Relativism run rampant

As you know, I am enrolled in a masters program in education. My classes are online, and recently one of the students took exception to my quoting the Bible and also to the fact that it is impossible for teachers to remain neutral in their teaching. We have pre-suppositions and a worldview, and sooner or later that will come out in your teaching, whether directly or indirectly. Her argument was that a teacher should NEVER share their opinion with his or her students. My view is that that isn't reasonable. I thought I'd post her comments and my response:

Fellow Student:

This is a discussion, were we are asked to give our opinions as part of the class discussion. So I am simply doing just that. In fact I do not give my opinion on half of the things that are said in this class even though I do not agree with everything that is said, especially when it comes to topics that involve religion and moral issues. Those seem to be some topics that have been discussed in the class,( in fact I think you have directly quoted form the bible) I do not necessarily agree with what all has been said , but again I refrain from giving my opinion on the topics. I also am not having a discussion with impressionable children that I am teaching, which makes a world of difference.
Yes, there is "no such thing as a true neutral", but we can keep our opinions and beliefs to ourselves. We do not need to preach to others about what we think is right or wrong.
I would hate to have had a teacher that constantly put his or her own views into their lessons. I had some great teachers throughout my entire life, and I do not feel that their lessons were based upon their own personal beliefs, even in college where teachers have a bit more freedom in their lessons. I guess I can consider myself lucky to have not had a teacher who was so preachy, and constantly taught lessons which reflected his/ her own personal beliefs.

My Response:

In my post, as I stated earlier, I'm not trying to argue with you, and I was trying to keep it on a light level. I'm afraid we're just going to have to agree to disagree, and that is okay to do.
First of all, it is not a crime to “quote from the Bible”, nor is it unacceptable in the public arena to do so. If and when it does become either one of those, this country is no longer the United States of America, with freedom of religion and freedom of speech, which our founding fathers intended it to be. If you disagree with that, take some time to read the prime source documents from the 18th century that are readily available.
Second, it's not "preachy" to stand for something, to have an opinion, or even share that opinion. In fact, I like to know the worldview from which my instructors are coming from so I can better understand the way they deliver their information. For instance, a biology teacher from an evolutionary point of view is going to have a different way of delivering biological information than a person who holds to an intelligent design or "creation" point of view, even if no origin of life material is discussed, simply because a consistent and coherent worldview will shape even the very words they use, regardless of whether or not they refrain from giving opinions. "Preachy" is simply a derogatory, name-calling term used for someone who shares a point of view that we don’t adhere to.
Third, I never stated, nor do I believe, that entire classes or lessons or subjects should just be “based upon” a teacher’s opinion. That would be very irresponsible of an educator. I’m not quite sure how you interpreted that based upon what I have previously stated.
Finally, if we are not supposed to teach others about what is right or wrong, how can we tell them that it’s wrong when they hit others? How can we tell them that it’s wrong to steal your car, or break into your home, or trash your classroom? In fact how can we tell them that ANYTHING is wrong at all? How can we enact consequences to wrong behavior when we can’t even define what wrong behavior is because we can’t teach them the difference between right and wrong?
Every day I give my basketball players a definition of some positive moral value, such as honesty, integrity, character, self discipline, etc., which they have to memorize. Today I gave them what I call the “8 rules of life”: never lie, never cheat, never steal, never whine, never complain, never make excuses, never brag about yourself, never feel sorry for yourself. Do you know why? Because if we don’t teach children those values, they become liars, cheaters, thieves, whiners, complainers, irresponsible excuse makers and braggarts who constantly have pity parties and believe they are always the victim. That’s what they’ll become unless we teach them the opposite. Which of those moral values do you not want your students to have? And if the answer to that question is “I can’t tell them what is right or wrong”, then there is no right in complaining when you become a victim of some immoral or criminal act. Because to the criminal, they decided that what they did was right, and no one can tell them it’s wrong. Does anyone see the flawed logic of relativism?
Education does not occur in a vacuum. If we don’t teach the right morals, they’ll do just fine learning all the wrong ones on their own.


All the more reason we homeschool!