DB Week 3 COSC 604
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School
Liberty University *
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Course
604
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
1
Uploaded by kmorsillo
If I can recall correctly, there was a Christian based after school club while I was in high school. I
don’t remember much about it, but I do remember it being discussed, by peers. I bring this up
because our topic to discuss is “School Counseling Programs as Spiritual and Religious Safe
Zones.” According to the Equal Access Act, public secondary schools can allow religious based
groups, if it is student run and it fits criteria of the following: has to be a public secondary
school, receives federal financial assistance, and has designated certain facilities. Now, as many
schools require a member of the faculty to be present during these meetings of the students, I
would assume that a school counselor could fit that role. As such, a school counselor can then
allow this to become a safe zone for students with religious backgrounds to discuss their issues,
in a safe and guided space. As many professionals in the school field know, opening up first to
students about religion is strictly frowned upon. However, if students approach staff and ask, as
long as it is within certain confines, staff can discuss their religious beliefs. With that said,
providing a religious safe zone in a public school becomes a lot more difficult than that of a
Christian school. Stloukal, M. E., & Wickman, S. A. (2011) state that it has been hypothesized
that schools are replacing family and church as the main moral teacher of internal values. This is
important to note, as many students are of different practicing faiths, and while schools
generally frown upon students practicing their faith and therefore, staff, there are more and
more staff members attempting to give their students a safe space to practice their faiths, as
long as it doesn’t interfere with the daily activities. As many school counselors are given their
own office space, what’s to stop them from allowing a student to enter that office space and
practice their faith? At the end of the day, it is important to remember that students are
children, and as such, are learning and growing to become adults. By being given space to
express their religious freedoms, without impacting their schooling, why shouldn’t we as school
counselors not give those students that space to do such?
Reference
Stloukal, M. E., & Wickman, S. A. (2011). School Counseling Programs as Spiritual and Religious
Safe Zones.
Counseling and Values,
55
(2), 157-170.
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-
journals/school-counseling-programs-as-spiritual-religious/docview/864591629/se-2
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