If there’s a silver lining to the appearance of posters outlining the on schoolhouse walls across h this fall, it’s that they may be quickly fading into the figurative wallpaper.
Gauging the initial reaction to the posters’ presence, this paper’s reporters found little enthusiasm for or even interest in the new incursion of religion into public classrooms, from kindergarten all the way up to college.
Notably, they also found some notes of skepticism from students and educators who worry that the government mandate might have the predictable effect of suggesting that there is a particular government-approved religion, First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution notwithstanding.
"It's one of those if we're going to do one (religion), we're going to do all, type things. If we're not going to do all, then we shouldn't just have one " one LSU student sensibly said.
Supporters of the law, of course, say they’re doing no such thing, not really anyway. Instead, they’re attempting to sidestep constitutional concerns by arguing that the Ten Commandments informed the country’s legal history. That’s also the rationale for featuring a photo of a modern-day politician, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, on one version of the posters donated by the religious conservative h Family Forum, right alongside Moses.
They’re both lawgivers, get it?
That may or may not work, as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal stayed a lower court ruling finding the law unconstitutional until the posters went up, so more is expected.
In the meantime, supporters of the law led by Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill, whose office OK'd the posters and who has made much of her office’s legal defense of the initiative, insist it will somehow make a big difference in students’ lives.
Columnist Stephanie Grace
“Don’t kill or steal shouldn’t be controversial,” Murrill admonished, adding that “Louisian public schools should follow the law” — which is pretty much the government equivalent of saying “because I said so.” Yeah, that’s something kids really respond to.
But back to her first point.
No, those particular commandments aren’t controversial, but Moses and Johnson aside, they are already laid out clearly in law. If officials are genuinely worried about any confusion, it would make more sense to post the relevant sections of the h Revised Statutes — which also outline potential penalties that’d surely scare anyone on the fence straight.
In the meantime, there’s a lot on the posters that doesn’t involve legality. Here’s where things could get interesting.
Lower grade teachers are probably crossing their fingers that their young charges won’t ask them about that four-syllable vocabulary word, adultery. But the commandments could actually spark some productive classroom discussion.
It was reassuring to read in news coverage about students who embrace their own beliefs but also understand that those beliefs should not be imposed on classmates who were raised or believe differently. Good on them. As the school year gets going, perhaps the new posters might inspire some larger conversations about what the Constitution says about separation of church and state and how it’s played out over the years. For civics students, a great topic of study would be how and why the law mandating these posters passed in the first place.
The text itself presents other opportunities for teaching moments. If adultery is forbidden, then does it follow that it should be disqualifying for, say, elected leaders? Same question for bearing false witness.
And what should students think of the profusion of images of the current president, who has pasted his own face on government buildings, passports and even a coming, legally dubious Do they consider that a violation of the commandment against graven images, which generations of American leaders until now have understood as drifting toward idolatry? Please discuss.
Also, what about all that coveting, of thy neighbor’s wife, his man or maidservant, his cattle? Here’s a perfect opportunity to delve into some unpleasant history of how both female spouses and slaves were once considered property, not materially different from farm animals. If they’re still allowed to talk about such things in school today.
These posters might just offer a chance for our state’s students to learn a few things about the past and the present, and to develop some critical thinking skills.
That’s definitely not the intent behind the law putting the commandments into schools. But given that they’re there, at least for now, it would be the best outcome. Even — no, especially — if Louisian’s students learn to think critically about the people who make laws like these in the first place.