One of the things homeschooled kids miss out on is being criticized by teachers for their personal beliefs.
I don’t think it’s bad to miss out on such experiences, but it does get me thinking about how to prepare (or whether it’s possible to prepare) our college-bound homeschooled offspring for that kind of situation, which is becoming increasingly common.
Not that it never happened in the past, of course. I recall being graded down in Biology 100 back at the good old U of I for refusing to accept the theory of evolution as a valid one. And as recently as last fall, my teenage daughter took some flak from her community college professor (in a graphic arts class, no less) for commenting that she liked Sarah Palin.
But it appears that the teachers are becoming more vehement and profane:
Jonathan Lopez, who is working on his associate of arts degree at Los Angeles City College, quoted a dictionary definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman and cited several Bible verses during a public speaking class in late November, his suit says. His professor, John Matteson, interrupted, called Lopez a “fascist bastard” and refused to let him finish his address, according to the suit.
Nice, huh? We don’t have to worry about Jonathan, who has since sued the college district with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund. But what about our kids? John Matteson isn’t the only idiot professor out there. Can we prepare our kids for this kind of attack, and if so, how?
I think we should warn them that this happens, and discuss ways they can deal with it. In the case of my daughter, we discussed the inappropriateness of her teacher’s remarks (which I won’t go into here), especially since her dad and I were paying $400 for graphic design instruction, not misguided knee-jerk political philosophy. We also talked about what she wished she would have said, and what she’ll do when (not if) it happens again. We talked about knowing what you believe and why you believe it. And I told her I was proud of her for politely standing up for herself when verbally attacked by an authority figure.
Did I leave anything out? What else can we do?
I am not here yet, but I do dread the day when this happens to one of my kids. Once, in University, a prof asked anyone in the class to raise their hand if they were a Christian. I did (but I was terrified) and he proceeded to berate and ridicule me. I probably should have reported him, but I was too young and too scared. I pray that my kids will stand up for what is right.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where conservative and Christian viewpoints are going to be attacked in the classroom. And we should try to help give our homeschooled kids some ways to cope with it when it happens. I remember one of my own professors back in the ’80s. It was a terrible moment and I weathered it, but still remember her response to my opinion.
BTW, on a happier note….I am having a book giveaway so come check it out!
I suppose that’s one of the only thing sending kids to public school is good for… Get ’em used to being verbally abused. A friend of mine’s daughter (in public school) just had a run-in from a student teacher who was verbally abusing her in front of her class. Goodness! I hope that never happens to my kids, but I’m trying to teach them early that there are people out there who will say negative things to them about their faith.
It’s interesting that all of you have a true story about this happening. Then again, the Bible says don’t be surprised when you’re persecuted for what you believe….
I probably will never be sending my kids to college (not that we could ever dream of affording it), unless it is Patrick Henry College or some small private college or trade school which is not controlled by the federal government and filled with political correctness hogwash; however, they will eventually be “in the world”, (unless the Lord returns soon), and will need to be prepared for the attacks they will face. My daughter is a moderator (she is only 15) on a website forum,”Dog Realm Fans”, and encounters offensive ideas and ideologies of all kinds. She has been debating issues on the internet (other websites dealing with dogs, too)for well over a year now and has dealt with other issues (as well as dealing with dog breeding, etc.), including evolution, abortion and even attacks on Sarah Palin, so she is already getting a course in this subject inadvertantly. There is a kid that lives close to us and both my kids play with him once in a while. They try to set him straight on things like evolution and sin (he has been taught these things because of his home life and public school), so they have had a little taste of it, already. But I cannot believe that they would use such outright vulgar language in colleges like that! God forbid that I would ever consider spending money to have my kids’ faith berated like that. I do not intend any disrespect for other families who plan or are sending their children to college; that is just how we happen to feel about it.
Mary J Rowell
Mary, I understand completely. The college decision is a tough one for that reason (among others). It really is sad that it’s come down to this.
Thanks for stopping by!