The Kern High School District Board of Trustees’ decision to put a poster with the phrase “In God We Trust” in every KHSD classroom is not only a step back from the tenets of religious sovereignty that this nation was founded on, but a waste of time and expense that could be better spent on serving the needs of Kern County high school students.
High schools are designed to prepare students for the responsibilities in their future. It is not meant to be a platform for religious indoctrination.
The proposal is indicative of trustee/preacher Chad Vegas’ insistence on pushing his Christian agenda rather than focusing on the educational needs of students. While he may state that his proposal was not in an effort to force religion on people, his past proposal to change the name of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter breaks and his desire to see intelligent design taught in classrooms nullifies that line of justification.
For the purposes of civic education, the approved poster, amended to include the American Constitution and Declaration of Independence as part of a compromise from those opposed to the original poster by the American Family Association, accomplishes nothing. If people aren’t going to be motivated to learn government by a textbook or a teacher’s lecture, a controversial poster will be nothing more than a text-heavy eyesore.
Instead of legislating about a poster for an entire evening, the board could’ve been discussing how to raise test scores and teach students the basic skills they need to know in order to lead successful lives. How are students going to know what the poster says if they don’t know how to read?
The $12,000 cost of making these large laminated posters and placing them in every classroom could have been used for funding a field trip for government and history classes, which would’ve been a much more effective tool for getting students motivated in civic education.
When Vegas comes up for re-election in 2008, he should be replaced by someone who has the best interests of students at heart. The Board of Trustees cannot continue forcing their own ideologies on students while claiming to represent them.