Today, many

children appear to be self-righteous and believe that

whatever they want to do they can, and neither parents

nor teachers can stop them. If they should try, some

staunch liberal cause will quickly defend their rights.

I remember

a time that parents backed up teachers and administrators

who were disciplining their children for infractions of

school rules. Unfortunately, today many parents

instinctively take their kids' side in controversies over

school discipline and even threaten legal action over it.

Recently at

a PTO meeting that I attended, school board member Greg

Powers commented that it was nice to see such a huge

attendance and that he would like to see that level of

participation at the high school level. Why is it that

parents seem to lose interest in their child's

involvement in high school?

I believe

that parents should be more active in their child's

school; attend the PTO meetings in force; learn who their

children's friends are; support the teachers and fight

for the right to have voluntary prayer returned to the

schools.

I'm not

trying to condemn the liberals nor any other group for

what is happening in our society or our schools, but as a

parent I am angry and alarmed at the recent violence that

has occurred. We are a nation in shock looking to blame

someone for the immoral behavior and lack of respect for

human dignity and the moral decay in our society.

I have a

son who is in the second grade at Braelinn Elementary and

it is difficult to explain to him the recent violence and

why his school has a "lock-down" or

"lock-in." These are terms that I associate

with a prison not a public school.

I believe

that schools should be more alert than ever to possible

violence, and more sure than ever that counseling is

available to children who genuinely need it. However, I

also believe that school officials should be careful not

to overreact or panic by having "lock-downs"

when it is not appropriate or justified. It only adds to

the disruption to normal school operations and frightens

the children.

In short,

our country was founded on a basic belief in God and

somehow we have lost sight of this fundamental principle.

Why can the U.S. Congress begin each session with a daily

prayer and my son can't pray in school?

In his

recent visit to Atlanta, Vice-President Gore said it best

when he stated that "I believe the lesson to the

nation is clear: In those instances where the unique

power of faith can help us meet the crushing social

challenges that are otherwise impossible to meet... we

should explore carefully tailored partnerships with our

faith community."

It is time

tear down the wall of division between church and state

and allow our children to have voluntary prayer in our

schools. Hopefully, this will lead to the return of

family values and respect for life.

Russ

Parry

Peachtree

City

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