I will tell you a story.
Once upon a time, because all good stories start with once upon a time, little Susie came home from school crying. She clung to her mother and sobbed. "What's wrong darling?" her mother asked. "Oh momma (sob) it's awful (sob) Mr. Jones told us today that dinosaurs were alive like (sob) 250 million years ago!" "Oh dear." says Susie's mother. Susie is so upset that she can barely continue "But you, Daddy and Pastor John always say that the whole world was made by God 6000 years ago!!!" (SOB)
So what's a distraught parent to do? Aside from assuring Susie that all of science is wrong that is? Well, the Alberta government has provided that solution in the form of Bill 44. Litigate! That's right, parents can now bring teachers in front of the Human Rights Commission when they make the mistake of saying something in the classroom that goes against their beliefs. Schools have always had their own opt-out programs but I don't think it's ever been a legal or human rights matter. But now teachers have to comb through their curriculum and warn parents ahead of time if there will be material that may disagree with religious beliefs. This makes teachers scared and scared teachers can't be effective teachers.
I know this is old news as this bill was passed into law months ago. But I'm curious to know if anyone will take advantage of this. Does anyone reading this know if there is a way to find out if anyone has used this law to reprimand a teacher? Maybe not yet but perhaps more into the upcoming school year.
So what would I do if my daughter came home crying one day because her teacher started spouting creationism? I would tell her to think critically, do some research and make an informed decision. Maybe even engage the teacher more one-on-one. He/she would likely dig their own grave the more they talked anyways. I once asked a religious friend of mine if she would care if I had a discussion with her daughter about why I am an atheist. She was less than enthused with that idea. But why? I guess she is afraid that her daughter might actually start to question or even maybe to (gasp) doubt. Why is questioning a bad thing? I fully expect that my daughter will be getting information coming at her from all angles her whole life. Maybe things I agree with, maybe not. But I want her to question it all, think about it, and be skeptical of extraordinary claims.
And they all lived happily ever after, ummmm, except the teacher who got suspended. Okay so I lied, it's not a good story. Kind of depressing really. But my story does have a moral.
Teach your kids HOW to think, not WHAT to think.
The End.
Once upon a time, because all good stories start with once upon a time, little Susie came home from school crying. She clung to her mother and sobbed. "What's wrong darling?" her mother asked. "Oh momma (sob) it's awful (sob) Mr. Jones told us today that dinosaurs were alive like (sob) 250 million years ago!" "Oh dear." says Susie's mother. Susie is so upset that she can barely continue "But you, Daddy and Pastor John always say that the whole world was made by God 6000 years ago!!!" (SOB)
So what's a distraught parent to do? Aside from assuring Susie that all of science is wrong that is? Well, the Alberta government has provided that solution in the form of Bill 44. Litigate! That's right, parents can now bring teachers in front of the Human Rights Commission when they make the mistake of saying something in the classroom that goes against their beliefs. Schools have always had their own opt-out programs but I don't think it's ever been a legal or human rights matter. But now teachers have to comb through their curriculum and warn parents ahead of time if there will be material that may disagree with religious beliefs. This makes teachers scared and scared teachers can't be effective teachers.
I know this is old news as this bill was passed into law months ago. But I'm curious to know if anyone will take advantage of this. Does anyone reading this know if there is a way to find out if anyone has used this law to reprimand a teacher? Maybe not yet but perhaps more into the upcoming school year.
So what would I do if my daughter came home crying one day because her teacher started spouting creationism? I would tell her to think critically, do some research and make an informed decision. Maybe even engage the teacher more one-on-one. He/she would likely dig their own grave the more they talked anyways. I once asked a religious friend of mine if she would care if I had a discussion with her daughter about why I am an atheist. She was less than enthused with that idea. But why? I guess she is afraid that her daughter might actually start to question or even maybe to (gasp) doubt. Why is questioning a bad thing? I fully expect that my daughter will be getting information coming at her from all angles her whole life. Maybe things I agree with, maybe not. But I want her to question it all, think about it, and be skeptical of extraordinary claims.
And they all lived happily ever after, ummmm, except the teacher who got suspended. Okay so I lied, it's not a good story. Kind of depressing really. But my story does have a moral.
Teach your kids HOW to think, not WHAT to think.
The End.
Comments
Bill-44 is a bunch of amendments. It is the result of round-table politics. On one hand, it does remove a good chunk of wiggle room when it came to discriminate against sexual orientation. When it comes to speaking about evolution - well, the person filing for the civil suit would be forced to prove that their complaint is against religion. Biology class is still biology, unless of course, by some weirdness, board declared biology a religion.
The Bill does have the added annoyance of forcing teachers to send out permission slips. However, to my knowledge, teachers must send out permission slips should a sex ed class be given. So, when there is a religion class, they have to send a note to the parent.
It does share the burden of paperwork though. The parent (or guardian) would have to also send a letter, signed, to the teacher clearly stating that she/he does not want their child participating in the religion class.
I didn't see anything in the provincial judgments for civil suits - though, I'm not sure if a human rights commission would publish their cases in the same area ... anyhow, I only took a brief look. Also, the administration of justice is built upon precedent and I a news.google search didn't bring up any articles documenting a lawsuit against a school board because someone said animals and humans have ancestors :)