The First Amendment and Its Impact on Education - Essay Example

First Amendment and Education First Amendment and Education The first amendment to the US Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. There are five key educational issues connected to the first amendment. These issues are: The saying of the Pledge of Allegiance in the classroomSaying a prayer at school events.

Coercion of the public concerning religionEndorsement of religion in the classroomPreferential treatment The pledge of allegiance is known by kids everywhere. It does have the words ‘one Nation under God’ near the end. However, this considered to be coercion when led by a teacher. Coercion is forcing some one to do something that they do not wish to do. But how can it be coercion? Those against the Pledge say that, like prayer in the classroom, is completely unconstitutional. But according to the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, it states just the opposite.

The Constitution states that whether or not these are religious exercises, they shall not be impeded. No one forces students to partake in the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance and schools do not give preferential treatment to those that do. However, if a school decides to have an election for a student to present a message at a sports event of the school, then they should be able to. If, the student chooses to say a prayer so be it. Religion is stamped all over history. From the earliest days of man to the Holocaust to the Spanish Inquisition to the Reformation and to the Founding Fathers of our great Nation, religion was always there and prevalent in society.

Thus, a student will never escape religion in his studies. In conclusion, if a person tries to stamp out prayer or the Pledge of Allegiance in schools by saying it is unconstitutional, then they are going to have to over haul all of the history texts that students study. Studying history may coerce our students into believing that there is a GOD.References(2005). Battle over the pledge. World Reader, 2-3.Griffin, A. P. U.S. Supreme Court, (2000). Prayer at public games constitutional?Munoz, V. (2005). Saving the pledge.

First Things, 8-10.Parsley, J. C. U.S. Supreme Court, (2000). Prayer at public games constitutional? (2003). Stand on ceremony. Ebsco Publishing.