Letters to the Editor: I was willing to pray with a teacher to boost my grade. It was scary

To the editor: I grew up in an industrial city in Ohio during the 1960s. I attended public schools, and in the fourth grade our teacher read to us from the Bible every morning. It didn’t seem odd to me because I went to church every Sunday. (“Hey, praying coaches, non-Christians play sports too,” letters, July 8)

Then in seventh grade, our Spanish teacher let us know in class that we were all invited to a prayer meeting. I decided it might be a good idea to go because I wasn’t doing so well, and it might help my grade. Other classmates felt the same way, so they joined me that night.

It turned out to be an old-fashioned tent revival. Everything started out friendly, but we were soon assaulted with intense harangues about sin and salvation. I was only 12 years old and had never experienced anything like it. I respected my parents and the mainstream church we attended, but here they were trying to convert me to something altogether different.

Finally it was over and I went home. The next day, in class, our teacher asked what we thought of the service, and we naturally said nice things. I have no idea if this ever influenced my grades, but at the time I thought it did.

In the “good old days,” this kind of thing went on all the time. I guess it’s coming back.

Douglas Miller, Studio City