by Ryan Richards

Created on: October 20, 2009   Last Updated: October 25, 2009

Throughout the years, the primary religions of developed and developing nations have been a staple of the educational system. The prophets and their commandments have played teacher to the masses in and out of schools for generations. From schoolhouses to university, education has been dedicated to the Lord in one form or another. Education is about bettering yourself and finding your inner purpose. Religion is also about bettering yourself as a person, and finding purpose. Both offer some form of knowledge and self-improvement, but should they co-exist in the same curriculum? Therein lies the question. If I had asked if there was room for God in our public schools, the answer would be yes, but that isn't the issue at hand. The issue is whether we should have specific courses offering bible studies in our schools. To that, my answer is no. I'll explain.

Today's world offers a multitude of different career paths and choices, from navigating the information super-highways of the Internet to repairing the ones we drive on everyday. These career's require education; some require many years to master the chosen skill. The need for skilled professionals is at an all-time high and today's school curriculum is already heaping with choices; so much so, that there aren't enough teachers to teach the classes we already have. More isn't always better. Adding more to an already high tax rate by hiring more teachers isn't in the budget. I do agree that students should learn about intelligent design, but we have classes for that; they call it Religion 101. Classes about the Bible or specific pieces of it are just practical in an education system based on getting our young adults ready for the working world. However, there is a school board where these classes would not be out of place in their curriculum, it's called the Catholic School Board. They have whole schools designated to the worship of Christ and his disciples, with plenty of courses for your child or young adult to choose from.

Now, in North America we have immigration policies that allow us to live side by side with the world's population as our own. These people come to our countries seeking a better way of life and a fair shot. Our country is now their country as well, we share things; like schools. So naturally, to be fair, if we include bible courses in public schools, why not Koran classes? I forget who it was that said ' All men are created equal,' but I think that meant we should be treated as such. If

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