04-17-2008, 09:03 PM
Quote:Is that how schools are in Europe? They are not that way here. Teachers tend to forward one viewpoint as "Truth" and castigate any dissent to their viewpoints. This is why movies like Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed or The Great Global Warming Swindle get traction here in the USA. The majority of teachers in public schools at all age levels, as well as most college faculty subscribe to a common agenda and world view. So, much so, that it appears as indoctrination and propaganda even whilst you endure it. If you oppose their worldview and tenets you are kicked out of the profession. I know I was taught by my public school teachers to doubt my parents, but never my teachers. My older sister even had one of her 9th grade (she was 16 BTW) teachers arrange for her to get birth control pills without my parents knowledge, and that was 1972. It's gotten much, much worse since then. One of the teachers in the local high school activly recruits students into Wicca, and leads school board meetings with Wicca 'prayers'. I remember vividly that my grades improved dramatically, after I realized in my freshman year that you cannot tell them how you think, but rather you tell them how you think they want you to think. I sold out, and I got A's after that. The highlight was in my composition 1001 course, which I dropped at midterm because I getting "F"'s consistently. I retook the course the next semester, adopting my liberal facade and I got an A. The teacher frequently read my papers to the class as examples. The choice was to conform and win, or be true to your beliefs and fail.
I hope Europe is more sane.
Kandrathe, thanks for this interesting post. But before I can really react on this I would like to ask you some of the definitions you use. I think (like the political word liberal) there are some things that don't mean the same in europe as they do in the US.
With public school you mean the schools were 90% of all kids go through right? (as opposed to private for which parents have to pay)
In Holland we have openbaar (which means not based on any specific religion) and special which might be catholic, protestant or now also Islamic. However all of these are 'public' in the sense that they get money from the state and parents don't have to pay more to put their children on one of these. Of course schools have to obey certain ethical rules. However apparently it is no problem that on a protestant school children are teached that the world is only 6000 years old and that it was created by God (as only truth). While on an 'openbare' school (where also many parents that are Christian or Muslim put their children) in general there are some 'classes' about religion, and for sure in elementary school I didn't hear anything about Darwin (and also in high school not too much), but absolutely no telling 'the truth' to all children.
However if you go to Italy and Spain were catholicism is the standard a public school will only teach creation (not 100% sure, I will ask this and then post it).
Main point is probably that a non religious school is not the same as an atheist school, and religious issues don't play a big role.
Anyway, your post shocks me a bit. And to be clear (because I am confused)to what kind of school did you go?