A Lofty Idea, a Loaded ‘Moment’

It would take a cynic indeed, Katherine H. Smith suggests, to find fault with an innocent “moment of silence.” Or the golden rule. Who in the world could fault promotion of that time-honored concept?

With all due respect to some superb educators, count me among the doubters.

Beginning Nov. 8 (the second quarter), the Anaheim Union High School District will require its teachers to provide a daily “moment of silence” for all students, to give them time to reflect, maybe take stock of their schedule for the day. Or maybe--and here’s the dirty word that’s got some people hot--maybe even silently pray, if some so choose.

The district’s 20-plus schools also will be required to post on their campuses the golden rule, which essentially states: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Treat people like you’d want to be treated.) It’s the first district in the county to do so.

All this is Smith’s idea. She’s on the district’s school board, whose members have had a full share of controversy in recent months. Smith is convinced that many students don’t get enough character building at home, so it’s up to the schools to help out.

One way, she says, is to give them more solitude.

“The one thing you see when you visit a classroom, all the students are tapping their feet,” Smith said. “They are on the go all the time. It’s charge, charge, charge. What is wrong with giving them just one minute to pause, to give them time to reflect?”

What’s wrong, say some irate teachers, is that it’s just a way of getting around the courts’ ban on government-sanctioned prayer in school. Smith acknowledges some students may opt to pray during their silent minute. But she vehemently denies that was her intent.

“These students deserve a chance for solitude, even if it’s just one minute,” Smith said. “This has absolutely nothing to do with the prayer issue.”

Some teachers are also appalled at the thought of the golden rule being plastered in school libraries and cafeterias.

Dr. Jan Billings, the district superintendent, correctly points out that the golden rule has a variety of origins, dating back to Confucius. But take a poll among your friends. If they’re honest, won’t most say their point of reference for the golden rule is the Bible? Look it up in Webster’s New World Dictionary. It doesn’t mention Confucius. It cites Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31.

I’ve long been a huge fan of Billings, and I believe her when she says she has no intention of promoting religion on campus through these new changes.

But maybe there is a perception problem. Interestingly, when I told one high school principal’s office what I was calling about, a secretary responded, “Oh yes, the new religious thing.”

Frankly, I’m not as bothered by the possible fusion of church and state as some of the teachers I’ve talked with. What does make me uncomfortable is the school board members’ conviction that they must upgrade the students’ moral standards.

Smith, for example, is appalled by some young people’s music. She believes that the new changes can help counter negative influences on students, some coming from the music. Yet the best teachers I know are those who have learned how to relate to music that students want to hear. (Smith used David Bowie as a negative example. Wait until she hears Marilyn Manson.)

I should point out that not all teachers oppose what Smith wants to do. One ardent supporter is George Triplett, who is head of the teachers’ union.

Yes, Triplett said, some teachers have expressed concerns to him. But most, he says, just want to make sure there isn’t some kind of legal violation.

When the school board unanimously adopted Smith’s suggestions in July, it wanted to implement them right away. But Billings persuaded board members to hold off until November to give her time to research the matter and get policies in place.

She got legal advice that a moment of silence does pass muster with the courts. Ronald D. Wenkart, general counsel for the Schools Legal Service, wrote her that it was OK if designed “to provide an opportunity for students to reflect on the anticipated activities of the day or a similar secular purpose.” Then, Wenkart said, it would even be OK for students to voluntarily pray during that time, as long as they are quiet about it.

Dr. Billings suggests I am premature in writing about this now. Give her time to get her final policies written and fully explained to the faculty. We don’t need another “issue,” she said.

That’s for sure. This same school board outraged many Latinos and others recently by adopting a resolution seeking payment from Mexico for the high number of illegal immigrants in its schools. The board will carefully argue its resolution said nothing about Mexico. But the intent was clear to anyone who saw it.

Others were shocked when school board president Harald Martin recently made comments interpreted to mean a student molestation victim might have been partly responsible for what happened to her. And one action the board took last year still has me steaming: Its decision to ban Nobel winner Toni Morrison’s American classic “Beloved” from teacher reading lists.

So no, this board doesn’t need another issue. But I’ve got a suggestion:

Drop this moment of silence. The students are simply going to laugh that one off from the get go. And instead of the golden rule, get students to come up with their own rules of behavior to post. Smith has overlooked that there is much in young people’s music that conveys powerful messages worthy of a cafeteria banner.

Confucius might say that peer influence can be the most powerful of all.

Jerry Hicks’ column appears Monday and Thursday. Readers may reach Hicks by calling (714) 564-1049 or e-mail to jerry.hicks@latimes.com