Thomas Jefferson's Wall Is Crumbling

I recently read an article by one of my classmates regarding a recent speech made by President Bush on the topic of federal funding for faith-based education (it would be a safe assumption that Bush is specifically refering to Christian education, without him coming right out and saying it). Frankly, I had to take a few minutes to regroup and pick my jaw up off the floor before I could think clearly enough to formulate complete sentences.

I absolutely agree with the author - in no way, shape, or form should federal monies be used to fund faith-based schools. And while we are at it, federal grant money should not be used for religious insitutions of higher learning, nor should federal money be used to help support organizations such as the Salvation Army. There is clear terminology in the Constitution that effectively builds a wall between religion and government. Here again, it seems that our elected leaders have the impression they are allowed to pick and choose which laws they uphold. And as I wrote recently in another forum, when you give a person an inch, they often take a mile - as my classmate noted that President Bush referenced the above practices as a precedent for further momentum of Congressional support of faith-based education. So, it seems that the lines are becoming blurrier by the minute of where religion stops and government starts.

Like the author said, absolutely, any and all money any member of Congress would even think about spending on faith-based education should go to our nation's public schools. And since Bush brought up corporate sponsorship, then let's let them collectively match federal funds to educate all our children in a secular environment. And while we are requesting money from people, every overpaid celebrity and athlete can chip in something too, instead of buying that 3rd Bentley, or vacationing in a $50,000/night resort. Remember, it takes a village.....

Both President Bush and my classmate addressed the No Child Left Behind Act. I am completely baffled that our President is so delusional regarding the complaints regarding this Act. The vast majority of our country's teachers are screaming for change. Having recently perfomed extensive research regarding this topic, I can comfortably say that most educators embrace the idea of NCLB, but are absolutely critical of the implementation. Our teachers are not saying they don't want to be measured, they disagree with how we measure. They are frustrated with the amount of paper shuffling the Act requires and the lack of standards from state to state. And they are offended by the punitive measures levied on them for 'non-compliance' rather than the support, help, and money they need.

Faith-based education is great for those like-minded parents that can afford to send their children to such institutions. Bush cites a large number of inner city faith-based schools that have closed in recent years with dismay - actually calling it a crisis (I can think of several much more pressing 'crises' in our country). I would venture to say that many closed due to our economy starting to fall and many parents no longer being able to afford the luxury. Yet, Bush seems to speak as if they just up and vanished ala Harry Potter. I would like President Bush to also look at why private school students tend to perform better. Two things come to mind, smaller class sizes and higher teacher morale. If we put money into our public school system, we may be able to attain lower teacher-to-student ratios as well as pay our teachers better - which would start the process of raising educator's spirits in regards to their profession and classrooms. President Bush failed to point out that faith-based schools not requesting federal money for secular programs are not subject to NCLB compliance. How dare he compare the two when many private schools are not undergoing the same testing our public schools are - and private school staff are not under the hefty NCLB stressors.

Truth be told, we are already giving federal money to faith-based schools if they comply with NCLB and use the money for secular materials and activities, which seems to be "respecting an establishment of religion" to me. There are already so many instances of absolute assaults on the First Amendment of our Constitution regarding government endorsement of mainly Christianity, and President Bush would like to take the ball a little further down the field. If we don't collectively DO something soon, history will repeat itself and that is utterly frightening. Our forefathers didn't just dream up a list of things they wanted into law, they had reasonable basis on which to write legislation to protect America's citizens from the persecution they had fled. Where did we lose respect for them?