What follows is obviously only one side of the story, so I’m reserving judgement on this particular case, but I am an atheist, not an antitheist, so I am firmly on the side of freedom of religion.
If this is an accurate representation of the facts, the teacher went full jerkstore. Bullying children is a shit thing to do. One can challenge beliefs without being a jerk about it. And arguments are often more effective when you’re not putting people into a position where they feel the need to defend their identity.
Jordan Wooley’s complaint certainly received immediate attention.
The alleged behaviour of the teacher happened on the same day as a scheduled school board meeting (October 26). See http://katyisdtx.swagit.com/play/10262015-1373
Yes, “Bullying children is a shit thing to do,” but indoctrinating children is just as bad. Listen to Kaylea Marhofer, 5th Grade, Katy Elementary recite the Pledge of Allegiance and tell her story: it’s very goddy.
“Yes, “Bullying children is a shit thing to do,” but indoctrinating children is just as bad.”
It could be just as bad, or not, or worse. Telling a child baby Jesus loves them, is very different than telling them they will burn in hell for masturbating.
It’s been 2000+ years. It’s time for Baby Jesus to grow up.
The fact that this child even HAS a religious identity is child abuse, and is one reason I AM an anti-theist. You can see the result the imposition of that identity has had. She’s become part of the movement to use the religious get-out-of-rules-free card.
This girl, rather than being indoctrinated by her family and her community, should have been exposed to a variety of ideas about the world, and taught to use critical thinking to assess them. That’s over now. She’s lost.
We should not be afraid at all for teachers to mark as incorrect that “God is real” because that IS a wrong answer. Of all claims that can possibly be made, this one has been most surely debunked over the centuries.
We should not be treating religious ideas as some sort of special category that may not be examined and challenged in the same way as any other ideas. Rather, equality demands that we treat it exactly like all other ideas. It’s wrong that a student would be told that her faith should not be questioned.
And I suspect we’re not getting the whole story.
“The fact that this child even HAS a religious identity is child abuse”
Maybe in your fantasy land of hyperbole, but not in reality.
Who’s the atheist jerkstore now? Your brief statement that you’re “reserving judgment” even though you follow (and title) that statement with the very judgment you claim you’re not making, shows it to be you.
“…some commentary has gone as far as to vilify her without knowing her, her Christian faith, or the context of the classroom activity.”
Shame on you.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/10/28/a-texas-middle-school-teacher-did-not-force-the-class-to-admit-god-is-a-myth/
Sorry if English is not your first language, but “IF” is an important part of what I said:
“If this is an accurate representation of the facts”
If English is your mother tongue, shame on you, for your dishonesty.
Yes, a one sided story always looks bad.