A minute a day of silence adds up to around 3 hours a school year. For each pupil, three hours wasted each school year, with no learning accomplished.

Conservatives, aren't you able to beseech your god(s) (or whatever) on YOUR OWN TIME, not someone else's??? Damn!

Herman, are you serious? I don't think one minute a day for a moment of silence is really that much of a big deal. I just don't see what the problem is.

Wow Herman, recess and nap time must have driven you close to the edge in elementary.

Ah, Texas.

Tell me, why is it necessary to have a state-mandated moment of silence? Kids can pray all they want, at recess.

"A minute a day of silence adds up to around 3 hours a school year. For each pupil, three hours wasted each school year, with no learning accomplished."

Right. Even worse than daydreaming and staring out the window during algebra.

BTW, that judge was nominated by Bill Clinton. Go figure.

Now if the trial was allowing kids to take a moment of silence when the school has no policy for it, I'd guess the judge would rule against the moment of silence in a heartbeat.

Although I believe the moment of silence should be allowed, it does come at the price of increasing government control of your kids. 3 steps forward, 1 step back.

A reasonable decision, as far as I am concerned.

--|PW|--

I do not get this moment of silence thing. We do a 17 minute sustained silent reading time every day. The goal was that our reading scores would improve. I teach seniors in high school (government by the way) Many of them choose to have 17 minutes of silence but do not read, they hold books, they daydream, they look around to see if I'm watching them. Policing the policy is the biggest pain in the ass of my day. I am not going to be able to make them read unless electric shock is brought back, we all read the same book and there are tests, or I give them money to prove that they read what they were supposed to have read. In California most schools have this policy and it ends up being the biggest waste of time.
So I believe that any time a kid wants to daydream during algebra class could fill in the time with a prayer or meditation if the mood struck, a state mandated moment is ridiculous. Does anyone else here teach and deal with the same stuff, or do you all have real jobs where moments of silence, wasting three hours a year are proven to be an increase in staff production?

Where are all those who complain about the big government nanny state?