Teaching Relgion

As I looked through the results of the surveys, I was really surprised that 38% of the people questioned strongly agreed that the U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation. Since the United States is a secular nation, it’s strange that people believe that the constitutionally national religion is Christianity. After reading the overview, I became more curious about how religion is taught and why. I read the article called “Teaching about Religion” which explains why religion should be taught in public schools and in what way. The article explained how without learning about religion, students would not be receiving a complete education because of the significant role religion has played in the history of the world and the culture within our own society. Before reading this, I hadn’t really considered the positives of learning about religion and the different religions found throughout the world. When I think about all my years of schooling and how much we have actually learned about religion, I realize that I cannot imagine if that knowledge was never available to us. Learning about religion helps students gain a better understanding of the world and the people within it. It contributes to a better society, teaching students to understand each other’s religious differences instead of making fun of them for things they do not know anything about. The guidelines of teaching about religions in public schools are simply to be sure what is taught is in agreement with the constitution, educationally sound, and sensitive to the beliefs of both students and their parents. Although I am not religious myself, I think that it is very important for students to learn about all the different religions. With the right to practice any religion of our choice, Americans also have the responsibility to educate themselves on all religions, even if they believe in something different.

"7 Days in September"

Although I missed the last half of the movie, “7 Days in September” affected the way that I view the tragedy of September 11^th, 2001. Because I was so young when it happened, I never really or knew what was actually happening in New York. It was really scary to actually see the building collapse, and all the smoke that it produced. It’s sad to see all the people that were affected by event because they gave the situation human characteristics and feelings. This movie also proved how this tragedy brought the people o f the United States together. People were all helping each other during and after the buildings collapsed. It was nice to see everyone working together and helping one another despite the differences that normally separate them. It’s sad that it seems that Americans need something tragic to happen in order to come together. Despite the multiple times that this has happened and the country finally seems united, we always fall back into our old ways instead of learning from these experiences and seeing the good in working together.

Speech Codes

Speech codes are defined as any policy or regulation by a university to limit or prohibit any expression protected by the First Amendment by society at large. They draw boundary lines between "acceptable" speech and "unacceptable" speech. Most speech codes deal with language that will negatively influence other people at a school or university. Although they may be a slight infringement on our rights to free speech, they are there for the security and well being of a school and the students attending it. School is meant for learning, and it is very important for students to feel safe and comfortable in their learning environment. No student should be scared to go to school because of their peers taunting and harassing them.
But, along with speech codes, I think that it is equally important for a school to respect and protect the rights of their students. They should be able to ask questions, voice their opinions, and own their own opinions. If students act on their opinions in violent or negative ways, they would disrupt the learning process, which is why speech codes are important.