Okay people - What about Creationism being discussed in public elementary school?

Question

My son came home confused because his teacher told the class that he believes in Creationism (didn't say that word, instead he explained it) and not what their school books say, but that they need to answer the questions on the test in accordance with the school book anyways. He told them things like the dinosaurs were really around 5000 years ago, so on and so forth and ended it with but you have to learn that yourself. He also asked them NOT to tell there other teacher (main teacher) that he said that. My problem is more with the fact that he's telling my kid that the school books could be wrong and causing him confusion, then the whole religion thing. BUT, I do have a problem with him spreading his religious belief and obviously it's against the law.

SO - My first reaction is... I'm going to have a talk with the teacher who did this, but my son got so upset and doesn't want anything bad to happen because he told me. Now, my main concern is my kid being able to come to me like this

in the future. I don't want to break his trust in talking to me by doing something that will make him feel responsible. Yea, yea,... I discussed all this ins and outs of this with him and didn't attack his teachers beliefs or anything, but I can tell he's still not convinced that we should have told me.

So - for those of you with kids (who are non-Christian) what would you do? Keeping in mind that your primary interest is a lasting, trusting, opening relationship with your child!

No offense Christians, but I already know what your answers will be. I used to be one of you!

hehe, I realize there are some grammatical errors in that... I wasn't paying attention. I'm sure you get the point.

Oh, and to fend off the attacks... I do teach my kids about religions (notice the plural) so they are educated on all fronts. So, it's not about keeping creationism from them. Its about the law of course, but also the confusion this teacher caused regarding their education. He was out of line, whether you like it or not.

I GUESS IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO NOTE THAT HE IS ONLY IN 4TH GRADE. THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR HIM TO LEARN ABOUT MINOR ERRORS IN SCHOOL BOOKS. ALSO, OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM IN MY STATE ARE SOME OF THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY AND THERE ARE NO "OLD TEXT BOOKS" TO WORRY ABOUT. I MEANT THE CONCEPT OF TELLING A YOUNG IMPRESSIONABLE STUDENT THAT WHAT THEY ARE BEING TAUGHT IS WRONG, WHAT THE TEACHER THINKS IS RIGHT, BUT THEY SHOULD DO THE THING THEY BELIEVE IS WRONG ANYWAYS. THIS IS A BAD MESSAGE AT 9 YEARS OLD.

I agree with that the "Don't tell" thing bothered me and I did discuss with him that no adult should share secrets with children and that he should always tell me... we talked about this calmly for at least and hour only while he was still talking about it and explaining his confusion and asking questions. He's not worried I'll freak out or anything, he is just very sensitive and doesn't want his teacher to be mad at him or anyone else for that matter. I understand where he is coming from which is why I've asked this hear. I already have my ideas, but sometimes it's best to get outside, unbiased, opinions that maybe something I didn't think about yet.

Answer 1

That is completely illegal.

Whether anonymously or not (depending on what part of the country you live in), report it immediately and get that teacher fired. Period.

Edit towards how to address this:

What do you tell you kid? The truth. Some adults are wrong, some adults are wrong often. That is a fact.

Some adults believe in things that are false and illegal to talk about in school. When that happens, the parent must step up and correct the situation and prevent it from happening again. That is why you are going to address this.

To learn even teachers' lessons are not "sacred" is not a bad thing. To learn that even adults are wrong sometimes is not a bad thing.

To not teach your kid that confronting a wrong when you see it IS a bad thing.

Answer 2

A very similar thing happened with my son. And he asked NOT to say anything, because he knew I would go all the way. That teacher is very wrong. I still wonder what I should have done. I feel like a wimp for not saying anything, but my son trusts me now. So how about this.
Send an anonymous letter to the teacher as a warning. And state that you expect this confusion to be resolved. And that you will know that by what your anonymous child will say to you afterwards.
You could also talk to other parents and maybe one of them will say something instead of you.
Think of it this way. If a bible thumper started telling your child that he doesn't even need anything from school at all, just the bible. And your child did not want you to say anything. Would you let it go on?

Answer 3

Those who are so fired up about making religion part of school life--go to Iraq.
See how you like it when religion is in charge.
How can they ever be wrong about anything? They have God on their side,
right?
This is just another example of people after power over others. The good book says to render unto caesar but the power hungry ignore that...if you want to pray, Go do it in private. Get the good book out. What does it say about that?

If they are going to use the Book, at least use it the way it was intended.
From what I have seen here,propaganda isn't getting through. Kids aren't stupid. Give them some credit for knowing whan they are being given the razz-ooooo.
Please don't trash my mail box. Vengence is mine sayeth the Lord.
Have a nice day.

Answer 4

I am a parent, 3rd, 5th and 6th. I work in a private school. I would suggest the following:
If you can TALK to teacher directly.. Tell him you are VERY offended that he would ask a child to keep a secret, that he upset your child with asking him to keep a secret; confused him; and that you would like to know WHY he thought it was okay to teach that; and ask him to explain how your son will pass the test. If you cannot talk to him ... talk to the principle. The principle may be able to deal with this without getting thing nasty and personal.

For who knows. Maybe that teacher was having a real bad day. And left that class, wondering what he had just done. He may already feel such remorse. Who knows. But DON'T sit there and stew about it. Politely do your job as a parent.

Also, you don't have to tell you child that you spoke to the principle. And if the teacher talks to you about it, explain to your child that the teacher called you, and that you did not call the teacher. There by you keep faith with your child, while doing something about it. There are so many scandals that involve adults asking kids to lie ... about molestation. Explain this to your child. And maybe you can tell you child that it is illegal, and that you would like to remind the teacher of that and you don't want to see a good teach fired for a stupid mistake. - Remind your child that he was not the only one in the class.

Remember you are a parent and your job is to raise a child into an adult that functions in the world. Start young. It is not okay for a teacher to ask children to keep secrets. It is not okay for you to break faith with your child in a case like this. -But DO tell your child, that as a parent it is your responsibility to make that choice. (They may be parents themselves someday ... teach them how!) - So going to the principle may solve all the problems.

Last of all. Explain all this, and ask your child what he would do. If one of his friends was confussed by this type of thing .... How would he help them, knowing that what the teacher had done was illegal, and otherwise he was a good teacher ect .... -THIS is the prep for dealing with learning how to deal with friends and drugs.

Answer 5

The alarm bells went off when the teacher used the words: Don't tell anyone.
Talk to the principal. Ask for a meeting between the three of you and discuss this. Your child came to you with this, be the adult and go discuss this, calmly, no need for hysteria, you know what I mean. Keep calm and just discuss this, especially the part about 'not telling anyone' That part really bothers me, because kids are taught that strangers that intend to do them harm will use the same phrase to obtain their silence. This teacher needs to follow the rules of his school, he is the employee. If he feels that strongly about creationism and the need to evangelize, then he needs to work in a parochial school. See the principal.

Answer 6

i have never had something by utilizing Evolution taught on the prevalent public faculties I attended, and that replaced into down south interior the 70's and 80's. The atheists in this talk board are only paranoid and seem for any excuse to berate Christians. Evolution will continuously study in public faculties.

Answer 7

Contrary to popular belief, discussing Creationism in a public school *is not illegal*--ask a lawyer. This teacher is well within his rights if this is in the U.S.A. This is not my opinion, just the facts.

That said, you are the primary teacher of your child. If you don't agree with what he's being taught, do what Christian parents have had to do since Evolutionary propaganda infiltrated the public schools, teach them according to what you, the parent want them to learn. The teacher is an authority, that your child has to obey for the most part (although a thorough brainwashing in Evolution will implicitly teach them otherwise), but you as a parent are the final authority (in the secular, societal sense; a thorough brainwashing in Evolution won't do this concept any good either however) in what your child is taught. Taking that even further, you also have the right (unless we now live in a communist nation) to remove your child from public school & teach them yourself via homeschooling.

I wouldn't worry so much about what he's exposed to. He's going to get far more materialistic worldview from the public school than he is an alternate worldview (except maybe the Muslim worldview which also teaches a form of Creation). PBS will also reiforce a materialistc worldview, so fear not.

Perhaps it won't hurt to be exposed to different beliefs about origins. Don't forget that your child has a brain of their own. Being exposed to different worldviews will give him a chance to exercise it. Consider it a teaching moment & let it go.

Consider that he's only upset about it because you are. If you don't want him to get upset, try not getting so upset yourself & maybe he'll take the cue.

Answer 8

Please don't presume you know what people are going to say.

That sort of discussion is out of place in a (public) elementary school, but that's not what bothers me.

I was bothered by this:
"My problem is more with the fact that he's telling my kid that the school books could be wrong"

That's precisely the kind of thinking schools should encourage. Blinding following the ideas of others, be they Creationist teachers or Evolutionary textbooks, is the problem.

While confusion should be avoided, at some point the ability to doubt sources needs to be developed, as this trait is lacking in too many people. Maybe elementary school isn't the best time, but we shouldn't wait too long...


In Love,

~ S

Answer 9

Contact the principal of the school. Keep your concerns anonymous. The instructor won't know which kid talked, and thus there will be no negative feedback on your son.

EDIT:
I am somewhat in your position.
I'm a father of 4 daughters. We're Asatru. Second oldest is in 4th grade, now. What I described above is how I would handle that situation. The "don't tell anyone I told you" sets off all the alarms in my head, that reeks of "just what else is this wacko going to do and tell my kids to keep as a secret?"
Do NOT let it stand. There's something seriously wrong with this guy.

Answer 10

Truthfully, you need to take this to the principle of the school, and allow him to deal with the situation. If he/she refuses, take it to the school board.

What your son's teacher did was wrong on a lot of levels, and frankly, is grounds for his dismissal from teaching in a public school. Even worse is the fact that he knew exactly what he was doing, and how wrong it was. Hopefully, you don't live in an area (such as the Southeast), where some school boards actually voted that ID was a valid scientific theory. Fortunately, the courts required them to reverse that decision.

As for your son, you need to explain to him why what the teacher did was wrong, and why you're obligated to prevent him from doing it again. You're only looking out for your son's best interests, and unfortunately, his feelings may get hurt. It's better to tackle this head on though, rather than risk this kind of nonsense happening again.

I agree with another poster, that kids should be encouraged to question the facts, in order to gain a better understanding. However, it seems that your son is fairly young, and encouraging a debate on this topic in the classroom seems to be fairly inappropriate at this point in his education.

Anyone who actually claims that creation is valid or scientific should be required to go through their high school biology classes again.