Allison Gerber

Reaction Paper 2
October 18, 2010
Illinois Moment-of-Silence Law Upheld
Education Week
By Mark Walsh on October 18, 2010
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/school_law/2010/10/illinois_moment-of-silence_law.html

On October 15, 2010, Illinois law, 105 ILCS 20/, the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer

Act, was upheld by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (First Amendment Center Online Staff).

This law requires there to be a moment of silence every day at the start of school. This short

period is defined as an opportunity for "silent prayer or for silent reflection on the anticipated

activities of the day." This Act has been in process since 1969 and was vetoed in 2007 by former

Governor Rod Blagojevich. He argued that the Act was a violation of the constitution. The veto

was overruled in the Illinois Senate with an overwhelming vote of 42-9. One of the real causes of

conflict came in 2007 when the Illinois legislature amended the wording of the bill to read that a

teacher “shall” observe the time of silence instead of saying the teacher “may” observe the time of

silence.

Those arguing for the Act claim that its primary purpose is secular and not religious,

therefore it is constitutional. Also, the law also does not specify that the time of silence be a time

for prayer. However, some in the community did challenge the law, such as Robert Sherman and

his fourteen-year-old daughter, Dawn. The Shermans argued that the Act was “a violation of the

First Amendment's prohibition against government establishment of religion.” As atheists, the

Shermans believe that providing a time of silence effectively is an encouragement to pray and

think about religion. U.S. Circuit Judge Daniel A. Manion disagrees with the Shermans

assessment. He writes that, “[Illinois] has offered a secular purpose for Section 1—establishing a

period of silence for all school children in Illinois to calm the students and prepare them for a day
of learning."

Some of the objectors to this law have asked why there is mention of prayer if the primary

purpose is secular. Judge Manion answers this objection saying that, "It was important to note that

prayer is a permissible option to negate any impression that teachers or students may have that

students were not allowed to pray (silently) during the period of silence." On that point, I do agree

with Judge Manion. I think if there is going to a law about a period of reflection it should say

whether or not prayer was allowed during that time. I also agree with the Shermans' perspective

that requiring a time of silence may encourage many students to pray at that time.

Though it is clear that this time of silence is not to be “conducted as a religious exercise,” it

leaves a lot of room for questioning the motivations behind its existence. Though I am in full

support of prayer being allowed in schools, I have a hard time seeing the necessity for such a law

that would designate a period of time where students could pray. I believe that if a student wants

to pray they have every right to do so at any given time provided they are not a distraction to the

classroom. For instance, many times when I have taken exams in school I will say desperate

prayers before, during, and afterward. I have found that praying is a way to calm myself down and

to help me focus on the task at hand. What I do not understand is why the lawmakers of the Silent

Reflection and Student Prayer Act believe that students who want to pray are not finding time to do

so privately.

I do not believe that this Act is unconstitutional, rather I feel that it is unnecessary. If we

take religion out of the picture, then the silent time becomes nothing more than a classroom

management technique. I think teachers asking students to be quiet and reflect on their lessons,

reading, or assignments is absolutely appropriate. Teachers should be continually helping get

students in a mindset for learning and concentrating throughout the day. I recall that in the middle
school I attended here in Lincoln we were assigned a home room where we met for fifteen minutes

each morning to hear school announcements and were given about ten minutes to read or work on

a project quietly before proceeding to various classrooms. If I had wanted to or felt the need to

pray during this time each morning I am sure I could have done so. However, even as a devout

Christian, the activity I remember doing most was coloring circles in my notebook with magic

markers. Now, did that quiet time really help me focus on my day? I would say no, it did not. Did

it provide a time for students to hear announcements and catch up on some homework? Yes, it did.

I do not believe that the Illinois lawmakers are trying to force Protestant beliefs on the students in

their schools. Rather, I feel that they are trying to protect the rights of those with religious beliefs,

no matter who the god is to which they pray. For me, the question of why does Illinois need this

Act is still raised.

One of the gray areas in this law is that the length of the silence is not specified. Is it then

up to the teacher at the beginning of the day to decide if their students need however many minutes

of reflection time? Furthermore, suppose a teacher lets students reflect for ten seconds. Is that

fulfilling the law? I do think that if this law is to be enforced and understood it should specify the

length of time of silence.

As mentioned earlier, I see this Act not as a violation of the constitution but instead I feel it

is unnecessary. If those who support this law in Illinois do so because they want there to be better

control in the classroom, then I suggest that they let teachers decide how to help their students

focus (since they should be doing that anyway). If those who support the law do so because they

feel their child needs more opportunities to pray, then I would urge the parent or guardian to talk to

their child about how to appropriately pray at any time of the day. A prayer need not be a formal

time of bowing the knees, folding one's hands, or even closing your eyes. Prayer has no such
restrictions. Yes, there are common physical positions of praying that demonstrate an attitude of

humility toward the being you are praying to, but I would suggest that no individual should feel the

need to assume a certain physical position every time they have a desire to say a silent prayer.

I do not think this Act does any real harm to students whether they are Muslim, Christian,

or Atheist, but I would question the need for it. It is clear to me that those who drafted the law

were choosing to specify time where prayer could take place in schools, though not requiring all

students to pray. I believe that the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act is not wrong, but quite

superfluous and a cause for controversy that need not have occurred.
 Reference

First Amendment Center Online Staff. "7th Circuit: III. moment-of-silence law is constitutional ."

First Amendment Center. The Associated Press, 10/18/2010. Web. 18 Oct 2010.

<http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=23499>.