Reflecting on Religious Expression and School Prayer Essay

This country is comprised of individuals from various ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic groups, sexual orientations, and faith traditions. Whether it relates to race, class, religion or any other category where one resides in the dominant group, it is tempting not to become oppressive and fail to show mutual respect to the diverse cultures and beliefs of other groups. Furthermore, as educational leaders, we must be equipped with knowledge around policies related to the above mentioned, so that we can enforce such and build upon those that need refining. In reflecting on religious expression and school prayer, it is important to realize the current legal issues and policies that should inform the regulation of such within the context of the†¦show more content†¦Any school promotion or endorsement of a students private religious activity is unconstitutional. There have been various acts across schools within this country to discriminate and demean students within schools because they follow faith traditions different than that of the dominant group. Thus, it is important to realize that though as a school body one cannot endorse or promote one religion or faith-tradition over another, as educational leaders we also should not engage in discrimination and disrespect for faith believes that do not align with ours or allow other students and staff to engage in such. Rather we must work to promote multicultural acceptance and mutual respect, celebrating the rich diversity among all individuals and groups. Landmark Cases There are three landmark cases most relevant to the discussion on religious expression and school prayer. Engle v. Vitale is a case where the Court held that recitation of a prayer composed by the New York State Board of Regents, which was to be said in the presence of a teacher at the beginning of school each day, was unconstitutional and in violation of the Establishment Clause. School District of Abington Township v. Schempp presents a case where the Court held that reading the Bible for sectarian purposes and reciting the Lord’s Prayer in public schools during normal hours were unconstitutional; however, the Court asserted that the Bible could be read as literature inShow MoreRelated Religion and Prayer Must Not be Permitted in Public School Essay1823 Words   |  8 Pagescountry was made up of people from more than one religious background, the government had to come up with a way to accommodate all of its citizens. Understanding the countrys diversity, the writers of the Constitution of the United States of America included in the First Amendment the words, Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise therof . . . (Alley, 24). The two parts of the religious freedom declaration became known as the FreeRead More No Prayer in the Public Schools Essay3232 Words   |  13 Pages   Ã‚  Ã‚   Over the past three decades, the issue of the role of prayer in the public school system has become increasingly controversial. The current debate juggles the opposing interpretations of the exact intentions of Americas Founders, who came from an other country, England, in pursuite of expanded freedoms. The first colonists in the 17th century especially desired religious freedom, because their former British government forced them all to learn and practice a centralized religion. ConsequentlyRead MoreAn Idyllic Mental Image Of Eileen1616 Words   |  7 PagesStill of school-age, Stephen’s distant admiration for Eileen initiates his recognition of women as sexual beings and foreshadows the important role women and relationships will play as he matures. When daydreaming about an idyllic mental image of Eileen, Stephen artistically compares her girlish â€Å"long thin cool white hands [to] a Tower of Ivory [and] her fair hair [to] a House of Gold,† (Jo yce 49). Stephen’s meticulous focus on Eileen’s physical features introduces him to viewing females as sexualRead MoreThe Effects Of Effectual Daily Prayer On Mental Health5652 Words   |  23 PagesRunning Head: EFFECTS OF EFFECTUAL DAILY PRAYER 1 EFFECTS OF EFFECTUAL DAILY PRAYER 2 The Effects of Effectual Daily Prayer on Mental Health in Adults Diane T. Bethmann, RN, MSN Student Jennifer M. Wood, MSN, RN Chamberlain College of Nursing Author?s Note Diane T. Bethmann, MSN Student, Chamberlain College of Nursing Jennifer M. Wood, Department of Nursing Faculty, Chamberlain College of Nursing Read MoreEssay on Personal Experience: Sunday Worship1900 Words   |  8 Pageschurch. I walked into the sanctuary prepared to participate in the Sunday School. I found a seat and readied myself to engage in some meaningful discussion. After sitting for several minutes, I asked one of the gentlemen who was standing at the front of the church if they had already started and where was the lesson coming from. He looked at his watch and indicated that he didn’t know if we had time for Sunday School. A puzzled look came over my face and I couldn’t help but express my confusionRead MoreFowler’s Theory of Faith Development: Understanding Prayer3920 Words   |  16 PagesFowler’s Theory of Faith Development: Understanding Prayer PSY 410: The Psychology of Spiritual Development Spirituality and religion play a significant role in shaping the lives of individuals. Regardless of whether you follow the practices of an organized religion, simply believe in the spiritual life force or claim to not ascribe to religious or spiritual traditions, all of these paths affect the way an individual interacts with the world around them. One of the major influences of religionRead MoreCulture and Religion8004 Words   |  33 Pagesstories, and more. It is within this world that our self-understanding takes place. By saying this, we have already stepped into the world of culture. We realize that religion cannot exist without cultural expressions. Religion, however, is not submerged into culture. Cultural expressions and embodiments of religion can and should be challenged by new experiences of faith. This is also true for Christianity of the past. They are a product of a meeting of faith and culture. In this sense, ChristianRead MoreSMSC12647 Words   |  51 Pagesacross the curriculum 19 7 Assessing SMSC in the primary school 27 8 Citizenship in secondary schools 34 9 The Christian ethos of the school and sex and relationships education 38 10 Resources and websites 39 1 Introduction Since the 1988 Education reform Act schools have had a statutory duty to ‘promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society’. The Education (Schools) Act 1992 underlined the importance of this duty by makingRead MoreThe Importance Of Scholarly Research Learning1921 Words   |  8 Pageshighest reported category for Muslim adolescents was adjustment disorder† (p. 107). Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were the second most frequently reported problem at 16.5 percent (Basit, 2010. P.107). Violent behavior at home, at school, or in the community is just 5 percent, and drug abuse is only 3 percent more than likely due to unwillingness to report because of societal perception. Internet/Media Resource Learning In contrast to the scholarly references, internet and media resourcesRead MoreThe Mystical And Contemplative Tradition Of My Faith And Signed Up For Ignatian Spiritual Direction Training3594 Words   |  15 PagesIntroduction At a session during a week of 24 hour daily prayer at our local church, something of the crisis of church in the C21st penetrated my soul. The church rector cried out on behalf of a church in decline. I took note. I had begun to explore the mystical and contemplative tradition of my faith and signed up for Ignatian Spiritual Direction training. I joined with a Christian business colleague to lead a small gathering of women who do not relate to church but who wanted to explore their

Totalitarian Society In The Handmaids Tale By Margaret...

In the book The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood, the story’s setting takes place in a totalitarian city, in which the government forces their will upon on the citizens and chooses what they will do in the future, especially for women. The decreasing birth rates causes the formation of this civilization, but the reader soon learn that the way the government tries to fix this problem is wrong, as it leads to more problems such as trust issues, and the inability to see others as equal. The characters in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale all have unique symbolism that represent a real-world problem of having a totalitarian society and how people would act towards it, that can be seen in their personalities, which allows for the reader†¦show more content†¦Throughout the story, Moira stands for a symbol of hope to our narrator. She expresses this feeling when she says, â€Å"Just to catch sight of a face like that is encouragement. If I could just see Moira, just see her, know she still exists.†(73.) It is clear that one of the motivations for surviving and getting through this way of life is her friend. But as the story goes on we find out that the totalitarianism eventually breaks her down in the end. Offred finds out she is still in the society working a place called Jezebel’s (a strip club), and once she sees that not even Moira who has a â€Å"strong and perseverant† personality couldn’t make it out, she herself begins to lose hope. Moira represents that after a while, a society built like this one, structured after a totalitarian government can break down even the strongest of spirits. She shows the difficulty of escaping this sexual totalitarian government, and how once a part of this society it is hard to escape; But Offred tries to fight this way of thinking, but because everyone is so â€Å"on guard† due to this society structure it eventually leads to trust issues with everyone. The way the society is set up in the story, it has lead to nobody knowing really who they can trust. This especially applies to Offred, since her mind set is †I’ve crossed no boundaries, I’ve given no trust, all is safe.†(160) With thisShow MoreRelatedFeminism In The Handmaids Tale1709 Words   |  7 PagesRepublic of Gilead, a dystopian world with a patriarchal society, is displayed in Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale. More specifically, the novel takes place in what used to be considered the United States but is now being called the Republic of Gilead where freedoms and rights have been excluded, especially for women. The society nurtures a â€Å"theocratic, patriarchal, nightmare world created by men, with the complicity of women† (â€Å"Margaret (Eleanor) Atwood†). The separation of the freedoms between the gendersRead MoreOppression Of Women In The Handmaids Tale1732 Words   |  7 Pagesshown in The Handmaid’s Tale When describing the newly established society in The Handmaid’s Tale, the Commander states that â€Å"better never means better for everyone [...] it always means worse, for some† (Atwood, 244). This accurately describes the nature of patriarchal societies, such as the society that is described by Margaret Atwood in The Handmaid’s Tale. The Republic of Gilead is a patriarchal society that has religious, and patriarchal values that benefit the men in the society, at the expensesRead MoreHandmaids1019 Words   |  5 Pagesalso its language and construction. This notion articulates profoundly within Margaret Atwood’s novel A Handmaid’s Tale as it is, after all, the author’s manipulation of the language and construction which enacts as vehicles towards the reader’s understanding of the content. A Handmaid’s Tale is a confrontational post-modern work of feminist dystopian fiction; it depicts a protagonist’s struggle to adapt to a totalitarian and theocratic state where language has become corrupted. Without any doubtRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1060 Words   |  5 PagesIn a modern-day society, there are ideologies that select groups of people are to be subjugated. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood plays on this idea dramatically: the novel describes the oppression of women in a totalitarian theocracy. Stripped of rights, fertile women become sex objects for the politically elite. These women, called the Handmaids, are forced to cover themselves and exist for the sole purpose of providing children. The Handmaid’s Tale highlights the issue of sexism while alsoRead MoreThe Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Essay2490 Words   |  10 Pagesfreedom from,† (Atwood 24). The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, is a novel set in the near future where societal roles have severely changed. The most notable change is that concerning women. Whereas, in the past, women have been gaining rights and earning more â€Å"freedom to’s†, the women in the society of The Handmaid’s Tale have â€Å"freedom froms†. They have the freedom from being abused and having sexist phrases yelled at them by strangers. While this may seem like a safer society, all of theRead MoreFeminism in Top Girls and The Handmaids Tale Essay1635 Words   |  7 PagesBoth Top Girls and The Handmaid’s Tale relate to contemporary political issues and feminism. Top Girls was written by Caryl Churchill, a political feminist playwright, as a response to Thatcher’s election as a first female British Prime Minister. Churchill was a British social feminist in opposition to Thatcherism. Top Girls was regarded as a unique play about the challenges working women face in the contemporary business world and society at large. Churchill once wrote: ‘Playwrights don’t give answersRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1709 Words   |  7 PagesOne of Atwood’s bestselling novel is Th e Handmaid’s Tale, a disturbing dystopian fiction novel. The Handmaid’s Tale is a complex tale of a woman’s life living in a society that endorses sexual slavery and inequality through oppression and fear. The female characters in Margaret Atwood’s novel demonstrates how these issues affects women’s lives. Offred is the individual with whom we sympathize and experience these issues. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood addresses her perception of the ongoingRead MoreThe And The Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1260 Words   |  6 PagesTherefore, societies should ensure that citizens are free to follow their individual desires for property because property is what ultimately determines the personality and value of each person in society. Nevertheless, totalitarian regimes are forced to restrain both intellectual and private property in order to ensure citizens follow the government’s revolutionary and oppressive rhetoric. Hence, this paper explores the role of property in two of the most well known fundamentalist societies in literatureRead MoreFeminism Lost in Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale Essay1527 Words   |  7 PagesIn Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale, the human spirit has evolved to such a point that it cannot be subdued by complacency. Atwood shows Gilead as an extremist state with strong religious connotations. We see the outcome of the reversal of women’s rights and a totalitarian government which is based on reproduction. Not only is the government oppressive, but we see the female roles support and enable the oppression of other female characters. â€Å"This is an open ended text,†¦conscious of the possibilitiesRead MoreMargaret Atwood : A Social Activist1225 Words   |  5 PagesMargaret Atwood: a Social Activist Through Feminist Literature The 1980s signified the continuation of an era of social and political upheaval in the United States of America. At the forefront was a socially conservative agenda that aimed to rescind women’s rights only ratified less than a decade before, a marked display of the nation’s desire to uphold traditional values that defined the preceding generation (Franà §oise). Among the devastating political climate, however, was Margaret Atwood:

Shakespeare’s Early Life Free Essays

Although we have many records of his life as a citizen of Stratford, including marriage and birth certificates, little is known about William Shakespeare†s early life and formal education. Due to his success, many would assume that Shakespeare was born and raised in a wealthy noble family but he was actually raised in what would have been considered a middle class family in their time. He was born to middle class parents who lived in Henley Street, Stratford. We will write a custom essay sample on Shakespeare’s Early Life or any similar topic only for you Order Now His father, John, a local businessman made a living as a glove maker and owned his own leather shop. He was a well-known and much respected man that held several important local governmental positions including that of Borough ale-taster to bailiff, the highest public position of office in Stratford. William spent most of his childhood in the small English town of Stratford-upon-Avon. In the sixteenth century, the town was an important agricultural center and market place. â€Å"It is safe to assume that Shakespeare attended the local grammar school that was built and maintained expressly for the purpose of educating the sons of prominent citizens with the sons of burgesses attending free. â€Å"The King’s New School was staffed with a faculty of teachers who held Oxford degrees, and whose curriculum included mathematics, natural sciences, Latin language and rhetoric, logic, Christian ethics, and classical literature. â€Å"2 As well as a strong grounding at grammar school, the other significant educational opportunity afforded all middle-class Elizabethans was the mandatory attendance at church where they read either the Geneva or the Bishops’ Bible. The ‘Authorized† or King James Bible was not studied by William, as it was not published until the year 1611. Shakespeare did not continue his education and attend the university, since university education was reserved for prospective clergymen and was not a particularly mind-opening experience. However, the education he received at grammar school was excellent, as evidenced by the numerous classical and literary references in his plays. More impressive than his formal education, however, is the wealth of general knowledge exhibited in his works, from a working knowledge of many professions to a vocabulary that is far greater than any other English writer. William Shakespeare married his wife, twenty-six year old Anne Hathaway, at the age of eighteen. Their first daughter, Susanna, was baptized only six months later, which has given rise to much speculation concerning the circumstances surrounding the marriage. In 1585, twins, Hamnet and Judith Shakespeare, were born to the couple. Hamnet died at the young age of eleven by which time Shakespeare had already become a successful playwright. Around 1589, Shakespeare wrote his first play, Henry VI, Part 1. Sometime between his marriage and writing this play, he and his wife moved to London, where he pursued a career as a playwright and actor. In London, he formed an acting company in which he was shareholder, actor, and playwright. â€Å"1 In 1594 Shakespeare became a charter member of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a group of actors who later changed their name to The King’s Men when they gained the sponsorship of King James I. Just a few years later he was considered the â€Å"principal comedian† for the troupe and then later became the â€Å"principal tragedian. † Despite the fact that during this time acting and playwriting were not considered noble professions; successful and prosperous actors were relatively well respected. Shakespeare was, in fact, very successful in his career and he became quite wealthy in the process. He invested his money in Stratford real estate and was able to purchase the second largest house in Stratford, the New Place, for his parents. In 1596, Shakespeare applied for a coat of arms for his family, in effect making himself into a gentleman, and his daughters married successfully and wealthily. William Shakespeare lived until 1616 while his wife Anna died in 1623 at the age of sixty-seven. He was buried in the chancel of his church at Stratford. While Shakespeare is best known for his plays, he also wrote some of the most beautiful sonnets ever produced in the English language. â€Å"His sonnets employ-and occasionally mock-such traditional Petrarchan themes as blind devotion, the value of friendship, and love†s enslaving power. â€Å"1 Together Shakespeare†s plays and sonnets have had an enormous influence on the development on the Modern English language. More famous than his sonnets, Shakespeare†s plays constitute the most significant corpus of dramatic literature in the world. Secular drama was Renaissance England†s most original contribution to the humanistic tradition. Shakespeare took the plots for most of his plays from classical history, medieval chronicles, and contemporary romances, but he used such stories merely as springboards for the exploration of human nature-the favorite pursuit of all Renaissance humanists. â€Å"1 Love, sex, jealousy, greed, ambition, and self-deception are among the definitive human experiences Shakespeare examined in his plays. It can be concluded that Shakespeare†s drama is the first Western Literature to probe the psychological focus that motivates human action. His plays communicate a profound knowledge of the wellsprings of human behavior as revealed in his masterful characterizations of a wide gamut of humanity. The skillful use of poetic and dramatic means to create a unified aesthetic effect out of a multiplicity of vocal expressions and actions is recognized as an achievement unequaled in other literature. Finally, Shakespeare†s employment of poetry within the plays to express the deepest levels of human motivation in relation to individual, social, and universal situations is considered one of the most astounding accomplishments of the human intellect. How to cite Shakespeare’s Early Life, Papers

Cattle Shed free essay sample

Optimism in ‘The Cattle Shed’ Imagine this: you are confined in a small room as a prisoner, forced to be a laborer because of the political preference Communism, and the love of your life is locked up in his own ‘cattle shed’. How is a person supposed to stay optimistic in these horrible living conditions? In Ding Ling’s â€Å"Sketches from the ‘Cattle Shed’†, the narrator who is placed in solitary confinement due to being a Communist struggles through her everyday life to survive. Most people would be sullen, defeated and angry, but Ling’s narrator embraces glimmers of hope through her lover’s, C. , secret letters. C. is a very important character supporting Ling’s, his letters in the form of poems are inspiring, hopeful and powerful. They relieve the stress of confinement for only a moment, but the lasting effects change her outlook at the end of the story. We will write a custom essay sample on Cattle Shed or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Optimism at a time like this is crucial for the narrator and support from her lover is exactly what she needs, C. chooses his words carefully and subtly eases his lover’s tension. This is shown when the beginning and ending lines of the short story are compared and analyzed. The beginning of the short story starts off as a very vivid description of the prison she is in, Ling uses words like, ‘shrill whistle shrieking’, ‘ear piercing sound’, ‘darkness’, and ‘naked electric light bulb’ (142). Ling sets the tone of the story right from the beginning, using this depressing language to enhance the miserable atmosphere she has been placed in. There is hopelessness in the language used at the initial setting described by Ling. Because of the weighted controversy, the reader expects the narrator to continue with her feelings of hopelessness and defeat. However, when the letters by C. are introduced, they fill the narrator with feelings of optimism and inner strength. The letters by C. are very political and poetic. He is acting as a support system for her, to ease the realities of confinement. When Ling receives these letters she describes them as ‘treasures’ and that â€Å"they would accompany me through the world to the end of my days† (150) giving the sense that these are extremely important and vital to her survival- at all times. It is these ‘treasures’ that give her the power to keep her head up high and also reflect on the positive messages from her husband.. She adores them so much that she says, ‘.. poetic exhortations that I recited so often and which became indelibly imprinted on my heart. † (149) There are many key phrases and words that infer this type of optimism In these letters, C. carefully selects optimistic phrases and words like: â€Å"You must live on! †, â€Å"Hope lies in the struggles of your waves. †, â€Å"Forget the names of those people who harmed you; hold fast to the names of those who stretched out a helping hand in times of difficulty. (149), and â€Å"Straighten your back; fearlessly live on. † (150). Each sentence, carefully written and thought out, were subtle ways to strengthen that hope, to give Ling any small amount of happiness to hold on to. Although Ling still feels like a captive and cannot bear to be away from her lover, she realizes, â€Å"He sought to bring a smile to my face with his optimistic words, but I was already incapable of smiling† (155). Ling feels like she has nothing left to look forward to, she cannot even bear to smile at her husband for the last time. She doesn’t understand that it will be the last time seeing each other, but the fact that she does realize that he is putting in the effort to put her emotions before his own shows that she’s embracing the optimism not by choice but for her undying love for C. The language that is used at the end of the novel, more specifically the last sentence, shows the transfer of C. ’s hope, into the emotions of Ling’s narrator. It reads, â€Å"His arm was raised high, as if in a carefree, joyous, warm farewell to a friend setting out on a journey to distant parts† (155). The language used here ‘carefree, joyous, warm’ all contrast with the hollow hopeless words from the beginning. If she had not been touched by his uplifting words in the letters, the language to describe his departure would be more depressing and heart-wrenching. By looking closely at the beginning and the ending of the short story, the reader can see how his poems/letters shaped her negative, worrisome thoughts into becoming more freeing and positive.