Should teachers tell children that they don't have to believe what they're taught in school?

Question

Say... a teacher teaches children about an historical event, but preempts the lesson with an announcement:

"I have to teach this to you and you have to memorize it and pass a test based on it. You don't have to remember it forever and you don't even have to believe it, but just memorize what I tell you long enough to pass a test and then you can believe it or disregard it at your pleasure".

Is that ok? Is it ok for teachers to add a disclaimer before teaching certain things they don't agree with?

I ask this because someone posted a story about a teacher who made a very similar announcement to a group of gradeschoolers, but it wasn't about an event in history... it was about evolution.

So... should teachers be allowed to do that?

The Dude, that makes me sad. I hope math teachers don't feel they can do the same thing. "Now... I'm not saying math ACTUALLY works like this, but learn it this way for now and then you can totally disregard it after you're out of my class". I wouldn't like that much.

Answer 1

No it is not OK or acceptable. How is a teacher going to gain the respect of a class if they are so wishy-washy? A teacher's job is to teach the curriculum, not to make personal judgements and then pass that confusion onto the students. If the teacher had a problem instructing on evolution, then they shouldn't be a teacher! If they have some ethical or religious agenda, then go teach in a christian school! The reason that evolution is taught in school is because it is presently the accepted theory and there is a lot of research that children can do to back up evolution. What this teacher is basically instructing her pupils is a lesson in deception. If the kid has a christian background, then they can go home and discuss evolution theories with their parent and then decide that they don't have to believe it, religion belongs in the home, not school.

Answer 2

All of what is taught in schools is curriculum based, and the school cannot do much to change said curriculum. I'm sure you knew that already. You can try talking to the headmaster/mistress if you show further concern, and I'm positive that they will do anything they can. But anyway, there are two sides to this; It DOES say that children were murdered in the Bible, and that is part of the curriculum for R.E in public schools. Your daughter can interpret this as to what is right and wrong, and to her views on God and religion. You can, and should, talk to her about this and make sure she understands that even that 'the Bible says so', it is not necessarily true nor right. BUT on the other hand she is only 6, and should probably not be learning about genocide or should be making life decisions about religion and such until later on. Your daughter will learn about wrong doings in the future, either in school or out of it. It is your choice whether you think this is too much too young or whether the sooner the better. Personally, I think that she is too young. But these sorts of decisions and high responsibility comes with parenthood, and I cannot tell you the answer to a question which is your responsibility to answer. I am sorry that I could not help you further.

Answer 3

That doesnt make any sense at all. We cannot give that power to teachers as despite however many good ones there are out there there are alot of nuts as well. I had a teacher for example that followed the ciriculum but interjected her own personal prejudices that were completely unfounded. EG she taught her class that if an american indian caught a white child out alone he would grab them by their legs and beat their head on the nearest tree until they were dead. No joke she really taught that. If we give teachers the right to say ,"I have to teach you this but its actually bs." Then we might as well close the schools right now.
Now if your referencing the creationist vs science debate thats a whole seperate issue all together. I personally do not think creationism should be taught in schools as their is NO evidence to support it other than the bible but I also think that the big bang and evolution should be brought as a theory and that the word theory should be completely explained before hand. Anything until proven beyond any logical argument should be presented in this vein.

Answer 4

No, and I didn't agree with it at the time that it happened. I think that it gave everyone a sense that even the teacher didn't take what he was taking seriously, and if he doesn't believe it ... why should we?

I compare it to the completely unfounded idea that the Holocaust didn't happen. If a school somehow hired a crazy, anti-Semitic teacher who made a similar disclaimer before presenting a lesson about World War II, people would be in an uproar!

Should teachers stand behind the material they are required to teach? Absolutely. Otherwise, maybe someone who can be more objective would be more suitable for the job.

Answer 5

Well, I was always taught by my parents to stand up for myself, even if I thought what a teacher said was wrong. In fact, I did as early as second grade.

There are times I've been right; there are times the teacher has been right. There are times I've been right, but the teacher didn't recognize it, too. (I won't go into the time I fought with a professor who took off several points, deducting a letter grade on a paper for ending a sentence in a preposition. My argument was based on Victorian grammarians' idolization of all things French and a comparative/generative linguistic analysis of English as a Germanic language. I lost, but I'm still convinced I was right.)

Belief, critical thinking, and school curricula are complex, and interrelated things. I think we MUST teach children from a young age to think critically. I have a 4 1/2 year old that is learning to do just that by discovering that not everything she sees on a TV commercial is as good as it seems (we are doing an experiment on breakfast cereals based on favorite cartoons). So yes, I think it can be appropriate, even at very young ages to make that sort of disclaimer, as long as it is indicated that the material must be learned in the expected manner.

It's kind of like learning history (you picked a good example). We all learn about the Pilgrims coming to America at an early age. We make turkeys out of our hands and color horns of plenty, and sometimes believe stories about the peaceful coexistence of the Pilgrims with the Native Americans.

But the story isn't really all that nice. But, that said, many history teachers require that students learn dates and other "facts" before allowing them to think critically. What happens if there is a child in class whose parents teach otherwise? They still have to take the same test and give the same answers. The teacher might even agree with this student, but teachers are sometimes constrained by circumstance, school boards, tradition, and textbook.

I do not like the point about "believe or disregard it at your pleasure," because belief and disbelief should be worked at (I am a natural skeptic, but there are things that I believe). And any point of view should not be simply discarded, but examined and treated carefully.

Answer 6

Actually, I think that is pretty much how it works. I've never been told by any teacher, instructor, or college professor what to believe. All I have to do is demonstrate that I understand what they're teaching, and that's it.

zero cool: Well, I've never had a math teacher who specifically tells me I have to believe something. And really, if someone goes through the class believing that cosine isn't really "true", does it matter, as long as he or she demonstrates an understanding?

The only real difference is that with evolution, it seems like biology instructors have to go out of their way to word their lessons in such a way that it doesn't offend people's sensibilities. And that is totally unnecessary and silly.

Answer 7

That's how my biology teacher explained it. He was not necessarily using his own beliefs, though. When evolution came up in our class, he just said that he knew he was dealing with a lot of kids who's family was going to disagree because of their religious beliefs. He wanted us to know that this was fine, but for the purposes of the class, the test, etc, that we would be expected to know the material and reminded us that we were studying a THEORY, and no one was stating it was a fact.

I loved that teacher. For all kinds of reasons, he is still one of my favs. He made science really exciting for us and was a very fun teacher. I messed around and got detention more than once just to hang out with him. And no, I didn't have a crush on him, he was a science geek with sweatstains and stuff. I just really enjoyed his influence.

Anyway back to your question, I don't know that it is appropriate in a teaching situation to punctuate it with your opinions or values at all. Teachers, ideally, are there to teach kids how to think. NOT what to think. So while you can talk about personal responsibility, you should not talk about condoms. Ya know?

Answer 8

I think so, but not at too young a level. Otherwise, some kids might start thinking that applies to things like mathematics. Besides, some historical events are also controversial. (Examples: Who shot JFK? Is Elvis still alive in hiding somewhere?) The kids also should be told if a theory is generally accepted or not.

Answer 9

Actually the teacher was probably required to say that by the administration. Its a easy way out of the evolution dilemma. If you think about, its a great way to teach students to think for themselves.

Answer 10

Not only no ... but HELL NO. Children don't understand the "disclaimer" so that leaves them confused. If a teacher doesn't believe what they are teaching, they shouldn't teach it. If it is "required curriculum" and they don't believe it, they should step down. Teachers should believe whole-heartedly in what they are teaching and teach it with passion.