Religious Issues in Public schools
Ethical dilemma is a complex situation that often involves apparent mental
conflict between moral imperatives in which to obey one result in transgressing
another.
Our case study is about a school music teacher who is a devout Christian and
tends to choose songs with Christian messages and lyrics that refer to Jesus and
God. Some of her students are of diverse religious background and feel
uncomfortable using these lyrics. The ethical issue here bothers on religion and the
question here is should the teacher choose such as a part of her curriculum?
It is assumed that the school is a public school, a government establishment
which is prohibited by law to promote religion in anyway either directly or through
any of its officials.
Going by precedent landmark cases, such as DOES v. Enfield, Tinker v. Des
Moines Independent Community School District, the use of religious songs by a
school or any of its officials is prohibited and has legal consequences. This is
supported by the Texas Code of Ethics sections 1.7, 3.2, and 3.4 and the NEA
principle 1, commitments 1, 3, 5, and 6a, all of which explain the responsibilities
of the teacher to the students, their learning, participation and safety in the school
environment.
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The students with a different religion and those with no religious affiliations
will be gravely affected in this case. Also to be considered are the school, teacher
and community that will be directly or indirectly impacted.
To prevent a re-occurrence of this incident, the administrator has to ensure
the teacher uses general songs/music that will not offend any of the students or
cause them mental and/or emotional trauma; or otherwise prevent them from
participating in the learning process. He may need to review the Code of Ethics
with the teacher to reiterate the expected and proper classroom conduct.
The consequences and cost of this incident to the school, its officials and the
community need to be assessed. Identified among these are the students feeling
uncomfortable attending the class, the teacher feeling her religious rights and
freedom of expression are being violated. Parents may be compelled to
continuously monitor the teacher/school for more of this and other improper
conducts. These make the school vulnerable to legal issues.
It is the responsibility of the school administrator to call a meeting of all
parties involved to resolve the issue amicably out of court. However, if this does
not satisfy the parent(s), they should be advised to petition the school board.
As an added precaution, the administrator should hold a review session with
the teacher in this case, or the entire school staff so that the teacher does not feel
deliberately singled out for incompetence and/or violation of rules and regulations.
This is in conformity with the Texas Code of Ethics rule 247.1, sections d (1), (2),
and (3).
The administrator will commit to ensuring that the actions taken do not lead
to any negative consequences to the teacher, other school officials, the students and
parents, and the community. If it does, the consequences should be mitigated
against.
The issue of religion in public schools is not new. Teachers, school officials
and the school as an entity are prohibited by law from promoting religious
activities, as representatives of the state. This is noted in the first amendment
clause on religious rights. However, the first amendment clause also allows
students to act independently on religious activities such as clubs, bible study
groups, praying before eating or any other activity, and such as is desired as long
as it does not cause disruption of activities. It is expedient that every teacher abides
by the Codes of Ethics to avoid further problems in the future.
Thank you