eligion In United States Public Schools Essay Example for Free

eligion In United States Public Schools Essay The answer of the question is that students should be allowed to express any religion in United States Public Schools. I based my answer on the fundamental principles of the state with respect to the right to practice religion as well as my personal opinion. Therefore, I would like to submit that students in the United States should be allowed to practice any religion based on the separation of the church and state principle coined by the First Amendment of the Constitution. Other relevant instances and facts will also be used to explain this proposal like opposition of students of the mandatory prayer in school as well as the personal choice to express one’s religion through prayer. One reason that the students must be allowed to practice their own religion in schools is that it was the intention of the state that there will be a separation between the church and the state. All About History mentioned that the separation of the church and the state has been considered as part ad parcel of the legitimate, historical and political structure of the government and protects our freedom to practice religion (â€Å"Separation of Church and State†). In addition, it was also opined by Tripod that the separation of the church and state is considered a metaphor that well-known all over the world (â€Å"The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State†). This is stated this way because there is really no exact provision of the Constitution that mentioned separation of the church and the state. The idea was impliedly yet strongly mentioned in the Bill of Rights in order to ensure that freedom of religion can be served to the people. The phrase existed because of Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Danbury Baptists that they should not worry because an imaginary wall between the church and the state will be established (â€Å"The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State†). Second argument, the First Amendment of the Constitution clearly mentioned the basic ideals of the state concerning the freedom of religious practice. Volkomer (2001) wrote that, and I quote: â€Å"The First Amendment provides that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances† (425). It is then regarded by the government as a very important right since it was stated in the First Amendment of the Constitution. There is a clear prohibition that the legislature should not enact laws that favors any sectarian groups such that freedom of religion is thereby settled as a rule. If this rule will not be implemented, the very essence of liberty could not be exercised by the people. Imagine how scary on the part of the government to participate in matters those talks about religion when its very goal is to govern the people and not to make them godly. Besides, any governmental intervention on matters of religion would create chaos since we have different religious sects in the society. Political power may be seized by means of religion and everybody will use the name of God. Every religious sect will do everything in its power to influence policy-making in order to serve its interests to the disadvantage of the general welfare. Hence, students should be allowed in school to express their own way of worship and religious homage. Another argument to support the answer that students should be allowed to practice nay religion in public schools is that schools were not built to teach religious doctrines but to teach academic knowledge. It may be true that public schools are under the direction of the government yet the latter has no reason to direct it with regards to the incorporation of religious favor in schools. The mandatory school prayers made or required in some schools raked opposing views by students in public schools. The existence of public schools rests on education and not to basically proselyte. Kids in public schools are enslaved spectators. They are required to perform religious duties that they are not supposed to do either because they belong to other faith and or they have the right to practice their own beliefs. Therefore, the requirement that prayer should become an official element of the school day is improper and insidious (â€Å"Separation of Church and State†). In addition, religion must be treated as a private matter. It should be trifled upon by students in schools. Students in public schools must be given a chance to at least pray on their own decision and not because they were asked to do so. What is the purpose of faith when they should be forced to pray against their beliefs? There is none for that matter. The scheme that religious requirements in public schools be given would result to divisive attitudes of the students. It would create and build walls between students thereby giving them the opportunity to oppress the minority in terms of religious groups. It would disrupt the learning processes of the students in public schools. It must not be disregarded that public schools in America is for all students and not only for a particular group of students. It would be unfair if there were groups of religious believers who are given favorable situations on account of religious domination.

Life and Death in Thomas Do Not Go Gentle and Frosts Stopping by Wood

Life and Death in Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle and Frost's Stopping by Woods  Ã‚        Ã‚   "'Carpe Diem'('seize the day') is a Latin phrase which has come to denote an important literary motif especially common in lyric poetry: the encouragement to make the most of present life while it lasts, or to 'live for the moment," (The UVic Writer's Guide). Both Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle" explore the idea that people should attempt to live life to its fullest. Thomas's poem, written to his father, employs a very emotional, pleading style that deeply appeals to the audience, while Frost's poem, a series of thoughts about his own eventual death, exhibits a more pensive, practical, subtle style that craftily forces the audience to think of their own eventual demise. The themes of the two poems are similar in that both explain that death is impending, that people should not take for granted the time they have left on earth, and that people need courage to face death and to realize when death can wait. Thomas, how ever, strongly believes that people should take an active role in what happens to them during their lives as evident in his fervent, cogent tone, while Frost believes that each person has an appropriate time to die, and that people should try to accomplish their obligations before they let themselves give in to death's temptation. "Do Not Go Gentle" is an emotional plea to Dylan's aging father to stay alive and fight death, without altering his individualism. In other words, Dylan wants his father to take his life into his own hands and control his own destiny. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Thomas 2570), a line that is repeated throughout the poem, best su... ...rature. (1994) 1344. Holbrook, David. Dylan Thomas: The Code of Night. University of London: The Athlone Press, 1972. 196. Holbrook, David. Llareggub Revisted: Dylan Thomas and the State of Modern Poetry. Cambridge: Bowes and Bowes, 1965. 100-101. Kidder, Rushworth M. Dylan Thomas: The Country of the Spirit. Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press, 1984. 94, 187-190, 197. Pritchard, William H. Frost: A Literary Life Reconsidered. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1985. 43. Stanford, Derek. Dylan Thomas. New York: The Citadel Press, 1986. 116-118. Thomas, Dylan. "Do Not Go Gentle." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. (1996) 2570. Waggoner, Hyatt H. "A Writer of Poems: The Life and Work of Robert Frost," The Times Literary Supplement. April 16, 1971, 433-34. Zverev, A. Untitled. Poetry Criticism, Vol. I. 222.    Life and Death in Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle and Frost's Stopping by Wood Life and Death in Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle and Frost's Stopping by Woods  Ã‚        Ã‚   "'Carpe Diem'('seize the day') is a Latin phrase which has come to denote an important literary motif especially common in lyric poetry: the encouragement to make the most of present life while it lasts, or to 'live for the moment," (The UVic Writer's Guide). Both Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle" explore the idea that people should attempt to live life to its fullest. Thomas's poem, written to his father, employs a very emotional, pleading style that deeply appeals to the audience, while Frost's poem, a series of thoughts about his own eventual death, exhibits a more pensive, practical, subtle style that craftily forces the audience to think of their own eventual demise. The themes of the two poems are similar in that both explain that death is impending, that people should not take for granted the time they have left on earth, and that people need courage to face death and to realize when death can wait. Thomas, how ever, strongly believes that people should take an active role in what happens to them during their lives as evident in his fervent, cogent tone, while Frost believes that each person has an appropriate time to die, and that people should try to accomplish their obligations before they let themselves give in to death's temptation. "Do Not Go Gentle" is an emotional plea to Dylan's aging father to stay alive and fight death, without altering his individualism. In other words, Dylan wants his father to take his life into his own hands and control his own destiny. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Thomas 2570), a line that is repeated throughout the poem, best su... ...rature. (1994) 1344. Holbrook, David. Dylan Thomas: The Code of Night. University of London: The Athlone Press, 1972. 196. Holbrook, David. Llareggub Revisted: Dylan Thomas and the State of Modern Poetry. Cambridge: Bowes and Bowes, 1965. 100-101. Kidder, Rushworth M. Dylan Thomas: The Country of the Spirit. Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press, 1984. 94, 187-190, 197. Pritchard, William H. Frost: A Literary Life Reconsidered. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1985. 43. Stanford, Derek. Dylan Thomas. New York: The Citadel Press, 1986. 116-118. Thomas, Dylan. "Do Not Go Gentle." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. (1996) 2570. Waggoner, Hyatt H. "A Writer of Poems: The Life and Work of Robert Frost," The Times Literary Supplement. April 16, 1971, 433-34. Zverev, A. Untitled. Poetry Criticism, Vol. I. 222.   

Foreign Literature Essay

Last night I was at the presentation of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, at the National Portrait Gallery, where a young Angolan writer, Josà © Eduardo Agualusa, was announced the 2007 winner for his novel The Book of Chameleons, translated from the Portuguese by Daniel Hahn. Set in contemporary Angola, the book is particularly notable for being narrated by a lizard. The judges this year were the poet David Constantine, writer and editor Jennie Erdal, Arts Council Literature officer Kate Griffin, novelist Ali Smith and the literary editor of the Independent, Boyd Tonkin. Admirably the prize is shared between the translator and author, thus honouring an art that often goes unsung. The book was evidently a popular choice and Agualusa received his award in person, accompanied by whoops and cheers. Tonkin extols the prize as â€Å"a unique bridge between writers abroad and readers at home†. As thrilled as I was that this talented newcomer beat such literary heavyweights as Ismail Kadare and Javier Marà ­as, however, I was even more delighted that the award honours a small literary publisher, Arcadia, who recently celebrated their 10th anniversary. The dedicated team at Arcadia are worthy recipients of this prestigious award, not just for bringing this imaginative young writer to an English readership, but overall for their championing of cultural diversity and for widening our literary choice – 50% of their 2007 lists are books in translation. Given the effects of globalisation elsewhere, it seems astonishing that we don’t translate more foreign literature in this country. Apparently, translated fiction accounts for only 3% of fiction sales in the UK, compared with 30-40% in France or Spain. The British are voracious readers, so why are we so insular? Don’t we welcome unusual voices and different perspectives? How can we exert pressure on publishers to produce more translated fiction? For those interested in foreign literature, an excellent resource is Words Without Borders, an online magazine dedicated to promoting international exchange through translation and publishing works/extracts on the web. And if you’d like to see Josà © Eduardo Agualusa and Daniel Hahn, they’ll be reading from The Book of Chameleons this evening at Foyles bookshop, London, 6.30pm – 8.30pm.

Killing Reagan By Bill O Reilly And Martin Dugard

Killing Reagan was wrote by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard as a part of their series to talk about the deaths, assassination, and near deaths of certain historical people. O’Reilly and Dugard write about the events leading up to the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan including discussing the attempted assassin, John Hinckley, and the events after up until his death. The authors present the viewpoint as if one were there to witness the lives of the people in the book. Killing Reagan talks about the politics during Reagan’s life and presidency to tell about who Ronald Reagan was and his ideas that influenced a presidency. Some things a reader may want to know before starting this book is a basic idea of the events and politics of the twentieth century, especially those after WWII. Overall, it is easy for just about anyone to understand. Killing Reagan starts the prologue with the sentence â€Å"The man who has one minute to live is no longer confused (O’Reilly and Dugard 1)† as he discusses who is in the room with him, including his two kids, Ron and Patti, and his wife, Nancy Reagan. The authors also talk about what caused his death, dementia that started ten years ago that caused him to not make a public appearance in that time period. The authors go into the first chapter discussing the winning debate that probably gave him the presidency that happened a week before the election. The authors then talk about how former President Carter won past debates against Gerald R.Show MoreRelatedKilling Lincoln By Bill O Reilly And Martin Dugard1609 Words   |  7 PagesKilling Lincoln by Bill O Reilly and Martin Dugard is a book that captures the days leading up to and surrounding President Abraham Lincoln’s death. The purpose of this book is to give the reader insight about anything relating to President Abraham Lincoln in his final days. Bill O’Reilly hosts his own news television show called â€Å"The O’Reilly Factor† which is aired on the Fox News Channel where he talks about political issues. He has written many other books with Dugard like Killing Kenn edy: The