojo in my opinion. We were all pumped to play ball but then we had to stop and bow our heads to ask jebus to help us make free throws.

[Capt. Obvious]

28. That was always weird

Coaches would make us kneel before games and say the lord's prayer.

[progressoid]

29. One of the Jr High coaches was also the head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

He always had this too friendly yet condescending vibe about him. I went to one of the FCA meetings...once. Yikes.



Creeeeeeepy.

[BillStein]

24. I was wondering if other people shared my experience

Being the only non-xtians in out neighborhood, I felt completely isolated and sometimes ostracized because of the prayers in school. I had understanding teachers, but an amazing amount of flak came from parents who thought I should conform to the whole xtian nation thing.

This was, by the way, in a relatively wealthy suburb of Philadelphia- far from the bible belt.

It was a helluva burden to put on a 10 year old kid. When I see stories on here about ignoramuses distributing bibles in school, or pushing for the ten commandments to be displayed in courts (btw- which version?) I wonder how people can be so stupid

[Capt. Obvious]

27. I got flak from my classmates

I was shocked. I laughed them off.

[JNelson6563]

25. Only while in Catholic school.

Not while in public school. I guess I was in public school after that ruling. Started school in '68, finished high school in '81.

Julie

[Capt. Obvious]

26. Same

I didn't participate though.

[sinkingfeeling]

30. Yes, I also remember getting 'rewards' for learning Bible verses in public school.

[sakabatou]

31. Not inside any public school

[cynatnite]

32. We had a very mean teacher in the 3rd grade...

Who would have a brief bible lesson and do a prayer. I don't think any of us realized she wasn't supposed to do it.

She also would spank children in class, too. She had a very frightening disposition.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

33. We had a moment of silence in homeroom.

I graduated in 1972.
In elementary school they distributed little Gideon NTs/Psalms/Proverbs (???)
This was in public school in the early 60s.
Some guy who distributed them told us to read one verse a day of something or other.

[Anymouse]

34. Yes . . .

. . . my school continued through the mid Seventies, until a new school board finally put a stop to it.