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Claim: The satirical poem The New School Prayer was penned by a schoolchild.
Examples: [Collected on the Internet, 1999]
Origins: This 
bit of doggerel has variously been attributed to "a child in Boston," "a 12-year-old girl in Boston," and "a teen in Baghdad, Arizona." Additionally, some versions also lay claim to a date of origin: "This was written by a teen in Bagdad, Arizona, in January of 2000, and posted on a public bulletin board."
The earliest example of the full text collected so far comes from June 1999, which immediately puts paid to the "January 2000" claim associated with one version. But the piece is much older than
Now I sit me down in school,
In 1993 a greatly expanded version of the above verse appeared in the pages of The Detroit News, thanks to an article by former where praying is against the rule: For this great nation under God finds public mention of him odd. Any prayer a class recites now violates the Bill of Rights; All I ask is a minute of quiet, and if I feel like praying I'll try it; If not, O Lord, one plea I make: If knifed in school, my soul You'll take.
Now I sit me down in school,
Yet even that example wasn't the beginning of this poem. A Xerox-lore version in circulation is inscribed "1/85 found in Jim's German book":
Where praying is against the rule; For this great nation under God, Finds public mention of Him quite odd. Any prayer a class recites, Now violates the Bill of Rights; The law is specific, the law is precise; Praying aloud is no longer nice; Praying out loud in a public hall Upsets believers in nothing-at-all. In silence alone we can meditate, And if God should be reached, well, that's great. This rule, however, has one gimmick in it, You have to be finished in less than a minute. So all I ask is a minute of quiet, And if I feel like praying, then maybe I'll try it. If not, O Lord, this one plea I make: Should I be knifed in school, my soul You'll take.
Now I sit me down in school
This version is simply signed "Anonymous" — no claims are made that it was penned by an anonymous student.
Anonymous student or adult with a pro-school prayer agenda, the poem, in all its incarnations, is a fine rip on "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" (which itself exists in a myriad of versions):
Where praying is against the rule, For this great nation under God Finds public mention of him odd, Any prayer a class recites Now violates the bill of rights; Any time my head I bow Becomes a federal matter now. Teach us of stars, of pole and equator But make no mention of their creator; Tell us of exports in Denmark and Sweden But not a word of what Eve did in Eden The law is specific, the law is precise Praying out loud is no longer nice; Praying aloud in a public hall Upsets believers in nothing at all. In silence alone can we meditate And if God gets the credit.... great! This rule, however has a gimmick in it: You've got to be finished in less than a minute; So all that I ask is a minute of quiet If I feel like praying, then maybe I'll try it; If not, oh Lord, this plea I make, If I die in school, my soul you'll take.
Now I lay me down to sleep
"The New School Prayer" puts a different spin on the usual arguments in support of school prayer by asserting that the kids themselves I pray the Lord my soul to keep If I should die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take Keep me safely through the night And wake me up with morning light By the way, there really is a Bagdad, Arizona. (Yes, that's its correct spelling — the fellow who named the place out of admiration for "Arabian Nights" stories he'd read as a child forgot the silent 'h' that should have been in there.) Bagdad is a town with a population of approximately 1,800. It can be found ninety miles west of Phoenix, at the end of Barbara "letting the cat out of the bagdad" Mikkelson Update: In November 2004, a high school principal in Athens, Georgia, read "The New School Prayer" over the school's intercom, then apologized a week later after receiving complaints from parents who said his actions violated the principle of separation of church and state. Last updated: 1 December 2004 This material may not be reproduced without permission. snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com.  Sources:
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