I so rarely aggree with Bill O'Riely (a religion in school thought)...

[bholdr]

...that i have to post when i do.
He was talking about the teaching of religion, specificly, christanity, in public high schools, and he made what i consider to be a very good point.

first, though: conservatives, especially evangelicals, often argue that the basic tenants of christianity should be taught in public schools because: "this is a christian nation" or "Our laws and customs are founded on the ten commandments- so students should understand them..." or some such BS... I always laughed at those arguments: they are generally transparent calls for judeo-christian socialization of students by agents of the government, IMO, and clearly aimed at promoting their specific brand of deisim.

back to my point:

good 'ol Bill O'R said this (pharaphrasing here): "How can students be expected to understand american history if they have no basic knowlage of the primary motivating religion/force behind the actions of historical figures?"...

like, how could a high schooler grasp the scope and meaning of lincoln's second innaugrall(sp?) address without knowing the basics of christianity? or how to understand the pilgrims flight from oppression without discussing the sectarian differences that were powerful enough to drive them accross the atlantic? not to mention the mormons (frankly, silly) exodous to utah...

maybe high schools shouls have a "Religion for Context" class that would equip them with the basic understanding of religion (and, yes, specificly christianity) that's needed for understanding and learning in other subjects (english, history, etc)?


just a thought... i am re-evaluating aspects of my stance on religion in public school curriculums.


thoughts?

[New001]

First, most students don't need that kind of information because they already know the basics (or, rather, enough to get by. I know I certainly did, and I know very little about religion). However, that obviously isn't everybody.

Religion isn't banned from public schools. I had assignments that included passages from the bible, among other things, although they were a part of a literature class and we were studying that time period of writing. The teacher taught it as just a text, although that didn't stop some students from interjecting their religion into it. That's another topic though. I had assignments where we had to research the major religions. And, this wasn't too many years ago in Washington State (far from, say, Kansas).

As to your main point, about how students can truly understand some events without knowing the basic religion behind it, I'm not sure what I think. I do know that the amount of knowledge about this country's history is pathetically small in order to graduate, and there's real no need for the average student to learn so deep into certain events. Does the average high school senior need to know the specifics about why the pilgrims left Europe, or only that they chose to leave because of religious reasons?

In high school, I really don't see the need to go so deep into those events. Sure, if you're taking a college history course, I would expect the professor to go over the details and I'd expect the students to be able to know exactly the kind of examples you mentioned.

That being said, I wouldn't mind if that kind of detail was in a high school class. I don't think it matters, and I don't think it'd help the students, but it shouldn't do too much harm. I'm not religious, so it's easy for me to have an open mind with that kind of stuff, but I can see where others may have a problem. Again though, growing up in Washington, religion wasn't as prevalent to me as it is in some areas of the country.

[bholdr]

[ QUOTE ]
As to your main point, about how students can truly understand some events without knowing the basic religion behind it, I'm not sure what I think. I do know that the amount of knowledge about this country's history is pathetically small in order to graduate, and there's real no need for the average student to learn so deep into certain events. Does the average high school senior need to know the specifics about why the pilgrims left Europe, or only that they chose to leave because of religious reasons?

[/ QUOTE ]

A little learning is a dangerous thing but a lot of ignorance is just as bad.

-Bob Edwards


Ignorance is not innocence but sin.

-Robert Browning (1812 - 1889)