Our fathers God to, thee, author of Liberty, to thee we sing. Long may our landbe bright with freedoms holy light; protect us by thy might, Great God our King. Since the late 1950s, when separation between Church and state was forced intopractice, public schools have shown a dramatic decrease in the amount of ethics andmorality taught in the classroom. All the while, school violence is on the rise. All weneed to do is look at the horror with transpired at Columbine to see this sad truth inaction. Because public teachers are terrified of lawsuits they neglect to implement theimportance of ethical and moral values on the youths of our society. While in parochialschools ethics and morals are continually taught with various religious undertones. Thesesame elementary principles can be applied, as well as taught, at public institutionswithout the use of the religious undertones. Personally I would not posses as high ofmoral and personal standards if it were not for the emphasis placed on right vs. wrong inmy grade school religion class. At the impressionable age of seven I was thrust into the all consuming world ofcatholic schools. Where the sociological institutions of religion and education areintertwined in a complex web of dogmatic beliefs and demanding course loads. Thiscontinual demand of both spiritual and personal excellence, coupled with the numerousSouthern ideologies of my parents, has tremendously nourished my strong willed, gogetem, conviction filled character. This character, which at times is questionable toobservers, was given it fundamental values on my back porch swing-- yet it wasdramatically enhanced by five consecutive years of Mrs. Kennedys religion classes. Mrs. Kennedy was a gentle and even tempered women, who attempted to createcompassionate and understanding young adults; in my case she prevailed. She taught usto always carry love in our pocket, like we would extra change, for one would neverknow when the opportun...
