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1. Allison May 2, 2012 at 1:44 pm

   I am a Christian teacher and a mom.

   As a mom, I would not want a teacher to influence my children to pursue a religion that is contrary to our family’s. So, I am careful to be religion-neutral as I influence other people’s children, unless I get specific information that they are also Christian.

   Yes, we live in a free country. That means freedom for ALL religions, not just freedom to be Christian. If schools force non-Christian students to participate in Christian prayers, they are infringing on the non-Christian students’ freedom to be non-Christian.

   The public school I teach in has a moment of silence each day. During this time, students have the freedom to pray silently according to their own religion or not pray at all.

   I try to be a positive moral influence, and if students ask me personally (not in front of the class), my understanding is that I can tell them that I do go to church and I can explain why. I can’t address the entire class on these matters, but I can discuss individually with students if they initiate the conversation and if it does not disrupt teaching. I think that is pretty reasonable, considering the taxpayers are paying me to teach geometry, not religion.
2. melody h May 2, 2012 at 4:47 pm

   I am pro prayer everywhere I am! I pray in my head, out loud etc. God is in every part of my life and even though I have been told it is frowned upon I have shared my faith at every job I have been at. I have even been asked by customers at jobs if I would pray for them. I always do and sometimes out loud. I have always thought that if I got fired over doing what comes naturally to me as a Christian that maybe I wasn’t in the job that God had for me. I have never been fired or even talked to even at a government job… I am now a stay at home mom by choice for my last 2 kids at home and I encourage them on the National Day of prayer and any other day of the year to pray and share with others. This is how I roll! I am ok with others disagreeing with this but this is who I am and Whose I am. I love your site ! It helps me spend what God gives me wisely
3. Bridgett May 2, 2012 at 7:31 pm

   I personally pray silently over my students in my classroom. During the moment of silence, I pray for them daily. One thing I plan to do is lay hands on each chair in my classroom and pray for my students before school starts for the year. I wear a cross necklace, and I’ve been asked about it. I had a few 1st grade students who openly shared their thoughts on God this school year, and I listened and told them thank you for sharing, which I have to do for any student as long as they aren’t being belligerent or hateful about it. My students blessed my heart! One day, I was working with one of my students one-on-one, and she said that we were sisters. Because I was in a public school setting, I didn’t understand her meaning and said how’s that. She said that we were sisters because God is our Father, and Jesus is our brother. I almost cried, it made me so happy! I quietly told her that was true. A few minutes later, I heard her sharing those same thoughts with another student. One student had an assignment to write something about his Dad, and he chose to share that his dad was a Christian and he read the Bible daily. I may not be able to share about Christ myself, but my students do! Never underestimate the witness that a young child can be in a setting that does not welcome Christ!