Teaching About Religion in Schools
commentary by Daniel Duerden | February 09, 2012
In today’s world, as it has for centuries, religion and daily life are inextricably linked. Religion permeates the political landscape, the business world and even the academic world. For a child to grow up into a functioning adult, they must have an understanding of the various religions represented around the world. And while teachers cannot, and should not, preach religion in schools, they should teach about religion.
Unfortunately, there is a large misunderstanding on the difference between teaching religion and teaching about religion. Recently, a school board member came under fire after an AP History class had a representative of the Islam faith come and speak to the class about the religion and their beliefs.
The children were not preached to; they were not indoctrinated with Islamic teachings. The speaker was trying to foster an understanding of his beliefs. And yet, parents were outraged.
This is a problem. By not allowing teachers to teach children about other faiths, we are at risk of breeding hate and intolerance. Stephen Prothero, author of the book, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know — And Doesn't, explained in a USA Today opinion piece that in spite of being a deeply religious people, Americans know very little about their own religion and even less about other religions. Because of this, he calls for schools to provide more education on religion.
One school district, Modesto City Schools in Modesto, Calif. is doing just that. The school mandates that every high school graduate must take a world religions class. While the new graduation requirement did not come without a fight, many are saying the classes are making a huge difference in the students’ behaviors, actions and attitudes toward each other.
“When you don't know about something, you fear it – and when you fear something, you become more likely to strike out against it,” Yvonne Taylor, a Modesto teacher said to Teaching Tolerance. “We wanted students to understand that even if we disagree with a group of people, they still have the right to be here.”
For this school district, the ability to teach the course came when they distinguished between ‘teaching about religion’ as opposed to ‘teaching religion.’
The Anti-Defamation League has published guidelines to help distinguish between the two. They explain that teaching about religion should be “geared toward teaching students about the role of religion in the historical, cultural, literary and social development of the United States and other nations.” Whereas teaching religion is religious indoctrination and practice in schools and should be prohibited.
Religion is a subject that is deeply rooted in many school subjects like history, politics, art and English, and should not be ignored. Religion is as much of a culture as it is a religion and by understanding how others believe and why they do the things they do, a safer learning environment can be built.
Teaching Tolerance gives the following ten tips on how to build a solid world religions class curriculum:
1. Involve the community. Make sure to get to know and include religious groups in your community. It can provide a rich learning experience for your students.
2. Engage diverse voices. Make sure every religion in your curriculum is represented, including atheism.
3. Build trust.
4. Be sensitive.
5. Get district buy-in. Get district approval for your class and have them in your corner as you prepare your curriculum. They can provide many resources.
6. Training, training, training.
7. Opt-in for teachers. Be sure that your teachers are comfortable teaching the subject by getting volunteers.
8. Communicate with parents. Keep in contact with parents, letting them know what will be taught and how it will be taught. By doing this, you can hopefully avoid a situation like the one in Florida.
9. Lay the groundwork for respect. Let your students know that hurtful comments will not be tolerated and that the purpose of the class is to foster understanding and respect between those of differing faiths.
10. Maintain neutrality. Keep a neutral voice even if you do not agree with the beliefs of the religion you are teaching about. By not taking sides, you can teach by example as well.
While teaching about religion in school can be a very thin tightrope to walk, it is a very important subject that should be addressed, especially in a time where religion seems to dominate so many aspects of the world sphere.
More Commentary
-
Using Facebook Safely in the Classroom
For teachers today, using Facebook can be one of the biggest double-edged swords. On one side, it can be a great and useful tool in reaching and communicating with children and teenagers. On the other, it can put teachers at great risk of impropriety with children, teenagers, their families and administrators.
-
Evaluating Special Education Teachers
Teacher evaluations are the buzzwords in education reform right now. As more schools compete for federal funding, districts are scrambling to implement evaluation methods that produce the most qualified teachers. However, in the scramble, one issue that is seemingly being overlooked is the effect these teacher evaluations are having on special education teachers and the students that they teach.
-
Policing Violent Behavior in Schools
Recently, the story of a 6-year old girl being handcuffed and taken out of school after a tantrum has made major headlines around the country. The story has incited anger from the media, civil rights groups, and other organizations stating that the school and the police grossly overreacted. However, the story really brings up the age old issue of how to deal with misbehaving students who move beyond temper tantrum and into physically violent behavior.
-
Balancing Teaching Moments and Activism
As the Trayvon Martin case dominates the media, race, violence, justice, tolerance and other issues are likely to come up in the classrooms. However, when bringing sensitive, polarizing subjects such as this into the classroom, it is important to remain neutral and find a balance between being an activist and being a teacher.
-
New Report Shows the Issues of Ed Reform
A new report put out by Condoleezza Rice and Joel Klein through the Council on Foreign Relations stated that current U.S. schools are posing a future risk to the nation's security and economic status. However, the report and its distracters are illustrating a larger problem in education reform, both sides claim that education needs to be reformed but neither side can agree on what the problem is, let alone any solution to the problem.
-
Summer Programs Can Curb Learning Loss
The term 'summer school' in a child's language is worse than any four-letter curse word in the dictionary. However, to educators and administrators keeping children educated during the summer may be the best option in closing the achievement gap between students in high-income areas and low-income areas.
-
Preventing Students From Plagiarizing
With technology taking an increased role in the classroom, plagiarism has become an issue that educators have increasingly worried about. Computers have given students access to a wealth of information and access to documents that are easier than ever to copy. However, teachers have the same access to that information, and have many additional ways to not only catch students plagiarizing but prevent it.
-
Measuring Immeasurables in Teacher Evals
As the No Child Left Behind era has entered its tenth year, school reform projects-like Race to the Top, the RESPECT project and, ironically, NCLB waivers-are regularly being implemented. And with each of these various reform programs, a form of teacher evaluation is required. However, since NCLB was implemented, many teacher evaluation methods have relied heavily on standardized test scores by students.