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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Grainne who wrote (100793)	4/9/2005 12:47:52 PM
From: epicure	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 108807

Mr. Rock, is unfortunately, way off in his assumptions. My students know exactly where I'm coming from, and we learn about personal bias (and I use myself as an example, because I'm up close and personal, and I like my students to be able to take apart a real person, without hurting anyone). We talk about my favorite analogy- The Religious Lunchbox (it's mine, don't steal it- just joking)- we talk about this in the context of the constitutional protections- when we ALWAYS get in to freedom of religion. The subject of religion in school always comes up, and a fair number of the class always thinks there should be no religion, and then there are a few who think we should be actively praying in school. I like to say to kids that their religion comes with them to school like a lunchbox in their hearts- packed by their parents, and their church, and whoever else has been charged with their RE. Nothing in that lunch box should be tampered with by any school official, nor any student allowed to act in any "official" way by the school. Why? Because they are compelled to be at school, and thus cannot escape people who might try to use their presence at school for conversion, or for changing their religious beliefs. Interestingly I think some of my religious students are fondest of me- because I tolerate NO cruelty, and no insults in my class, and since kids tend to be anti-authoritarian, I think the nihilistic kids tend to be the most popular, and the most outspoken, so the kids with faith generally need to be protected (but protected in a way that doesn't make it look like they are protected- and by that I mean the class needs deep structure that anticipates problems, and structures discussions so that problems do not occur). I support all my kids, even the ones who are engaged in things I totally disapprove of- like the boy scouts. I can't stand the scouts, but one of my kids last year (a Mormon) asked me to write one of his letters for Eagle Scout. He's a great kid, and if he wants to be an Eagle Scout, he should, imo, be one. So I wrote him a great letter, and he sent me a note and a picture this year- he made Eagle Scout. THAT'S what being a role model for kids is all about (imo, of course). I have my own personal beliefs; I'll tell you what they are, so you know where I'm coming from, and you know my biases; but here is history, and philosophy, and literature- it's a buffet, and just because I like Existentialism, Austen and Victorian history, doesn't mean you shouldn't choose Mormonism, Bukowski, and WWII- and I am here to support my students in their choices, whatever they are. I don't think most people can do that. It's one thing to have an opinion- I have lots of them- it's another thing to be cruel to other people because they don't agree with you, or to go after people because they won't change their minds, or to demonize people for differences in opinion. I DO want my students to learn to value education, and to be kind to each other- but getting that across is the extent of my missionary zeal.

To: Grainne who wrote (100793)	4/9/2005 1:47:04 PM
From: ManyMoose	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

Boy, Grainne, you pushed a lot of hot buttons there. I think teachers should teach critical thinking skills exclusively and leave religion to the parents and clergy. A lot of stuff that consumes teacher time these days is pseudo-religious topics like safe-sex and other subjects that have no real place in the classroom.

To: Grainne who wrote (100793)	4/9/2005 2:10:40 PM
From: Suma	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

It's not brain washing so much as parents just pass along all the things that they had passed onto them. Someplace the pattern has to be broken. This is why children of alcoholic parent tend to choose an alcoholic partner. This is why in therapy it is important to break that pattern some of which is just innate and others' such as religion are just taken for granted. My mother who was reared in a Catholic orphanage said that the if the Catholic Church got you they never let you go. She married outside of her religion, changed to Lutheran to please but always carried the guilt and a lot of the Catholic theology with her. There ought to be a thread wherein religion,God..and some of the philosophies challenging religious concepts are discussed. I nominate Ionesco.