A normal day of classes for me would go like this:
Latin: The teacher tells us about the history of Jesus and everything that happened before the coming of Him.
Computer: Where the teacher tells us about God and her relationship with him. Plus, she makes us write papers about our relationships with Him. We receive failing grades if we write something other than "I accept Jesus Christ as my savior.. blah blah blah.... I love God and everything that he has done for me...." Yeah. I mean it's easy to do that, but it's public school. Why should students be forced to lie about their religion to succeed?
English: English teachers are always the most repulsive when it comes to "saving" their children from religions other than Baptist Christianity. Today in English class, we had to give a report about ourselves. It
had to include things such as our name, what our parents do,
where we go to church, etc. I don't go to church, so I said "I don't go to church." I got a 0 for the assignment. I talked to the teacher and my mother emailed the lady, but schools down here in the South are very unforgiving. Teachers and principals stick together. Nobody is EVER fired.
History: Documentaries on Jesus and inaccurate information on how the Bible came to be.
We only have four classes a day, but I think you get the point. My day is full of influences trying to sway me from my religion, and all of them are from
public school! Our tax dollars are paying for our children's religions to be converted to Christianity over 13 years of this torture.
Christian teachers preach Jesus to their students every day. Sure, that's all bright and dandy, but it's in public schools!
Should it be illegal for teachers in public schools to try to convert their students to a different religion?
Comments (135)
they should incorporate a wide range of religions for students to study and to make everyone feel inclusive.
Wow, you're sure not going to school in my city! Here, you'd more than likely be subjected to the same rigor, but you'd need to identify yourself as Muslim, or maybe atheist, or quite possibly pagan. But never Christian.
Should a school tolerate a student's being discriminated against based on their religion? No.
Should a teacher be allowed to speak freely (and non threateningly) about his/her convictions? Yes.
Just my two cents' worth.
wow that's terrible... I mean, how does Jesus relate to computers at all? I feel sorry for you =/
Yes, it is terrible. And you should write to your governor, state politician or someone that can change it. It's bad enough that they try to force their religion on you. People in public school (and any other educational institution for that matter) have a right to free will and choice. And for them to do this is a violation of the first Amendment. So, if they refuse to stop it, have students and parents write a massive flow to the city, media and put your school in hot heat to stop this nonsense.
publik skool iz no playse for teecherz to be preeching ever if they wanna preech the teecherz needa get jobz in the ministry or in a relijus skool
Well according to the ACLU, it already is illegal. And while I'm a strong Christian, I don't see where a teacher has the right to make a paper all about if you are saved or not. I've got a serious personal issue with people that force Christ on others. I consider myself to be evangelical, but I don't try to shove my faith on anyone.
Seriously? I don't know. This post sounds like another attempt to stir up controversy. I mean, on Xanga for 2 weeks, this is your first post, and you get featured? Even though you have no comments on the post on your page, no friends, no subs, no profile info?
If Revelife wants to stir things up, at least they could not be so shady about it. This is rather lame and transparent.
Read more, I was inspired: http://www.xanga.com/trunthepaige/694275246/pushing-those-ishs/
I find it hard to believe that this would happen in *every* class that you have, but it's not my life, so maybe. I'm a Christian and a teacher and I can't imagine other teachers really doing those things. But who knows?
@Adrienne_Spenrath - I agree. I like your questions and answers.
There's no way a public school could get away with that. Are you making this up?
I'm a Christian who went to Christian private schools most of my life, but I still felt as if some teachers incorporated the Bible in too much of their curriculum. I wanted to learn about history, not about how the Bible "prophesied" certain events.
I think that teachers teaching at public schools should stick to material. If they want to share their faith they should teach at a private school, though they'll be paid less. I've always felt that that active in-your-face proselytizing turns more people off than it converts.
@Adrienne_Spenrath - i disagree. someone in a position of authority wields influence. i haven't been out of high school for very long...i would feel very pressured to agree with my teacher's religious beliefs if that was ALL they discussed. i would not put it past a conservative Christian teacher to subconsciously grade based on what she knew a student's religious views to be.
The statement that makes me curious is that you say that the videos have "inaccurate" information about how the bible came to be. Inaccurate in what way?
Yeah, I to am one of the one's who find it really hard to believe that a public school would have teachers doing this... maybe in a small secluded village somewhere in the middle of Montana with no power, internet, or contact with the outside world?
No, it should not be illegal to preach your faith in the classroom. No teacher should fail a student for having a different point-of-view if that student can back their view up.
Let me ask you, should it be illegal for a school to preach atheism? I have failed a biology class at my old university because I refused to write papers based upon a flawed theory of evolution that I believe to be not only false, but ill-supported.
So can you make it illegal for a teacher to have opinions and state them in the class room? Sure..... but then you would never teach anything.
Sorry, this is a tangent of mine- I just can't stand that no one realizes that Atheism is a faith in and of itself, evolution is not anywhere near having enough support to be taught as a fact the way it is in 90% of public schools and universities in the US. I think it is stupid the way people teach- why can't we teach both sides, let the students do the research and write the papers to back up their beliefs for themselves?
I don't think this post is authentic. No school anywhere would allow that kind of thing from several teachers without a large uproar.
I agree with Allen_Oz and the others. This post is not legit. At all. Something would've gone down by now if this was true.
And by the way, yeah, it happens... teachers will talk about their faith in public schools-- when technically, they aren't supposed to. But you know what? They typically don't FORCE it down the kids throats, usually whatever they talk about has something to do with the subject. Not to mention it's not just Christians. Jeez.
Xanga, please delete this entire entry. It is not worth being featured.
i would move
Err I don't believe that's legal. I'm pretty sure that's a problem with separation of church and State. This type of thing can cause real problems...that's why forced public prayer was made illegal (while personal prayer is still allowed).
Teachers can't force anyone to accept a particular religion. If i was a teacher i would definitely share my faith, my views but care would have to be taken not to offend anyone, since its an educational institution, and not a Church. At the most teachers, if they really want to tell students about Jesus, let them become like Paul, and portray the living Christ through themselves, for others to be inspired.
This is really strange and I feel sorry for you. Even I don't get my religion forced on me like that, and I've been attending Catholic schools all my life!
I don't think teachers should "preach" at all unless they're teaching a religion class.
This post is a role reversal. Public schools push atheism, gnosticism, and every other religion like she says her school pushes Christianity. The false information about how the Bible came to be might me a knock on evolution I am not sure. (For those that agree with evolution please give a few of the reasons why it makes so much sense. Use facts not speculation.) Other religions won't tolerate Christianity being taught in school, but everything else is free game. The funny thing is that no one questions it. Most don't even recognize that it is happening.
This HAS to be fake. There's no way a public school like this could exist without stirring up controversy and getting attention from the media. It doesn't make any sense.
I hate it when teachers do that.
Its effing annoying.There is no public school in the US that would allow what you are suggesting. Would they allow something close to this if the teacher were not talking about Christianity and Christ....YES! But if you are a Christian and Christ is your savior, you are told to be quiet.
My son has a friend in school who told him that my son was not allowed to speak of his faith in school. She told him it was illegal!
That's not true, but it is true that the teachers are not allowed to speak about Christianity unless a student brings up the subject and asks questions and even then, they have to be careful, very very careful or they will no doubt run into trouble. Now if you are Muslim or Jewish...no problem...talk away....Just don't mention Christ! Just another sign of the times!
I'm a public school teacher and I sure can't do that!! Â Every now and then, God provides with an opportunity to share something about Christianity and that's AWESOME! Â I in no way shove it down there throats or require them to believe it! Â (How would that make the case for Christ anyway?) Â I would never discriminate against other religions in my classroom.
It is very hard for me to believe this to be true events in public schools today. I live in the south and removed my children from public schools because their teachings were the opposite. Any child professing Christianity is ridiculed and forced to defend their faith on a regular basis. Even in grade school. My oldest was in 4th grade when I removed them because he and I were discussing his homework and I gave the Christian view on it. He told me his teacher said if I told him that then he shouldn't listen to me because I didn't know what I was talking about. I was very angry the public schools are doing this to children.
Public schools and officials are undermining parental teaching and authority and then blame the parents when the child is out of control.
@deepestrecesses - I agree for schools of all levels of education should teach all theories as theories and let the students research to see what is more logical. This was the way I was taught, but that was a few decades ago.
When my oldest went to college we chose a Christian University, the same problem was there. If you didn't share their belief or agree with the material being taught and answered what you believed to be correct, it was counted wrong...again I was angered....but...
My son told me when a school system teaches a certain theory or 'fact' they are wanting the answers to be from the material taught, not whether or not you agree with them. He says he always gives the 'correct' answer according to the material, but always lets his teacher know he disagrees.
His teachers liked the fact he confirmed his beliefs and some even enjoyed the discussions it led to. You very rarely, if ever, see that in public schools today.
Blessings,