Claim: 1. You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. 2. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was “well timed” in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation.
Agreement: 1. I therefore concur with you in your call for negotiation. 2. In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law.
Disagreement: 1. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. 2. Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society.
Recommendation: 1. The purpose of our direct-action program is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. 2. Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court.
For years now there has been a heated debate about whether or not prayer should be allowed in schools. Every time the argument is rekindled, it ends in a stalemate, and is a topic that campaigning politicians tend to stay away from. In the beginning, the argument was whether or not the school day should be started with a prayer over the PA system of school. Those in favor of prayer in school pose several arguments. They say it will increase tolerance in schools, as children learn of different religions and how they practice. Many feel it will bring to surface the personal questions kids have about god and religion and allow them to search for their own belief system. The most common however is the argument that bringing prayer back to schools will help reverse the moral degragation of this country. Being an active catholic who attends church weekly, I have personally never had a problem with religion in schools. However; many of my friends argue that it’s not right. People feel it can repress those who don’t have a specified religion or have a different religion. They argue that prayer is a private act and thus should be conducted at home, privately.
Paula–I think your did a fantastic job of finding examples for the assignment. We used a few of the same I think, but after reading yours I found myself wishing I had found some of the examples you had found! I especially enjoyed your first example for the recommendation section.
I think you’ve chosen a good topic for your essay and you have a really strong start in the paragraph you posted. However, I am a little perplexed as to what your actual stance is on the issue. You state that you have never had a problem with it, but then immediately return to your friends stances that it is not right–which one do you plan to argue for? I think if you just clear up that confusion you will have a very effective opening paragraph:-)
Morgan
I agree that whether prayer should be allowed in schools is a very controversial issue. I attended a public school and prayer was never included in my school day. My school made a point of not mixing education and religion. I think this will be a very interesting topic to write about. I think you should include some research, facts, and statistics about prayer in school in your paper. I am also a little unsure about whether or not you support prayer in school. You may want to make your position more clear. Also, tell about any personal experiences you, your friends, or family members may have had with prayer in school.
I thinkreligion and education should not be mixed. I am also am catholic, but i have found each person believes in something differnt. When bringing religion into the mix there seems to be more problems. .
This is an intresting topic that is very prominent in our society today. Although you did not say it directly, I got the feeling that you did not mind having prayer in school. I attended Catholic school and prayer was part of our daily routine, which I thought was an effective start to the day. But I do not know how appropriate it is in public school. I believe that a possible solution to this problem is to give students a quiet time during the day when they are able to pray, but if they do not want to it is not something that would be forced upon the students.