Charles+Haynes+columns
Page 4 of 5
Schools have important role in preventing another Littleton
By Charles Haynes Even before the last funeral in Littleton, the finger-pointing was already fast and furious. Who's to blame?
05.09.99
Limits on school prayer protect rights of all people
By Charles Haynes Why does prayer — more than any other religion-in-schools issue — inspire so much deep emotion and so many strong convictions?
05.02.99
Character education real need in schools
By Charles Haynes Ironically, the column I am writing focuses on a report released earlier today calling for schools of education to prepare teachers to teach good character. The news from Colorado makes the report's message even more urgent.
04.25.99
Internet's power, variety fuels new school debates
By Charles Haynes The Internet revolution gives public school students and teachers access to all kinds of information — the good, the bad and the ugly.
04.18.99
War puts U.S. religious freedom in perspective
By Charles Haynes Meditations on evil acts committed in Kosovo out of religious and ethnic hatred.
04.11.99
Easter challenges schools to weigh religions, freedom
By Charles Haynes Passing a church the other evening, I noticed a poster of a big, brown bunny on the front door. The caption read: 'Easter is more than a fuzzy feeling.'
04.04.99
Coach is out of line by leading prayers
By Charles Haynes Locker-room prayer by the coach may or may not bring victory on the basketball court, but it's bound to lose in a court of law.
03.28.99
Lack of trust key factor in school suit over religious issues
By Charles Haynes Here we go again. Three Catholic families are suing a New York school district for promoting 'Satanism and occultism, pagan religions and New Age spirituality.'
03.21.99
Schools, teachers need tools to handle religion
By Charles Haynes If we're ever going to take religious liberty seriously in the public schools, we'll need people like Susan Mogull in every school district.
03.14.99
List of top stories overlooks religion
By Charles Haynes Americans love lists. But religion barely makes the cut on a recent list of the 100 top stories of the century.
03.07.99
Editing Pledge of Allegiance raises constitutional question
By Charles Haynes Students at California high school stir new debate on government establishment of religion.
02.28.99
Rule for religious clubs remains simple: Give equal treatment
By Charles Haynes What is it about religious clubs in public schools that continues to trigger so many silly lawsuits?
02.21.99
Devotional programs invite legal problems
By Charles Haynes A public school isn't the local church. Nor is it the temple, mosque or synagogue.
02.14.99
Suspension for refusal to wear school uniform brings suit
By Charles Haynes When little Aaron refused to wear his school uniform last fall, he was suspended from school. Now his great-grandmother has to drive Aaron 400 miles a week to a private school she can't afford.
02.07.99
Satanism in school poses First Amendment challenge
By Charles Haynes Ten years ago, questions about Satanic symbols and activities in public schools were mostly hypothetical. Not anymore.
01.31.99
Utah schools turn to 3Rs to cope with challenge of religious diversity
By Charles Haynes Working in Utah this past week, I met scores of public school teachers and administrators committed to the religious-liberty principles of the First Amendment.
01.24.99
Action by teachers in French town raises questions around globe
By Charles Haynes Last week an obscure incident in a little French town raised important questions for Americans about the meaning of religious liberty.
01.17.99
Re-enacting religious events invites trouble
By Charles Haynes When a fourth-grade class in California held a 'Court of Honor' recently, some administrators weren't sure if the activity belonged in a public school.
01.10.99
Legal fights mark year in religion
By Charles Haynes There were fewer lawsuits and angry fights about religion in the public schools in 1998 — but still far too many.
01.03.99
Constitution lays path for coexistence
By Charles Haynes For millions of American Jews, Christians, and Muslims, this month of bombs and impeachment is also a time for renewal of faith and hope.
12.27.98
Schools fret over sermonettes
By Charles Haynes Most Americans agree that public-school officials shouldn't promote or
denigrate religion.
12.20.98
There's a right way to do holidays in school
By Charles Haynes In many public schools, the holiday season has become the silly season.
12.13.98
Arizona governor's proclamation for National Bible Week brings suit
By Charles Haynes Many governors proclaimed National Bible Week in November, but only one was taken to court for it.
12.06.98
Universal rights remain distant
By Charles Haynes Universal rights remain distant
11.29.98
Thank the Pilgrims for progress
By Charles Haynes As every school kid learns, the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth Colony was a joyous occasion. But what we probably don't learn is that the joy was short-lived. The peace with the Indians would soon be broken.
11.22.98
Extensive series fills gaps in coverage of religion history
By Charles Haynes 'We can't teach much about religion in American history,' a Pennsylvania teacher told me last week.
11.15.98
Parents more supportive when schools keep them informed
By Charles Haynes When parents heard about the 'hot, sexy, and safer' assembly, many were outraged.
11.08.98
Freedom of religion must be for everyone
By Charles Haynes Roger Williams would have been stunned by the praise heaped on him last week in Rhode Island, the colony he founded more than 350 years ago.
11.01.98
Bill gives U.S. means to fight persecution
By Charles Haynes A unanimous Congress? Highly unlikely, if not impossible in these pre-election days of bitter partisanship and party-line votes.
10.25.98
Day of the Dead issue haunting public schools
By Charles Haynes Welcome to the newest addition to the list of holidays most likely to cause conflict in public schools.
10.18.98
Teachers face tough questions about religion
By Charles Haynes 'What can I say to students about my faith?'
10.11.98
Family-life courses need religious touch
By Charles Haynes Religions have much to say about marriage and sexuality. But not a word of it can be found in the health textbooks used in public high schools.
10.04.98
Neutrality depriving schools of religion as learning topic
By Charles Haynes The public-school curriculum virtually ignores religion. Except for brief treatments of the topic in history and sometimes literature, most subjects are taught without any attention to religious ideas or ways of seeing the world.
09.27.98
Schools should be sensitive to religions of minorities
By Charles Haynes Forget the home run race. Litigation has now surpassed baseball as America's favorite national pastime.
09.20.98
Religion back in classroom after 35 years
By Charles Haynes In Abington, Pa., the controversy over religion in the schools has finally come full circle.
09.13.98
Is a 60-second, rote prayer at ball games worth a fight?
By Charles Haynes Football season has arrived, and in small towns across America that means Friday nights in the bleachers, cheering the school to victory. A short prayer over the loudspeaker, a valiant attempt to sing "The Star Spangled Banner," and the game begins. God, country, and football.
09.06.98
American schools, unlike many, teach harmony, not hate
By Charles Haynes Few Americans give this extraordinary achievement a second thought. What people in places like Northern Ireland, the Middle East, and India are literally dying to achieve, we take for granted.
08.31.98
Examining a president's words
By Charles Haynes Thomas Jefferson's famous letter about 'wall of separation between church and state' stirs another debate about the meaning of the First Amendment.
08.23.98
Loss of school tradition needn't tear apart county
By Charles Haynes Northern Alabama can be pretty hot in the middle of August — and I don't just mean the weather. Folks in DeKalb County are still steamed about a federal court injunction aimed at ending school-sponsored religious practices.
08.16.98
How schools can help meet needs of Muslim students
By Charles Haynes When school doors open later this month, America's exploding religious diversity will fill the classrooms.
08.09.98
Schools can avert Exodus 2000
By Charles Haynes Most public-school teachers react with shock and anger when they first hear about Exodus 2000. That's the movement calling for all Christians to leave public schools by the year 2000.
08.02.98
'A Vision of Religious Liberty in Schools'
By Charles Haynes Text of testimony by Charles C. Haynes before the United States Commission on Civil Rights, given May 20, 1998.
05.20.98
Public schools confront the 'December dilemma'
By Charles Haynes Ringing fills the air here at the First Amendment Center, but the tune is not "Jingle Bells." Angry parents and confused principals are on the other end of the phone line, calling about Christmas in the schools.
11.30.97
Court protects students wearing religious symbols
By Charles Haynes A pop quiz: What's the difference between rosary beads and gang symbols? A yarmulke and a baseball cap?
11.23.97
Schools that ignore society's religious roots are off base
By Charles Haynes At Thanksgiving 12 years ago, an editorial cartoon depicted a little boy giving a class presentation in a public school. The caption read: "The Pilgrims came here seeking freedom of you-know-what. When they landed, they gave thanks to you-know-who. Because of them, we can worship each Sunday you-know-where."
11.16.97
Schools must convey message that parents are always welcome
By Charles Haynes With tears in her voice, the mother of two small children called to complain that she was being ignored by her school district. She had just transferred her kids from a religious school, and she was anxious to know what they would be taught in public school.
11.10.97
Network provides means to bridge abortion chasm
By Charles Haynes If there's one issue that most defies 'finding common ground,' it's abortion. Not since the fight over the abolition of slavery have Americans been so deeply divided and the public debate so hostile and angry.
11.02.97
By definition, tolerance is not always a virtue
By Charles Haynes Strange as it may seem, 'tolerance' is now a fighting word in some school districts.
10.18.97
Unhappy parents protest Halloween activity in school
By Charles Haynes Like a ghoul that rises from its grave in one of those awful horror movies, the Halloween controversy just won't go away.
10.12.97
Church party legal, but must be dealt with sensitively
By Charles Haynes Oklahoma teacher says principal told him there could be no Christmas party for his second-graders at local church.
10.05.97
Page last updated: 5/2/2013 3:39:44 AM
