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Teachers should teach science and proven facts, not things like creationism.

Even if she did teach creationism, it is not her place to criticize it. Just say that science doesn't accept it as fact and while some believe in it many do not. And then move on. No need to make an issue out of it.

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Even if she did teach creationism, it is not her place to criticize it. Just say that science doesn't accept it as fact and while some believe in it many do not. And then move on. No need to make an issue out of it.

Telling a child that "science doesn't accept" something means absolutely nothing to the child while telling them that "some believe it" and "many do not" can only further confuse them.

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If it is within the context of the course then it should be a freedom of expression issue. This would be a whole other matter if this was in public schools k-12 because that is an entity supported nearly 100% by tax dollars. But at a college level, I believe that most kids in that age group have already made up their minds one way or another regarding their religious beliefs and they need to get use to other people attacking their religious beliefs. Doesn't matter what your religion is or even if you are atheist. Everyone is going to feel "attacked" on their beliefs throughout their lives and need to learn how to deal with it.

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Even if she did teach creationism, it is not her place to criticize it. Just say that science doesn't accept it as fact and while some believe in it many do not. And then move on. No need to make an issue out of it.

Teachers are not there only to preach according to the plan, they're also there to give opinions, spark conversation and make the students think. Teachers are people too, with opinions which they should be allowed to present.

Well, at least that's what they do here - which I'm thankful of.

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Telling a child that "science doesn't accept" something means absolutely nothing to the child while telling them that "some believe it" and "many do not" can only further confuse them.

Maybe it's the parents place to un-confuse them and not the teacher?

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Why would a teacher be critical of any religion? Isn't it a teachers place just to teach the facts and leave the judgments to the students?

That seems a bit contradictory. How do you stick to the facts without offending someone when you're discussing something as fact-free as religion?

Even if she did teach creationism, it is not her place to criticize it. Just say that science doesn't accept it as fact and while some believe in it many do not. And then move on. No need to make an issue out of it.

What if the teacher was tackling issues such as drug abuse or racism? Would you still expect her to avoid criticism? If not, why should religion be any different?

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From what I see we have too many teachers and teacher organizations that have an agenda and they go into the classroom to teach our children what they think they need to believe. Just teach the facts. The facts are most people believe drug use and racism is wrong, but not everyone does. In the old days most teachers wisely left the door open for parents to teach their children but now the government and the teachers feels it's best if they teach our kids what to believe.

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From what I see we have too many teachers and teacher organizations that have an agenda and they go into the classroom to teach our children what they think they need to believe. Just teach the facts. The facts are most people believe drug use and racism is wrong, but not everyone does. In the old days most teachers wisely left the door open for parents to teach their children but now the government and the teachers feels it's best if they teach our kids what to believe.

Are you suggesting that religion shouldn't be taught in schools?

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From what I see we have too many teachers and teacher organizations that have an agenda and they go into the classroom to teach our children what they think they need to believe. Just teach the facts. The facts are most people believe drug use and racism is wrong, but not everyone does. In the old days most teachers wisely left the door open for parents to teach their children but now the government and the teachers feels it's best if they teach our kids what to believe.

^ Agreed.

But Beliefs & Facts are not always the same thing. ;)

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Religion is a private matter, as such teachers should neither criticize it or condone it. Stick to the facts.

Education is not, and never has been, JUST about the facts. A teachers job is not only to impart knowledge, but also to teach kids to question what they're told; to analyze, criticize and question the world around them, and the best way to do that is to lead them in doing so.

Otherwise, you might as well just lock them in their bedrooms with a book. or three.

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There is an official religion thread where this could be posted, and some of the replies are offensive to those of us that are Christian.

I really mean this in the nicest way possible, but it seems christians find ANYTHING against their view offensive. Most people who don't follow an organized religion aren't around getting offended when you post your view. Why must it always be one way? If the teacher was saying something against atheism I bet he wouldn't have been sued.

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Theists have been trying their best to run roughshod over people's social and legal rights for ages now by lobbying against things like marriage, abortion, stem-cell research, etc, and trying to pollute legislation with religious agendas. It's called karma.

Good call.

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Education is not, and never has been, JUST about the facts. A teachers job is not only to impart knowledge, but also to teach kids to question what they're told; to analyze, criticize and question the world around them, and the best way to do that is to lead them in doing so.

Otherwise, you might as well just lock them in their bedrooms with a book. or three.

I'm not saying they shouldn't discuss different subjects with their students. What I said is that they should neither criticize nor condone opinions. When I was in school we had conversations about all sorts of things, but they were conversations between students, the teacher was only there to give pointers but never ever directly attacked someone's beliefs. We, as humans, develop sympathy towards some ideas even if they aren't something that can be proven, confronting them will likely create tension and destroy the relationship between a student and a teacher. When this relationship is destroyed it becomes very difficult for the teacher to convey his ideas in the future even if they are proven facts.

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I'm reporting your post as being offensive to my views.

/s

Being offended is a part of life. I hate all the people whining about being offended by X, Y and Z now a days. We've become a country of whiny *******.

I used to ride the subway to work everyday. If I got a nickle every time I was offended by someone, I'd be a millionaire. The things you see, hear and smell on a subway are...not ideal to say the least.

this this this this this

So tired of people being able to sue or some crap because they got offended. Get the f*** over it. And that goes double if you're offended by my language ;)

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Dont pray in my class, and i won't think in your chuch

School is compulsory (with legal consequences if a child fails to attend), church isn't.

Education is not, and never has been, JUST about the facts. A teachers job is not only to impart knowledge, but also to teach kids to question what they're told; to analyze, criticize and question the world around them, and the best way to do that is to lead them in doing so.

Otherwise, you might as well just lock them in their bedrooms with a book. or three.

How long ago did you go to a secondary school in the UK?

Up until college, education is nothing but about the facts.

Which facts? Whose facts?

The fact that there was a man called Ibrahim, the patriarch of the monotheist faiths.

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I would hope we respect young adults in AP classes enough that we can express educated opinions. If not, we're failling our own children but not letting them know to value opinions. (whether they agree or not..)

I think we as a soceity have decided that young adults are 18 years old. Since we usually make that disction for High school/Collage. I would think that that discussion would be fine freshman year of Collage. This is a AP class for sophmores in Highschool.

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I think we as a soceity have decided that young adults are 18 years old. Since we usually make that disction for High school/Collage. I would think that that discussion would be fine freshman year of Collage. This is a AP class for sophmores in Highschool.

Any high schooler should understand the difference between their personal views and the personal views of their teacher. If not, their parents have failed as parents. Schools MUST employ critical thinking skills and sophomores should be no exception.

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I think I remember seeing this movie, something about a water boy who goes to school then lashes out at a teacher because what he thought he knew was incorrect? Mama says...

I think the medulla oblongata was this Farnan kid. He needs an atomic wedgie. I remember a similar student who (stupidly) argued with one of my college history professors as well. Face it, if you are hyper-religious, the subjects you should avoid at all costs are science and history.

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