Aibu-Prayer in Florida

[Britishmumspelledmom]

I am British so is DH but we both live in the US (Florida) with our kids. DS is 14 and DD is 10 we are all non religious and prayer is never something that has come up. However, Ron Desantis (the governor) has now signed a law requiring all schools to have a 1-2 minute silence every day so students can pray if they want. They say if not religious they can just remain quiet. Aibu to be annoyed about this as it feels like DS and DD are being treated as less important that their religious students. Aibu?

I wouldn’t be bothered. Two mins for them to switch off and daydream!

It depends how it is organised. If the school start some sort of organised prayer, or singing then I think it would be very unreasonable.

If it's not organised, then I think it won't be taken very seriously by the children.

Every school in the UK is required to have an element of collective worship (ie. assembly) where they often use the time to pray. The students who don't want to join in can sit silently. This has been the case for decades.

So yes, you are being unreasonable. Your children are not being treated as less important. It's good to spend a couple of minutes to clear your head before starting work, so your children will benefit. They'll also be taught to understand respect.

YABU.

I actually think this is a great idea whether religious or not.

Yanbu that it's unacceptable to introduce religion by stealth in US schools.

However it's 1-2 minutes a day. If you were in the UK, your younger child would attend a daily act of collective worship of a broadly Christian nature even in non-religious schools. You can withdraw your child (and a few do) but even non-religious kids end up holding their hands together in prayer as they assume that's what they are supposed to do and that sitting still and quiet is perfectly acceptable.

Florida has far bigger problems than this, although it is symptomatic of DeSantis' conservative/ bigoted views.

I don't see how your children are considered less important. They are given the same opportunity to pray as all other students. I actually think that this is a pretty good way of handling it (can't believe I'm conceding that Ron Desantis has actually made a half-decent decision)

I think if you coach your children in either meditation or in some other productive use of the time (thinking about goals for the day or reflecting on yesterday) then it could be a real positive for them.

It sounds like a crock but as you’ve said, prayer is not compulsory. So they don’t pray, they just think about something else for two minutes. I’m sure they’ll manage it.

Your kids can't keep quiet and think of something else for 2minutes. Ridiculous. Fgs.

YABU

YANBU

I realise it may not seem a big deal to British people who are used to having religious schools as state schools and so on. But for Americans (I am one) this is much more disturbing.

This is not being done for the students' benefit, to help mindfulness or whatever, is it a really troubling attempt to push religion into state education. This may not seem a big deal in a country like the UK but a large portion of the US population follows much more extreme religious ideas, leading them to not believe in evolution, to follow really sexist ideas and practices, etc. So keeping that firewall between religion and state schooling is really important.

Yes, YABVVVU. Don't like it? Leave

You've chosen to live in the US and in the US you have chosen to live in Florida. What did you expect?

The Evangelical Christian influence is massive in the US. They would never elect a president who claimed to have no Christian faith and because of that hypocrisy is strong over there.

Having seem how racist, misogynist and anti science large swaths of America is I would never visit again. let alone live there. I'm sure most people will think I'm daft for saying that, but it's how I feel. Having seen the dark underbelly I can't un-see it.

I'm a Christian, by the way, but a Christian by choice.

How on earth do you get to your kids being treated as less? Good grief.

Two minutes quiet thinking is a positive for anyone.

You're acting as if they are being held against a wall at gunpoint and forced to say the Lord's Prayer. Get over it.

Knowing Desantis this is probably just the first step.

But that's my point @GorekyPark the firewall between religion and schools is being attacked constantly by the religious right, and yes there is far more religion in schools than there should be (not everywhere in the US, but in certain regions). So it needs to be fought wherever it happens. This is not just a harmless 2 minutes of silence, it is part of a bigger campaign that needs to be resisted.

Two minutes quiet thinking is a positive for anyone.

Absolutely this. I don't know if US high schools are the same, but here in the UK secondary schools are often noisy, hectic places and some quiet reflection time would be good for all children and teens imo, but especially for those who find the hustle and bustle tiring.

Sounds good, the non religious can just be quiet and think about what's for lunch or do a bit of mindfulness.

I'm an atheist but wouldn't have a problem with this at all.

Those who have a faith can pray. Those who aren't can use the time for quiet reflection or practice mindfulness.

I think it's nice.

I can't see how your kids are being treated differently, never mind lesser, than others.

YANBU, OP.

Unless you live in America, it's hard to understand exactly what this is code for. This is not some beneficent compromise of a wise and calm governor looking for mindfulness, it's red meat for an arch-conservative base who want to put the Ten Commandments in schools.

In fact, it was originally connected to a proposed law that wanted to teach students that the American rule of law was founded in the Ten Commandments (it wasn't). I believe they even wanted to teach the Bible at one point. Again, not as a kind of religious studies thing, but as The Truth.

And again, unless you live in America, and particular parts of America, it can be hard to understand the consequences of this. Kids can and very much are shunned for not belonging to a church, believing in God, etc. in many places - there is social stigma attached to this. This bill is couched in reasonable language (just like attempts to ban teaching history certain ways are couched in equality, when they're really about sweeping the past under a rug), but it's not reasonable.

In another context, this could be a lovely idea. As it stands, it's Ron DeSantis building his Christian conservative bona fides so he can run for president in 2024.