Last week, Illinois lawmakers mandated that all public schools start the day with a moment of silence. Pushing for the law were religious leaders in the state, so we all know where this is going – morning prayer.

I am at once appalled and indifferent.

I bristle at the idea of forced group prayer in a public settings – schools, offices, etc. But a moment of silence – which I know is supposed to soften the whole thing for people like me – I can live with. Because I do live with it.

My daughter, who attends a public charter school, begins every morning singing about caterpillars and elephants and sailors and dolphins with the entire K-2 classes. Once singing is finished and before they take off to the classroom, the kids are asked to close their eyes and think about their day and how they would like it to be. A little meditation.

I’ve sat in on this and can tell you it lasts less than a moment and is hardly silent. We’re talking about 5- to 8-year-olds hopped up on cereal and a good night’s sleep.

Do I think what silence there is has an impact on their days? I kind of doubt it. Is it religious in nature – not at all and at this school there's just no way it ever will be. Do kids who might want to pray have the opportunity to take part in prayer for a long silent moment? Yes, they do: at home, or they can make do with the short, not so quiet pause at the end of chorus. So I’m fine with the whole thing at my kid's school.

But one Illinois teacher is not fond of his state’s new silence mandate, even though he has always started the first class of the day with 30 minutes of quiet (which, incidentally, was already a legal choice he had as a teacher). His colleagues, though, are all for the mandate, saying the students need prayer (yes, they cut through the crap and said “prayer.”).

The teacher in opposition sees it differently: Instead of addressing the social conditions, funding shortfalls and inadequate schools that have caused the tragic state of education in America’s low-income communities, our legislators are instead promoting disguised prayer as their priority.

I’m going to take a quiet moment to think about that.