The Issue

There is a great opportunity to bring a new law to New York State called “Moment of Silence.” This would require a public school teacher, at the opening of every school day to conduct a moment of silent meditation with the pupils. The children should take this moment to think as instructed by his or her parent or legal guardian. This law would bring great moral change to our beloved state.

The justification is that parents nowadays do not have the time and patience to properly educate their children, for they are bogged down with problems of making a living and other worries. They therefore leave their child's upbringing, including their moral and ethical behavior, on the shoulders of the school. The moment of silence will encourage parents to spend time with their children, teaching them to be good and upright people, through the children asking their parents what to think about the next day.This is especially important in light of the recent increase of violence in our public schools.

We have seen in our history, that math and science alone is not enough to bring morality into our education. There must be a focus to instill moral and ethics, which will be accomplished through the moment of silence. With this inculcation of true morality, the child will think how to use the subjects learned in school to make the world a better place.

In a time of increasing threats of terrorism, a moment of reflection will allow our children to, among many things, appreciate the freedom that the United States provides.

This is also a time to collect their thoughts and reflect on their upcoming day, when their minds are the most fresh. This brief period of time has been proven by psychological testing to be a most rewarding and profitable time which lasts throughout the day.

Due to the foresight of the lawmakers of TX, VA, OK, OH, AL, IN, LA, CT, GA, MA, NH, NJ, RI, SC, TN, WV and KY, this law has already been in practice for a number of years in those states.

In October 2000, US District Judge Claude Hilton ruled this practice to be constitutional: “Students may think as they wish, and this thinking can be purely religious in nature or purely secular in nature. All that is required is that they sit silently.” Since the substance of this reflection time would depend on the free will of each individual, without teacher or government intervention, it does not represent an incursion of the state into the free exercise of religion by the individual.

You can make a difference! Let your Assemblyman and Senator know why the Moment of Silence (Bill Numbers A4371, S2030) is important. Let the Speaker of the House, Sheldon Silver, know why the Moment of Silence (Bill Number A4371) is important. For their contact info click here.

Sign the petition by clicking here.

Together we will nurture our children with moral values, bringing goodness and kindness to all mankind