“This is almost certainly not as big a deal as supporters and critics alike suppose. The bill would do much less than either side hopes or fears. We know this because West Virginia isn’t the first state to consider or pass legislation like this in recent years.” - The Week
“The [1619] project, a collaboration between the New York Times Magazine and the Pulitzer organization, has mushroomed into a movement to re-educate Americans with novel claims about how deeply racism is embedded at America’s core. As of February 2020, five public school systems had adopted the 1619 Project’s curriculum district-wide.
“The document has the unwieldy title, ‘Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer and Religious Expression in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools.’ However, it contains pithy truths and robust protections for people of every faith in the nation’s 132,853 K-12 public schools.” - Acton
“In observance of National Religious Freedom Day, President Donald Trump hosted a gathering today (Jan. 16) of students from different religions to affirm the right of students to pray in school.” - BPNews
“A major catalyst for division was the decision of the Cincinnati School Board in 1869 to end Scripture reading in classrooms. Having long objected to Bible study in the city’s schools, Catholics had established their own system of parochial schools.” - The Conversation
“Over those past two decades, while federal policymakers were busy enacting new federal laws, creating mandates for local school leaders, and increasing the Department of Education’s budget from $38 billion in 2000 (unadjusted for inflation) to roughly $70 billion today, the math and reading performance of American high school students remained completely flat.” -
“… our public schools and universities cannot be places where virtue is taught, primarily because we as a society can hardly agree on the meaning of the word. Most of our schools no longer recognize character formation as ‘being the ultimate end of all instruction.’” - Intellectual Takeout
“… whichever way the Court rules, no one’s humanity hangs in the balance. Memes like the one pictured at top, though couched in terms of concern for young people who are different from their peers, don’t really help if they instill in their subjects needless fear, unhappiness, and the belief that the world is out to get them.” - The Bulwark
“…this is the first large-scale, nationally representative survey asking teens a series of questions about their own practices and perceptions regarding religious expressions in public schools.” - BPNews
“As children, they didn’t think to challenge the new adult rules, the new adult ideas of justice. Instead, they found a way around this difficulty that the grown-ups had introduced into their lives. It was a quiet plea to be left alone.” - Mark Ward
