12yo Texan Girl Told to Write that God is Fake!

[Sun Wukong]

No, it isn't. Well, okay, "opinion" would also be an accurate answer...

Unless you can prove that God is not real, it would not be demonstrably incorrect to say that God is real.

And yet, when I say pretty much the exact same thing about my waifu, everyone acts like I'm crazy!

[Jamzmania]

Everyone understands myths to be untrue.

Only if you haven't looked up the definitions of the word before.

No one speaks of myths as if they actually believe them. To say that God is a myth would heavily imply, if not outright state, that God is not real.

No, it only implies and states that it's a myth. Whether it refers to one definition or the other depends upon context. That's how language works.

Definitions are not end-all be-alls. There are connotations attached to words that are not included in a definition.

[Prusselanden]

Wut.

[Dyakovo]

Whether or not it was graded is completely irrelevant to my statement.

Everyone understands myths to be untrue.

No, only those people who don't actually know what the word means. See the definition I posted earlier in the thread.

[Mavorpen]

Definitions are not end-all be-alls. There are connotations attached to words that are not included in a definition.

Which is, again, why we rely on context to scope out the connotation being applied to the word.

Again, this is how language works. It's not our fault if you can't grasp simple concepts about language.

[Ifreann]

The teacher said "fact or opinion would be wrong?" When? And in what circumstance? What are you even talking about?

It's in the article. The student told the board that that was what the teacher said.

The article from Russia Today.

[Prussia-Steinbach]

Only if you haven't looked up the definitions of the word before.


No, it only implies and states that it's a myth. Whether it refers to one definition or the other depends upon context. That's how language works.

Definitions are not end-all be-alls. There are connotations attached to words that are not included in a definition.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morn ... is-a-myth/

"In a five-minute, tape-recorded statement to the Katy school board, Jordan Wooley, 12, a student at West Memorial Junior High School, says her reading teacher was leading students in an exercise designed to distinguish between statements that are an”opinion,” a “factual claim” or a “commonplace assertion,” according to KTRK-TV, the ABC affiliate in Houston.

To the statement “There is a God,” Wooley told KTRK she answered that it was both a “factual claim” and “opinion.”"

[Sun Wukong]

Only if you haven't looked up the definitions of the word before.


No, it only implies and states that it's a myth. Whether it refers to one definition or the other depends upon context. That's how language works.

Definitions are not end-all be-alls. There are connotations attached to words that are not included in a definition.

And formal education is intended to inform students of the actual definitions of words. Free of colloquialism.

You seem to be trying very hard to be offended.

[Ethel mermania]

No it doesnt, God or the lack thereof does not belong in a public school lesson.

...we can't teach about the existence of religion in school now? That's going to leave some big fucking gaps in world history.

Teaching about religion, or even comparative religion is not done with claims of God's existence or lack thereof. There is a hell of a difference between
"This is what christians believe", and "jesus is lord, the only path to salvation is through him".

[Dyakovo]

No, it isn't. Well, okay, "opinion" would also be an accurate answer...

Unless you can prove that God is not real, it would not be demonstrably incorrect to say that God is real.

That's not how burden of proof works. Unless you can prove that god exists, "god is real" is not a fact.

[Dyakovo]

...we can't teach about the existence of religion in school now? That's going to leave some big fucking gaps in world history.

Teaching about religion, or even comparative religion is not done with claims of God's existence or lack thereof. There is a hell of a difference between
"This is what christians believe", and "jesus is lord, the only path to salvation is through him".

There was no claim of the existence or lack thereof of god in this exercise.

[Ifreann]

Definitions are not end-all be-alls. There are connotations attached to words that are not included in a definition.

And formal education is intended to inform students of the actual definitions of words. Free of colloquialism.

You seem to be trying very hard to be offended.

I hear people do that professionally these days. Maybe Jamz should look into that.

[Mavorpen]

...we can't teach about the existence of religion in school now? That's going to leave some big fucking gaps in world history.

Teaching about religion, or even comparative religion is not done with claims of God's existence or lack thereof. There is a hell of a difference between
"This is what christians believe", and "jesus is lord, the only path to salvation is through him".

Considering the exercise wasn't about the existence of god or lack thereof, as it's been explained countless times already, you're complaining over nothing.

[Neutraligon]

And it isn't necessary. In fact, it is necessary that we NOT amend it as you suggest, since most Americans prefer to live under a democracy instead of a theocracy.

Freedom of religion,not freedom from it.

Freedom from religion is required for there to be freedom of religion.

[Hirota]

Since we are now going through this whole burden of proof discussion.This is how burden of proof actually works.

The burden is not upon the person criticizing the proposition, but the person making the proposition.

This is similar to why juries will be directed to decide if a defendant is "guilty" or "not guilty" - it is the responsibility of the prosecution to prove guilt, not the defendants to prove innocence.

[Jamzmania]

Teaching about religion, or even comparative religion is not done with claims of God's existence or lack thereof. There is a hell of a difference between
"This is what christians believe", and "jesus is lord, the only path to salvation is through him".

There was no claim of the existence or lack thereof of god in this exercise.

She implied that He was not real by saying that God was a myth. Connotations of the word still apply even if you don't want them to. That's obviously the impression that she and many others got from this teacher.

[Ifreann]

There was no claim of the existence or lack thereof of god in this exercise.

She implied that He was not real by saying that God was a myth. Connotations of the word still apply even if you don't want them to. That's obviously the impression that she and many others got from this teacher.

So to be clear, you think that teachers should not say that God is a myth, even though that's true and does not actually say anything about whether or not God is real, because it might upset their students who don't properly understand the word 'myth'.

Usually when people suggest that teachers not say particular things in order to spare the feelings of their students, there are cries of Tumblr and SJWs and PC Gone Mad.

[Dyakovo]

There was no claim of the existence or lack thereof of god in this exercise.

She implied that He was not real by saying that God was a myth.

No, the christian teacher did not do that.

[Ethel mermania]

Teaching about religion, or even comparative religion is not done with claims of God's existence or lack thereof. There is a hell of a difference between
"This is what christians believe", and "jesus is lord, the only path to salvation is through him".

There was no claim of the existence or lack thereof of god in this exercise.

Yes there was, the lesson was about factsx common assumption, or falseness, and which catagory to pUT "god is real" in, was the exercise. While a legitimate topic for you and I to discuss, isn't appropriate for a public school.

[Hirota]

She implied that He was not real by saying that God was a myth. Connotations of the word still apply even if you don't want them to. That's obviously the impression that she and many others got from this teacher.

Technically, if you want to get into connotations, you are reading the what the news organisation seeks to imply. That doesn't make it true or false.

[The Alma Mater]

There was no claim of the existence or lack thereof of god in this exercise.

She implied that He was not real by saying that God was a myth. Connotations of the word still apply even if you don't want them to. That's obviously the impression that she and many others got from this teacher.

Kids learn that Zeus, Odin and Ra are myths all the time. Is that wrong ?

[Dyakovo]

There was no claim of the existence or lack thereof of god in this exercise.

Yes there was, the lesson was about factsx common assumption, or falseness, and which catagory to pUT "god is real" in.

Wrong.

[Altaiire]

I don't have time to dig through this thread. Please tell me that someone called out the OP for claiming "macroevolution" to be a myth and believing the existence of reality to only go back as far as there were humans.

[Ethel mermania]

--- post withdrawn ---

[Ethel mermania]

Yes there was, the lesson was about factsx common assumption, or falseness, and which catagory to pUT "god is real" in.

Wrong.

The source I am using is the snopes one soldi put up, do you have a different one?