MORAL LESSONS CAN BE SIMPLY TAUGHT

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 2, 1993                   TAG: 9304020453
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
MORAL LESSONS CAN BE SIMPLY TAUGHT
THOMAS C. Hunt's March 24 commentary ("There's room for both tolerance, religion in schools") suggests that religion can become a part of a school curriculum when presented in the context of its literary and historical qualities, and objectively.
It is my view that in an elementary school or secondary-school setting, this would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, in view of the strong emphasis on separation of church and state. But if the moral lessons could be taught as abstracts of various religious as well as philosophical teachings, perhaps under a class heading of "Ethics," I believe this could pass the litmus test of the First Amendment.
As a necessary preliminary to this, a foundation must be laid in the early grades. In Robert Fulghum's best-selling book, "All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten," we see the roots of this foundation. But even this is not sufficient. I believe it is necessary to establish basic morality and ethics in the preschool child, if he is to benefit positively from lessons in same. And thus, we come to the personality of the child in these formative years, which now turns on the parents. It is here where effective ethics and morality can be taught in simple, basic ways.
This is not a complex undertaking. Over centuries, certain basic teachings have always been with us. Yes, in kindergarten, the child is taught how to get along with and how to behave toward his classmates. But age-old philosophical teachings have been distilled down to some basic, simple rules, and when followed, give us what all religions (with rare exception) teach. Thus, we can bring "religion" into the classroom simply by learning and practicing these moral teachings. What are they? Quite simply: Treat others as you would want to be treated, live and let live, be kind, and practice forgiveness.
In this way, we can bring God into the classroom without ruffling any constitutional feathers. JACK E. BYRD HARDY

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB