Here are some great online sources to help you learn more about religion in public schools:
An easy-to-read summary with a list of rights at the end
A more in-depth reading from the Rutherford Organization
"Tolerance" with Discernment from The Gateways to Better Education)
Schools and religion in the news: latest articles outlining recent lawsuits and outcomes
More about what I believe:
My church, Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale (inter-denominational)
What does it mean to be saved or born-again?
The only way to be saved
Why do Christians say their way is the only right way?
Resources for Teachers in Private (Christian) Schools:
Classroom Management Guide for Christian Teachers
God's World News: online and print versions of current events for kids written from a Christian perspective- an incredibly informative and child-friendly site.
Consider having your class sponsor a child through Compassion International or World Vision. It's about $30 a month, so each child could contribute $1 a month and you pay the balance, or you could handle the financial aspect and have the class be in charge of contacting and supporting the child. I just 'adopted' a little girl in Tanzania that I will be writing to and sending pictures to regularly. I went to Compassion International's website and was able to see a picture and read a bio about each child and pray over which specific one God wanted me to choose. Compassion makes sure each child writes back at least 3 times per year. This is a great authentic purpose for writing and an opportunity for students to research another part of the world. There are so many curriculum tie-ins: you could easily turn this into a geography lesson (you can chose the region you'd like your child to come from), track and graph the weather in your child's country and compare it to your own for math and science instruction, and so on. Most importantly, the experience will instill in students a sense of empathy, generosity, and gratitude. Receiving letters back is incredibly rewarding. I would love to be able to share this experience with my students but would be in serious danger of losing my job if I did so- if you have the opportunity, pray about it and see if the Lord might lead you to sponsor a child with your class this year. Please let me know if you do and pass on your incredible stories about how God is using your class to minister to another part of the world!!
If you have more questions, please email me and I will try to help you in any way I can. You can also email me to submit your ideas for impacting our children for Christ.
Click here to visit The Cornerstone Devotions for Teachers, my spiritual blog and resource for Christian educators.
Books:
"Checklist for Life for Teachers: Timeless Wisdom and Foolproof Strategies for Making the Most of Life's Challenges and Opportunities". I found this book at a discount store and got it because I couldn't resist a bargain. However, these are hands-down the best devotions for teachers I have ever read. The book is biblically-based and provides short passages on various qualities that effective teachers need to possess (patience, perseverance, kindness, etc.). Correlating scriptures are provided along with a checklist of things to do to help instill the trait in yourself. Normally I don't like those kinds of lists, but these are original, creative, and actually have a positive impact on my teaching. I really look forward to reading these and keep the book at work so that I can go over a passage when I need encouragement or am struggling with something.