by Jessi Michaels

Created on: October 23, 2010

Faith as defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary includes, "allegiance to a duty or a person" as well as "fidelity to one's promise". Using these definitions; faith can be an important part of the mission statement of a public charter school. As with many concepts, faith is a very broadly defined term and often over used word. It seems that sometimes debates occur before clearly narrowing this very aspect of opinion based discussions.

The term faith, connected to a religious definition, cannot be included in that of a public school. Clearly, separation of church and state mandates that funding by government money will not be used for religious-based education.  This remains a bone of contention, and perhaps it will continue to be, but faith and religion are not conjoined nouns. The concept of faith can stand alone as well.

How about that word faith though? Believing in the concept of fidelity to one's promise or loyalty are very strong and important values. These can be applied to a student's commitment to themselves as well as others. It goes to the core of Character Education which clearly is an essential part of public and private curriculum. It seems as if somewhere through the chaotic nature of life, many children are not being taught the concepts and the importance of belief in anything. The headlines are filled with stories of abuse and violence often committed by children against other children. What is happening here?

Public education needs to include faith in its non-sectarian definition and the public needs to not arch its back every time this word is mentioned. Let us believe in something, let children believe that there are things that are worth being loyal to and protecting. Let children grow up nourished with the intrinsic beauty that comes from the idea that they are connected to and play an important role in faith. Let this contain the promise of respect and allegiance to the common good of themselves and others.

Faith is a powerful force. Let that force be a tool for our children, let the message of fidelity, allegiance and promise of goodness be a building block that supports their future. Let us allow this word to be a connection as opposed to a divider. All adults, educators and schools are role models to our most important asset, children. We need to show the importance of faith, we need to demonstrate the strength of this word's broader meaning and that should be included in the mission of all schools.

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