Understanding the Role of Religion in Public Schools

The Academy for Educational Studies at Missouri State University wants to know the role religion plays in today’s public school system. So would I for that matter. So the group is hosting a conference to address that very issue on October 3-5. This will include many national speakers and educational philosophers as well as the ACLU and the Alliance Defense Fund.

Should prove to be a good time as the ACLU and the Alliance Defense Fund will be part of a final panel discussion on Friday, Oct. 5, 1:15 - 3 pm at the Plaster Student Union Ballroom on the MSU campus. There will also be a religious panel discussion consisting of local clergy on Oct. 3 at 10 am.

I cannot post all of the information, but here is a list of the seminar titles:

• Educational Vouchers and School Choice
• Federal Policies and the Public Schools
• Religious Talk and School Counseling
• Religion and School: What Students Say
• Getting Students to Think Critically about Religion
• Religion Class and Religious Literacy
• Religion and Public Schools: A Comparison of the Law in the US
• School Prayer and the Law
• Using Expressive Techniques to Explore Spirituality
• Religion and the Schools: Implications for Educators/Administrators
• The Public Religion of the Public Schools
• The Role of Spirituality in Higher Education
• Religion and Literature
• Listening to the Philosophers
• The Effusion of Religion and Spirituality in the Classroom
• Student and Parent Voices
• Religion and the Teaching of Science
• International Perspectives
• Understanding Unbelief as part of Religious Education
• The View from a Faith-based Liberal Arts College
• The Intersection of Religion and Democratic Community
• Dogma, Privilege, and Lifestyle Issues
• Religion, Schools and the Law
• The Religious Voice (panel discussion of area ministers)
• Technology, War and the Internet
• Panel Discussion: What Role Should Religion Play in the 21st Century Public School?

I’m hoping that some of my education teachers will cancel class on Wednesday so that I may attend the event. It is a conference hosted by the Academy, which is part of the College of Education. I’m off on Thursdays and Fridays so I will be able to go on those days.

Click here for more information.