Charles Haynes columns

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Religion is core to child's growth
By Charles Haynes An upset parent called her child's principal recently to complain that the teacher was using stories from the Bible to teach about Judaism and Christianity in sixth grade. The principal tried to explain that the teacher was using a new curriculum, called "core knowledge," that calls for teaching about these religions, not promoting them.  09.28.97

Diversity plays havoc with school calendars
By Charles Haynes Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins in 10 days. And so will problems for many Jewish students who will miss school that day.  09.21.97

Religious liberty threatened worldwide
By Charles Haynes India's state funeral for Mother Teresa was fitting but ironic: If she were just arriving in India, the same government that honored her yesterday would deny her a resident visa.  09.14.97

Can charter schools be separated from religious foundation?
By Charles Haynes Charter schools — the hottest trend in public education — are igniting First Amendment controversies in communities nationwide.  09.07.97

'Time out for religion' making a comeback
By Charles Haynes Whatever happened to 'released time' for religious instruction during school hours?  08.31.97

Communities arguing Bible's role in schools
By Charles Haynes This unhappy conflict has been with us since the earliest days of the common school movement in the 19th century.  08.24.97

Religion does have a common ground
By Charles Haynes Can the Southern Baptist Convention, the American Jewish Congress, People for the American Way and the Christian Legal Society find common ground?  08.17.97

TV ignores America when it ignores religion
By Charles Haynes How strange that most textbooks used in American public schools largely ignore religion.  08.10.97

Return to teacher-led prayers isn't the solution
By Charles Haynes The familiar argument goes like this: When we took prayer and Bible reading out of schools, 'crime, drugs, and other problems followed.' Actually, history suggests otherwise.  08.03.97

Neutrality is answer to religion in schools
By Charles Haynes Pity the poor public school teacher. In the middle of a history lesson about Martin Luther, a student stated emphatically: 'My church teaches that anyone who believes that is going to hell.'  08.03.97

Don't take religious freedom lightly
By Charles Haynes After hours of participants talking past one another, a school board meeting in New York disintegrated into a shouting match over the use of religious symbols in the school lobby.  07.27.97

Outdated terms give opportunities to teach
By Charles Haynes Teachers shouldn't be afraid to use primary sources, even those with terms that may offend us today.  07.13.97

Religion should be excluded from coach's game plan
By Charles Haynes While your coach may be sincerely motivated, he may not use his position as coach or teacher to promote his religion.  07.06.97

Court ruling reduces religious liberty
By Charles Haynes Religious liberty in public schools suffered a serious blow this week. The Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed by Congress in 1993 to prohibit the government from substantially burdening the free exercise of religion.  06.28.97

Preparation, resources essential for schools to teach about religion
By Charles Haynes When the basics about religions are taught in public schools, how can we be sure that teachers will give accurate information?  06.22.97

Prayer group's posters OK in certain instances
By Charles Haynes If the prayer group is a student extracurricular club, it must be treated like all other extracurricular clubs in the school.  06.16.97

Ethnic, racial division of pupils hinders well-rounded education
By Charles Haynes How should a teacher deal with a situation where parents have requested that their child be kept from associating with another child within the same class?  06.08.97

Memorial service at school OK with right approach
By Charles Haynes If a student or school official dies, is it constitutional to have a memorial service in the public school?  06.01.97

Follow Equal Access Act in student religious clubs
By Charles Haynes In too many school districts, the confusion and controversy surrounding student religious clubs have led to ugly and expensive lawsuits.  05.25.97

It's time to move on in debate over origins
By Charles Haynes What is being done to address the controversy about teaching evolution and creationism in the public schools?  05.18.97

First Amendment protects cults, too
By Charles Haynes Members of all religious groups, including those labeled "cults," have First Amendment right to practice their faith free from governmental interference, Charles Haynes writes.  05.13.97

Civility best lesson on homosexuality
By Charles Haynes How do we reconcile the desire of many educators to promote tolerance with the concerns of many conservative religious parents?  05.11.97

Teachers have beliefs, but shouldn't push them
By Charles Haynes What should parents do if they do not want their child taught by a teacher with a particular worldview?  05.04.97

Sex education ought to emphasize basic ethical values of community
By Charles Haynes Health education, particularly in the area of human sexuality, should not be limited to a factual treatment.  04.27.97

Rulings on prayers at graduation conflict
By Charles Haynes Unfortunately, there is no clear legal answer to your question because the lower courts are divided about the constitutionality of student-initiated, student-led prayers at graduation exercises.  04.20.97

Schools should teach values found in Constitution
By Charles Haynes Some parents have misgivings about character-education programs because they are concerned that schools will adopt approaches that undermine religious convictions.  04.06.97

Concerned parents should follow fair, clear route
By Charles Haynes What is the best way for a parent to express concern about a school practice that he or she opposes without creating a hostile attitude toward the child on the part of school officials?  03.30.97

Holocaust role-playing misses mark
By Charles Haynes While this assignment may not be unconstitutional, it is highly inappropriate for at least three reasons.  03.23.97

No one loses when specific disputes lead to broad solutions
By Charles Haynes The approach taken in South Orangetown suggests that when a crisis erupts over a specific religious-liberty issue, school officials and community members should take the opportunity to address a range of related issues.  03.16.97

Teaching religion's role is not teaching religion
By Charles Haynes How can American teachers be educated to teach about religion with accuracy and depth?  03.09.97

Statement backs parents' importance in education
By Charles Haynes Educators do have a crucial role to play in the lives of students. But parents don't abdicate their parental rights or duties by sending children to school.  03.02.97

Adults can't evangelize on campus
By Charles Haynes Under the First Amendment, public school officials must be careful to protect the religious-liberty rights of students of all faiths or none.  02.23.97

'Moment of silence' has limits
By Charles Haynes If the practice does not encourage prayer over any other quiet, contemplative activity, it is constitutional.  02.16.97

First Amendment framework keeps religious discussions civil
By Charles Haynes If the public school is doing something either to promote or denigrate religion, then the First Amendment has been violated.  02.09.97

Teachers' rights don't end in class
By Charles Haynes Public school teachers, like all citizens, enjoy the full religious-liberty rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.  02.02.97

Students free to give out Bibles
By Charles Haynes Generally, students have the right to distribute religious literature on public school grounds. The school, however, may impose reasonable time, place and manner restrictions.  01.26.97

Equality is neutrality on religion
By Charles Haynes The Supreme Court has ruled that a public school must permit religious groups to use its facilities on the same basis as other community groups.  01.16.97

Schools should be fair, objective in teaching Bible
By Charles Haynes Under the First Amendment, public schools may teach about the Bible as long as the presentation is fair and objective and part of the study of literature or history.  01.12.97

Players have right to pray
By Charles Haynes Students have the right to pray, alone or in groups, as long as they aren't disruptive and don't interfere with the rights of others.  01.05.97

Public school's approach to religion should be academic
By Charles Haynes Many school districts lurch from crisis to crisis with no clear policy or guidelines on how to deal with religion in the curriculum.  12.29.96

Sex-education plan demands consensus
By Charles Haynes Moral values widely shared in the community, including abstinence, may be taught by public school teachers.  12.22.96

Tutoring programs: a good thing
By Charles Haynes Schools should do as much as possible to involve the larger community, including business, religious, and civic organizations, in support of public education.  12.15.96

Separating education, celebration
By Charles Haynes There seems to be a great deal of confusion about what to do about Christmas in the public schools.  12.08.96

End religion war before it begins
By Charles Haynes While there may be some risk in raising issues when there is no apparent conflict, the greater risk is to do nothing.  12.01.96

Schools' use of religion acceptable
By Charles Haynes But not if officials put up religious or anti-religious messages on a permanent basis.  11.24.96

Head off squabbles over school clubs with proper plans
By Charles Haynes A clear policy on student clubs that is widely understood and supported in the community will help prevent a crisis.  11.10.96

Clergy visiting class can teach, not preach
By Charles Haynes Teaching about religious practices and beliefs in a history class is fine; preaching or involving the students in a religious practice is not.  11.03.96

Page last updated: 10/1/2013 6:56:48 PM