ATTITUDE OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS—By Eldon Sanders

ATTITUDE OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS---By Eldon Sanders ATTITUDE OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Eldon Sanders

One of the primary reasons for the establishment of public schools was to provide an opportunity for each child to learn to read in order that he could read the Bible by and for himself. As moral character was the main objective of. education in the early days of the public school, the reading- of the Bible was believed to be the chief means of attaining it. However, Horace Mann said: “The Bible was an invaluable book for forming character of children, and should be read without comment in the schools, but it was not necessary to teach it there.”

Down through the years training for character has been fundamental, although the public school has added new subject matter to the curriculum and revised teaching methods. In the late 1920’s and early 1930’s laymen as well as educators were concerned about “improving the social order” and believed that an intensive program of character education was necessary to achieve this change. At the present time there is concern for the teaching of “higher values” or the fundamentals of character education.

Some educators advocate the teaching of these char-acter fundamentals or “spiritual values” in an indirect method. That is, they believe that each course of study and the various activities of the school contribute to the development of moral and spiritual values as follows:

1. Physical education—provides the occasion for developing sportsmanship, fair play, and respect for
following the rules.
2. Social studies—help pupils realize that democracy is an attempt to achieve spiritual values in civil life.
3. Language Arts—students become acquainted with the great minds of the ages and develop an awareness
of the reverence of all people for a God.
4. Science—emphasizes the orderliness of the uni-verse and attempts to explain the known and to teach a
respect and reverence for the unknown.
5. Fine Arts—develops sensitivity to beauty in the environment, appreciation of the arts of all ages, and
the expression of personality through a variety of mediums.
6. Music—reveals the ideals and strivings of people recorded and expressed through song.
7. Homemaking, health education—offer oppor-tunities for developing moral and ethical character.
8. All phases of school life provide experiences that promote critical thinking in connection with democratic
group activity.

There are other persons who believe that proper moral character cannot be developed without the teaching of the Bible. These persons may be grouped into two classes:

First, those who believe that the Bible should be taught in and by the public school;

Second, those who believe that the Bible should be taught, but that the public school
is not the place to teach it. Thus the teaching of the Bible by and in the public
schools remains a controversial issue.

Today, the attitude of the public school toward the teaching of the Bible has been determined by several factors:
1. Persons who believe that the Bible should be taught in the public school.
2. Persons who believe that the Bible should be taught, but that the school is not the place to teach it.
3. Persons who do not believe in the Bible, therefore they are opposed to the teaching of it in the school.
4. Persons who believe that the Bible should be taught in the school, but who desire to teach it in the light of church dogmas.
5. Persons who believe that moral character can be developed indirectly through the curriculum and activities of the public school.
6. Influence of state constitutions.
7. Interpretation of the constitution of the United States. The resultant of these various factors includes three generally accepted plane of the teaching of the Bible throughout the public school systems of the United States where the Bible is recognized in the educational program:

First, a definite scheduled course in the Bible is offered to high school students. These courses are a part of the curriculum of the school, and the students are granted regular credit. The courses are elective. The Bible is taught for its literary, historical, and moral values, and the course is strictly non-sectarian.

Second, many states have a released time plan for religious instruction. Under this plan students are released from regular classes for a period to attend the church of their choice for week-day religious instruction. Usually the school requires a written state- metn from parents asking that the children be excused to attend the classes in religion. The week-day classes meet in respective churches. This plan has been ruled unconstitutional in many states; in other states, it has been ruled legal if the plan is not the same as Champaign’s. In Champaign, Illinois, teachers of religion, chosen and paid by the churches but approved by the school superintendent, came into the public school buildings to teach the pupils who were segregated into religious groups for the purpose. The public school teachers distributed consent cards to pupils who took them home for the parents to express their choice of class— Protestant, Cathohc, or Jewish. Attendance was reported by the teachers of religon to the regular public school authorities. The Court said this program wa3 a “utilization of the tax-established and tax-supported public school system to aid religious groups to spread their faith” and was therefore unconstitutional.

Third, there is the dismissed time plan for religious instruction. This program is about the same as the released time, the only difference being the hour of the week day school and possibly the place of meeting. Under this plan the religious instruction is given after school is dismissed. Students desiring this instruction are invited by non-school authorities to participate on their own time. The School offers no aid.
Many public schools apparently realize the value of the Bible and have conformed to the third plan as set forth above, in order to include the teaching of it to the children. The state of New York has a program of teaching the Bible which has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the U. S. In New York about 75% of the students in grades and sections are reached by a program which is composed of after school classes. In Virginia a statewide plan for religious instruction is provided—360 communities carry on an organized week-day program under the direction of Virginia Council of Religious Education—96% of those to whom the program is offered attend the classes— only 53% attended Sunday School.
In Texas the teaching of the Bible is believed to be expedient. In 1947, Texas had accredited Bible classes in 177 high schools and academies. The Texas plan has been outlined as follows:

High schools wishing to grant credit for Bible study are required to follow same procedure as required in other courses. The Bible course must be non-sectarian. The Bible should be taught for its literary, historical, and moral values. The teacher of the Bible course shall be subject to the same qualifications as apply to teachers of other high school subjects, except in the matter of holding a certificate. The local school board is not to bear any of the expenses of the Bible course. Only students regularly enrolled in the high school grades may be permitted to take Bible courses for credit. The only text used should be the Bible itself. It may be supplemented by syllabi. The local school board, through the superintendent of schools or the high school principal, shall be charged with the responsibility of seeing that the following requirements are met:
a. Teacher qualification.
b. Classroom and equipment.
c. Standards.

Surely, with the evidence which has been presented, we may conclude that the public schools yet believe that the development of proper moral character is one of the primary aims of our educational program, and that the teaching of the Bible contributes to the accomplishment of this aim. Therefore, the public schools have adopted programs which approve the teaching of the Bible by other institutions, yet in harmony with the principle of the separation of the church and state as set forth in the Constitution of the United States. By the manifestation of a favorable attitude by the public schools toward the teaching of the Bible, we are assured of a brighter future for our people. The Bible no doubt sets forth the standard of righteousness which gives strength to our Nation, and every child should be enlightened concerning this standard of righteousness in order that we may exercise our leadership in the world of today for the building of a civilization wherein all men may be free to serve one another and to glorify their Creator.