National Day of Prayer Debate

During the month of May I received a lot of forwarded emails from friends and family about President Obama canceling National Day of Prayer. I read through the emails and just added it to my list of reasons why I did not vote for him the first time. I was appalled and insulted that my country and the person who holds the position of president would not want to continue in this wonderful tradition of setting aside a day in honor of our Christian nation.

Then a friend on Facebook, who is a self-professed atheist, posted a link to an article discussing the issue of National Day of Prayer and some of the people involved in making this decision. When I clicked into the link, I found that there are actually Christian groups who are happy that this day might go by the wayside. I was shocked and continued to think about it over the weekend. That is when I realized what a great opportunity this would be for our boys to explore the issue further.

As homeschoolers, the right to make certain decisions for our family, such as educating our children at home, is vitally important. This led me to think about the issue of a National Day of Prayer and whether this actually impedes on our rights as well as the rights of others.

So, we began our school week with a new assignment; investigate the origins of the National Day of Prayer, who is actually suggesting and pursuing the continuation or the elimination of a National Day of Prayer, and what is your personal stance on this issue. It was explained that they’d have to gather information from all sides so they could support either the pros or cons of such a measure.

The many educational aspects that such an investigation would offer are many; media bias, citizenship, analytical thinking, points of view, ethics, distinguishing fact from opinion, research skills, and where do you go for reliable sources. Our society is rich with opportunities to learn. Taking the time to go in depth is the challenge now. So, after doing some further research I found that President Obama did in fact proclaim May 6, 2010 as a National Day of Prayer. Verifying sources would be another skill that need to be reinforced.
 Here are some additional helpful links:

• http://www.kyrene.org/schools/brisas/sunda/debate/teaching_debate.htm
• http://www.middleschooldebate.com/2006/11/debate-its-misunderstood.html
• http://www.actdu.org.au/archives/actein_site/basicskills.html