THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, September 23, 1995           TAG: 9509220030
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A12  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   31 lines

CHURCH, NOT STATE, NEEDED IN SCHOOLS

Parents do not need a contract between them and the public schools. Parents have the responsibility to raise the children the best they know how, and the schools have no business in trying to tell the parents how and when to discipline their children.

Children should automatically be taught respect for one another and respect of property at home.

The General Assembly needs to make a better law than it recently did. We need to go back to the way things used to be in school before 1962, a way that worked just fine. The public schools need to put prayer, Bible study and the Ten Commandments back into them.

If children saw words like ``Thou shall not steal'' on the walls of our schools, I believe that would put a conviction in their hearts to do the right thing.

We need to welcome God back into our public schools; then we will see the schools get better.

Why not try a sure thing?

PATRICIA M. SIMS

Norfolk, Sept. 9, 1995 by CNB