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

[Mavorpen]

It has? To me countless times?

I'm sorry, what? I never said it was explained to you specifically, only that it WAS explained.

Reading is fundimental, try it some time.

I agree that you should actually read and not use a childish excuse of, "Well, I'll just not read through the thread and correct myself before I make a silly mistake of posting something that not only isn't true, but has been repeatedly demonstrated to not be true in this very thread" in order to justify being wrong as though it's anyone else's fault other than your own.

[Dyakovo]

Wrong.

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

viewtopic.php?p=26477850&sid=1a8e8c901005d9321fe2172ddf307a91#p26477850

[Neutraligon]

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

http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic ... #p26477850

Seems to me the answer to that question would depend on the student. It is both an opinion and a common assertion here in the US those two answers are completely correct. As to fact, well that is why it is an opinion because to some people it is a fact. The three are not mutually exclusive.

[Dyakovo]

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 ?

Clearly we need to start teaching that their existence is fact.
*nods*

[Soldati Senza Confini]

No, she wasn't. I don't think you understand what "myth" means.

Did you bother to read the article? It states that the students took a poll to say whether God was fact, opinion, or myth. The teacher said that anyone who said that a fact or an opinion was wrong and God is only a myth.

That's not what the assignment was:

http://www.snopes.com/2015/10/28/katy-t ... ntroversy/

[Soldati Senza Confini]

She wasn't coercing them into doing anything. She was explaining that objectively, God is not a fact, but an opinion or myth.

A fact is something that is true. There is no requirement for evidence in the definition of a fact.

Either way, she was coercing them through their grades.

Just what the fuck kind of school teaches this shit?!

[Ceterius]

--accidental repost--

[Mavorpen]

Did you bother to read the article? It states that the students took a poll to say whether God was fact, opinion, or myth. The teacher said that anyone who said that a fact or an opinion was wrong and God is only a myth.

That's not what the assignment was:

http://www.snopes.com/2015/10/28/katy-t ... ntroversy/

District officials [said] that the 12-year-old girl's story is not the same one that other students told officials. They also say that the other students claim this reading teacher did not say there was not a God during an assignment in class. The district said they interviewed eight of the 22 students who were in that same classroom.

A reading teacher passed out a critical thinking worksheet in class. Students were instructed to pick if something was fact, opinion or common assertion. One of the statements on the worksheet read, "There is a God."

Jordan Wooley, 12, and her mother Chantel spoke in front of the Katy ISD school board to complain that the teacher told students that God is a myth and questioned his existence.

Katy ISD Superintendent Alton Frailey said, "In the investigation those assertions were not corroborated by the other students. Was the activity graded? It was not graded. Was it 40 percent of their grade? Were the students told they had to deny God? No one corroborated that, at all."

Chantel Wooley says she stands by her daughter. She also said that somebody is telling the truth and somebody is not.

Katy ISD says the teacher explained that a commonplace assertion exists when there is room for debate. [The district also said] the worksheet will not be used again in classrooms and that students did not get graded on that assignment.

Seems to me like this kid in particular simply couldn't handle her beliefs being challenged, however little, and took it personally when there was no reason to. Kudos for the other kids for actually understanding the purpose of the assignment.

[Grave_n_idle]

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.

The teacher is Christian. The teacher herself believes in the God the article is trying to claim she's saying is fake.

So maybe the people trying to be offended (including the girl in the story... or probably her parents, more likely) are having to misinterpret the facts.

The point of the exercise is obviously to get students to categorise information according to what they can support (hence the difference between fact and opinion). Some little kid's parents getting bent out of shape about it doesn't mean the teacher was trying to imply god is not real.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

I'm not sure who in the hell said that, but it is an objectively true statement to say that the concept of God is a myth.

The teacher said that.

The teacher never said that:

http://www.snopes.com/2015/10/28/katy-t ... ntroversy/

Yes, I will keep posting the same fucking link until people learn how the fuck to read and I will hammer the point that people should actually engage in the critical thinking they are criticizing.

[Deutsch Militarstaat]

Yeah like everyone is saying what you said started off in saying that the teacher was wrong in saying that and blah blah blah and then you just went on to say shit like "atheism is a religion" and other crap about atheism? Is this thread about debating what happened to the girl or is it you trying to get people to say crap about atheism?

[Ceterius]

Basically what I got from the thread is that the originator of the story is a bloody fragging idiot.

[The Alma Mater]

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

Clearly we need to start teaching that their existence is fact.
*nods*

Indeed. We cannot discriminate against religions after all - all are equal.

[Ethel mermania]

It has? To me countless times?

I'm sorry, what? I never said it was explained to you specifically, only that it WAS explained.

Reading is fundimental, try it some time.

I agree that you should actually read and not use a childish excuse of, "Well, I'll just not read through the thread and correct myself before I make a silly mistake of posting something that not only isn't true, but has been repeatedly demonstrated to not be true in this very thread" in order to justify being wrong as though it's anyone else's fault other than your own.

The post has been withdrawn.. the base assertion about the lesson still stands.

[Salus Maior]

If this is true, then I'd imagine it would be a violation of the 1st Amendment. And as such, the teacher should be fired.

[Mavorpen]

Yeah like everyone is saying what you said started off in saying that the teacher was wrong in saying that and blah blah blah and then you just went on to say shit like "atheism is a religion" and other crap about atheism? Is this thread about debating what happened to the girl or is it you trying to get people to say crap about atheism?

I'm actually surprised the thread has stayed on track about the story itself and that it hasn't devolved into a debate over whether atheism is a religion, macroevolution, etc.

[Mavorpen]

The post has been withdrawn.. the base assertion about the lesson still stands.

Yes, it still stands as being absolute bullshit.

[Ethel mermania]

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

viewtopic.php?p=26477850&sid=1a8e8c901005d9321fe2172ddf307a91#p26477850

The snopes article tells the story a bit differently and in more depth.

[Grave_n_idle]

If this is true,

It's not.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

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

Everyone understands myths to be untrue. 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, we talk about myths as beliefs. Which the existence of God is.

Hell, even I know this and I am a fucking deist that I cannot prove whether the God I believe in is real or not, so the question "does God exist" can only be answered with my opinion, a belief that God exists. I can't really prove it so it's not a fact.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

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

viewtopic.php?p=26477850&sid=1a8e8c901005d9321fe2172ddf307a91#p26477850

I haven't read that one, but this one seems to be more accurate:

http://www.snopes.com/2015/10/28/katy-t ... ntroversy/

[Ganos Lao]

The teacher said that.

The teacher never said that:

http://www.snopes.com/2015/10/28/katy-t ... ntroversy/

Yes, I will keep posting the same fucking link until people learn how the fuck to read and I will hammer the point that people should actually engage in the critical thinking they are criticizing.

That's the point, Soldati.

It's not that they don't engage in it.

It's that they don't want to.

It would get in the way of the narrative.

[Ethel mermania]

The post has been withdrawn.. the base assertion about the lesson still stands.

Yes, it still stands as being absolute bullshit.

Try reading the snopes article.

[Ifreann]

A fact is something that is true. There is no requirement for evidence in the definition of a fact.

Either way, she was coercing them through their grades.

Just what the fuck kind of school teaches this shit?!

He's right. Things that are true are true regardless of whether anyone can prove that they are true. Obviously we can't know that something is a fact until we have the right evidence, but before we had that evidence it was still a fact.

[Dyakovo]

Basically what I got from the thread is that the originator of the story is a bloody fragging idiot.

Yes.