That's debatable...
Hello all, it's been a few days, and I still haven't given my thoughts on my last debate topic, so here are my thoughts under a cut.
(by the way, thanks to everyone who jumped in on the topic. The answers were wonderful and well thought out, and very insightful. And a special hello to ancientscripts, who was referred this way via the effervescent miss_elisha, who fufilled my hope of finding new friends via these debates. So, welcome Larry, and thank you Elisha!).
My rabid fangirls, stalkers, and otherfrequent readers of this journal know that I am a Christian, more on the evangelical side, and a registered member of the Democratic Party.
I would like to see instruction of the Bible in schools as purely academic material, because it is a source of root imagery and such, and an understanding of it is probably key for most Westerners to understand Western Civilization.
By the same token, modern times are showing a continuing clash between Islam and the West, the Arab/Israeli conflict shows no signs of being definitively solved anytime soon, and much of the 21st century will be defined by the relationship between The US and China, and the rise of India. As such, the religious texts of these various people and places also merrits study. If nothing else, it broadens the minds of young Americans to the world at large. I feel that this is important since, theoretically, at least half of these young Americans will someday vote for The President of the United States. I personally believe that in the past two presidential elections, Americans have been compelled to think small. I believe that if they thought big, the results would have been different (this is not to say that everyone who voted for Gore or Kerry thought big, or that everyone who voted for Bush thought small). In short, I do believe religious texts could and should be taught, if nothing else, to broaden the minds of American students.
There are arguments that say that the already busy schedules of American high school students should not be further burdened with more "frivolous pursuits." Well, in my view, we already teach American students plenty of stuff that the vast majority of them never use, like math, science, english and history. We teach these subjects because we want to give them options, and not close doors for them so early in their educational careers. I think this "cultural exposure" is in a similar vein. Most of them will probably discard it, the way they discard Geometry, Algebra, Chemistry, Physics and Grammar. But they should be given the exposure, because it gives them opportunities that they have no idea they can even have.
I will confess that high schoolers these days do seem to have to work harder than I did, way back when I was in high school (from 1996-2000). Things are getting more competitive in terms of getting into college. More students, proportionally fewer spots available, and more competition from the rest of the world. So life is getting harder. Unfortunately, I think the solution has to be to ask students to work harder. This will mean some level of sacrifice, sadly. Maybe that part time job to pay for that car has to go (the part time job for the car, by the way, seems to be MOSTLY an American phenomenon, though not exclusively by any means)?
As far as that pesky First Amendment and Seperation of Church and State:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Does teaching the Bible as Literature establish religion? Many people will tell you yes. I will say no. Does teaching The Odyssey and The Iliad establish Greek or Roman religion? I think not. Even though both stories are highly religious in nature, with very powerful religious ideas, indicitive of the time and place they were written in. But we study them as literature, and as historical documents. If we taught the Bible the same way, I think that's not an issue. And really, again, as I mentioned above, the opportunities for broadening cultural understandings are SO important, I think that worries about Seperation of Church and State are highly reactionary, and contrary to progress.
So, I seem to be all in favor of this idea of teaching the Bible as Literature in Public Schools...
...EXCEPT for this little tiny detail.
I don't believe the Bible is a piece of literature. And I don't think that the people behind this little measure believe that the Bible is literature either. This seems like very backhanded evangelism. What's that you say, I'm an evangelical, so I should like this? Well, you're right, I should. But I don't. Like I said, it just seems very backhanded. And, ultimately, I am worried about teacher bias. Pat and I both came to the same conclusion as Toby Ziegler from The West Wing, who said in regards to why mandatory school prayer was a bad thing, "The reward is the fourth grader, who gets his ass kicked at recess because he sat out of the prayer in homeroom." Without 110% effective implementation, there is a possibility of teacher bias and mistaken messages being sent about religion, and undue evangelism being practiced. To me, even one child suffering from bullying because of this type of measure being implemented is unconscionable, and more than enough reason to scuttle the whole thing. Bullying is a cancer that is destroying our society. If you need any reminders, you need only look to Blacksburg, VA.
So, sadly, I will vote no. I want for this to work. But, there are too many stories of kids being ostracized for things as simple as being Muslim for me to believe that this type of program can be effectively implemented. And it's such a shame, because the benefits could be phenomenal.
So, comments, concerns, questions, rants?
Respond here.
(by the way, thanks to everyone who jumped in on the topic. The answers were wonderful and well thought out, and very insightful. And a special hello to ancientscripts, who was referred this way via the effervescent miss_elisha, who fufilled my hope of finding new friends via these debates. So, welcome Larry, and thank you Elisha!).
My rabid fangirls, stalkers, and otherfrequent readers of this journal know that I am a Christian, more on the evangelical side, and a registered member of the Democratic Party.
I would like to see instruction of the Bible in schools as purely academic material, because it is a source of root imagery and such, and an understanding of it is probably key for most Westerners to understand Western Civilization.
By the same token, modern times are showing a continuing clash between Islam and the West, the Arab/Israeli conflict shows no signs of being definitively solved anytime soon, and much of the 21st century will be defined by the relationship between The US and China, and the rise of India. As such, the religious texts of these various people and places also merrits study. If nothing else, it broadens the minds of young Americans to the world at large. I feel that this is important since, theoretically, at least half of these young Americans will someday vote for The President of the United States. I personally believe that in the past two presidential elections, Americans have been compelled to think small. I believe that if they thought big, the results would have been different (this is not to say that everyone who voted for Gore or Kerry thought big, or that everyone who voted for Bush thought small). In short, I do believe religious texts could and should be taught, if nothing else, to broaden the minds of American students.
There are arguments that say that the already busy schedules of American high school students should not be further burdened with more "frivolous pursuits." Well, in my view, we already teach American students plenty of stuff that the vast majority of them never use, like math, science, english and history. We teach these subjects because we want to give them options, and not close doors for them so early in their educational careers. I think this "cultural exposure" is in a similar vein. Most of them will probably discard it, the way they discard Geometry, Algebra, Chemistry, Physics and Grammar. But they should be given the exposure, because it gives them opportunities that they have no idea they can even have.
I will confess that high schoolers these days do seem to have to work harder than I did, way back when I was in high school (from 1996-2000). Things are getting more competitive in terms of getting into college. More students, proportionally fewer spots available, and more competition from the rest of the world. So life is getting harder. Unfortunately, I think the solution has to be to ask students to work harder. This will mean some level of sacrifice, sadly. Maybe that part time job to pay for that car has to go (the part time job for the car, by the way, seems to be MOSTLY an American phenomenon, though not exclusively by any means)?
As far as that pesky First Amendment and Seperation of Church and State:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Does teaching the Bible as Literature establish religion? Many people will tell you yes. I will say no. Does teaching The Odyssey and The Iliad establish Greek or Roman religion? I think not. Even though both stories are highly religious in nature, with very powerful religious ideas, indicitive of the time and place they were written in. But we study them as literature, and as historical documents. If we taught the Bible the same way, I think that's not an issue. And really, again, as I mentioned above, the opportunities for broadening cultural understandings are SO important, I think that worries about Seperation of Church and State are highly reactionary, and contrary to progress.
So, I seem to be all in favor of this idea of teaching the Bible as Literature in Public Schools...
...EXCEPT for this little tiny detail.
I don't believe the Bible is a piece of literature. And I don't think that the people behind this little measure believe that the Bible is literature either. This seems like very backhanded evangelism. What's that you say, I'm an evangelical, so I should like this? Well, you're right, I should. But I don't. Like I said, it just seems very backhanded. And, ultimately, I am worried about teacher bias. Pat and I both came to the same conclusion as Toby Ziegler from The West Wing, who said in regards to why mandatory school prayer was a bad thing, "The reward is the fourth grader, who gets his ass kicked at recess because he sat out of the prayer in homeroom." Without 110% effective implementation, there is a possibility of teacher bias and mistaken messages being sent about religion, and undue evangelism being practiced. To me, even one child suffering from bullying because of this type of measure being implemented is unconscionable, and more than enough reason to scuttle the whole thing. Bullying is a cancer that is destroying our society. If you need any reminders, you need only look to Blacksburg, VA.
So, sadly, I will vote no. I want for this to work. But, there are too many stories of kids being ostracized for things as simple as being Muslim for me to believe that this type of program can be effectively implemented. And it's such a shame, because the benefits could be phenomenal.
So, comments, concerns, questions, rants?
Respond here.