According to the constitution, it states that religion is not to be permitted in government-run institutions such as public schools. This includes praying, singing, and other specifications regarding religion. The controversy of holiday music in public school concerts—specifically concerts taking place in December—always fumbles school officials and musical directors during the holiday season. Some individuals argue that holiday music makes a school concert in December more enjoyable. However, due to problems such as offensiveness, laws, and favoritism, it is beneficial for public schools to exclude holiday music from concerts. Primarily, holiday music in public school concerts came seem offensive to students singing as well as the parents
In the landmark case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), John Tinker and his siblings decided to openly protest the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands to school (Goldman 1). The school felt that their efforts to protest the war disrupted the school environment. “The Supreme Court said that ‘in our system, undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression.’ School officials cannot silence student speech simply because they dislike it or it is controversial or unpopular” (FAQs 2). What about theatrical performance? Should certain plays not be performed at school because of inflammatory content? Theatrical performance plays a significant role during various years of a child’s youth, but, alone, has one central aim that allows for tolerance and multifariousness within the “salad bowl” United States. High school theatre arts curriculum’s purpose is to develop appreciation of the doctrines, perspectives, principles, and consciousness of diversified individuals in distinctive epochs throughout history as conveyed through literary works and theatre. If theatre has this sort of impact, why does the school administration, teachers, parents, even the state government, infringe upon the student body’s First Amendment rights? Schools should make no policy that would chastise a student for speaking their mind or expressing oneself, unless the process by which they are expressing themselves meddles with the educational methods and the claims of others. If a student threatens another student under “the right” of being able to speak freely, one would hope a school would take immediate action before potential harm occurs. The First Amendment clearly states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” In reference to students and a school environment, the definition of freedom of speech and expression becomes very unclear as to what they can and cannot say.
This paper deals with the stance of our schools and government on prayer in school. In this paper I will show how our government is hypocritical in its dealings of the prayer in school issue and how some of us as citizens are hypocritical as well. I will discuss the freedom of religion rights and how its interpretation affects prayer in school. Also, I will address the popular phrase, “separation of church and state”, that is often used to argue against prayer in school.
Throughout history music has played an important role in society, whether it was Mozart moving people with his newest opera or the latest album from the Beatles. Where would society be today without music? With schools cutting their music programs, the next Mozart may not get his chance to discover his amazing talent. Music programs are essential to education. To fully understand this one must understand how music helps the human body, why schools have cut music programs, and why people should learn music.
Censorship in music is a very controversial subject in today’s society. What is considered a form of artistic expression to some is also considered vulgar and inappropriate to others. But who ultimately gets to decide what is considered vulgar and what is not? Who decides who hears what in the music industry? The RIAA is responsible for applying the Parental Advisory stamp on every album that is released in the United States. The FCC is responsible for making sure that no vulgarities or controversial comments are aired on radio or television. But why is some content edited and other content not? I will try and explain these questions in our article.
Separation of church and state is an issue in the forefront of people’s minds as some fight for their religious freedoms while others fight for their right to not be subjected to the religious beliefs of anybody else. Because public schools are government agencies they must operate under the same guidelines as any other government entity when it comes to religious expression and support, meaning they cannot endorse any specific religion nor can they encourage or require any religious practice. This issue becomes complicated when students exercise their right to free speech by expressing their religious beliefs in a school setting. An examination of First Amendment legal issues that arise when a student submits an essay and drawing of a religious
No Prayer in Public Schools Chapter three of Civil Liberties: Opposing Viewpoints inspired me to research today’s issues of school prayer. To understand how we got to where we are today, I first delved into our country's history of court cases pertaining to rulings on prayer in schools. Lastly, to update my audience on how our lives are being affected today, I directed my efforts toward finding current situations. By analyzing these situations, I gained knowledge for a better understanding of why society needs to be aware of these controversies. I don’t think there should be any form of organized prayer in today’s public schools.
Even more so, in the years to come we will have to accommodate those that are either offended by the Christmas celebration or those that feel excluded. In public schools, it used to be acceptable to celebrate the Christmas season with a Nativity theatrical play. The Nativity depicts the story about the birth of Jesus, born in a manger, and the three wise men coming to visit the new king. A plentiful number of school districts have decided against having this genre of theatrical play in their schools. They came to the conclusion that it imposes upon an individual’s religious freedom. It seems, accommodation is better than causing any possible discrimination lawsuits.
This plainly states that public school teachers, principals, and boards are required to be religiously neutral. They may not promote a particular religion as being superior to any other, and may not promote religion in general as superior to a secular approach to life. They also may not promote secularism in general as superior to a religious approach to life, be antagonistic to religion in general or a particular religious belief, be antagonistic to secularism, and they must neither advance nor inhibit religion (Religion in Public).
Sheftel, B. (2002). Music Education Curriculum in Public Schools. PageWise, Inc, Retrieved August 6, 2003
Should it be Allowed? Suppose an artist or band sold their music to a record label or landed a deal with a company. Should this be allowed? Artists’ music should be used in advertising. It offers smaller artists a chance for their music to get heard by a wider audience and it is accepted nowadays for bands and artists to put their music in commercials or promote products for sponsors.
Parents are always looking for new ways to help their children learn and grow. Many do not know that the key to this has been right under their nose their entire lives. The answer to this is literally around us every day. Music, surrounds us literally from the time we wake up until we fall asleep at night. We as humans simply cannot avoid it, as it is such a huge part of our culture. Many studies have proven that music improves not only our mood but also has numerous other positive advantages. Such as improved cognitive ability as this skill works numerous parts of the brain simultaneously. This in itself has attributed to a higher intelligence in adolescents at an earlier age. Improving numerous areas of the cognitive abilities including speech, spelling, and reading abilities.
Many people take an advantage of Freedom of speech in their music. Rappers and rocker often does this in their albums and playlist. They use violent words that’s not protected by The First Amendment. Many of them uses violent phrases that can offend most listeners. Offensive music should be banned.
To have prayer in the public school system is against the idea of separation of church and state. The state should not institute school prayer because the public schools are for education, not a place where religion should be taught (Gaylor, 1995, p. 1). The state should not force every child to say a prayer in the classroom because not everyone believes...
Public schools must adhere to a curriculum or state standards relating to what can be taught and how it is presented in life. Certain subjects such as religion and politics are taboo as well. Rulings in many court cases over the years have determined the scope and limits of what can be taught and how it is presented in public school system. But a private school can teach whatever it likes and present it in any way the school chooses. That’s because parents choose to send their children to a specific scho...
Music is one of the specials in school that can be implemented in the classroom. In kindergarten through fifth grade, music can be used in the classroom to teach students the daily classroom curriculum. There are several ways that a teacher can implement music into their classroom lessons. Some of those ways are creating songs, or finding creative songs on YouTube or other music websites. As a future educator it is my job to use a variety of teaching methods, and one of those methods should be applying music in my lessons.