How would you respond-- "are you an atheist?" from a student

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- I'm a little surprised that everyone is saying just blanket no religion in public school.

I am an atheist, and I generally agree, but this was their ELA class talking about culture and traditions, Muslim students sharing, talking about Day of the Dead, etc. So in this case, could only students share and not teachers?

My kid is in public school and we have definitely sussed out who the Jewish teachers are. DD has exchanged recipes for Passover with one of her teachers, another brought her a special eraser when she came back from Israel. The non jewish principal has wished DD shabbat shalom on Friday evenings. Nobody is encouraging anyone to join any religion, nobody is threatening anyone will go to hell. Sometimes the kids (of different religions) will discuss their religions and a question will come up so they will ask a teacher to help them sort something out (like, what are the two plagues I'm forgetting). I think it's lovely that these things can be dealt with at school, the place for learning, without anyone freaking out that oh my god somebody explained what candy has to do with Easter or whatever, just like they can go to their teacher to ask why the indian girl has her nose pierced when she's only 7.

[Anonymous]

I think that since the cat is out of the bag, kids will talk no matter what. It's probably best to state that you think that religion is a personal matter, not to be discussed with students. Let them talk amongst themselves.

As an atheist parent, I would say I don't want teachers talking about their personal religious views in class. I'm afraid it could unintentionally be divisive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think that since the cat is out of the bag, kids will talk no matter what. It's probably best to state that you think that religion is a personal matter, not to be discussed with students. Let them talk amongst themselves.

As an atheist parent, I would say I don't want teachers talking about their personal religious views in class. I'm afraid it could unintentionally be divisive.

OP here- this is exactly my concern, especially given my student population.

[Anonymous]

I would mention it briefly and move on. Otherwise it looks like atheism, unlike some, any religion, is something to be ashamed of and hidden.

It should be easy to deflect more discussion by pointing out that this is not a religion class.

[Anonymous]

Stating one's religion or lack thereof is not the same as stating an opinion about one's religion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- I'm a little surprised that everyone is saying just blanket no religion in public school.

I am an atheist, and I generally agree, but this was their ELA class talking about culture and traditions, Muslim students sharing, talking about Day of the Dead, etc. So in this case, could only students share and not teachers?

This is why all kids need a comparative religions class. My friend who grew up in Canada said that they studied (in public) religions in depths starting at a young age and then in HS had a comparative study. In the case of religion, ignorance is NOT bliss.

Years ago, I taught in a public school that for whatever reason had a large group of Christians. Grading summer essays was brutal because many of these kids had traveled to the South to convert the heathens. It was so bad that anyone who wasn't Christian was ostracized - and one girl in particular was bullied to the extreme. The school has a very diverse group now, thankfully.

But unfortunately, people can't seem to understand that "tolerance" (really acceptance) goes both ways, and someone who doesn't believe in your god isn't evil.

FWIW, I see nothing wrong with telling kids you're an atheist. or a lesbian or a gay man with two children and a partner of 16 years

Respect goes both ways. Kids learn respect (or disrespect) from home.

[Anonymous]

in depth, that is

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- I'm a little surprised that everyone is saying just blanket no religion in public school.

I am an atheist, and I generally agree, but this was their ELA class talking about culture and traditions, Muslim students sharing, talking about Day of the Dead, etc. So in this case, could only students share and not teachers?

This is why all kids need a comparative religions class. My friend who grew up in Canada said that they studied (in public) religions in depths starting at a young age and then in HS had a comparative study. In the case of religion, ignorance is NOT bliss.

Years ago, I taught in a public school that for whatever reason had a large group of Christians. Grading summer essays was brutal because many of these kids had traveled to the South to convert the heathens. It was so bad that anyone who wasn't Christian was ostracized - and one girl in particular was bullied to the extreme. The school has a very diverse group now, thankfully.

But unfortunately, people can't seem to understand that "tolerance" (really acceptance) goes both ways, and someone who doesn't believe in your god isn't evil.

FWIW, I see nothing wrong with telling kids you're an atheist. or a lesbian or a gay man with two children and a partner of 16 years

Respect goes both ways. Kids learn respect (or disrespect) from home.

[Anonymous]

As an atheist, and a public school teacher, I have mixed feelings about this.

In general, I would say that discussion of a teacher's religious beliefs have no place in the public school classroom, and that teachers should redirect questions with an explanation that they prefer to keep that information private. I don't have a problem if a student deduces a teacher's religious beliefs from their cultural practices, whether it's noticing that the teacher wears a cross, or has a Darwin fish on their car, or is consistently absent on Yom Kippur, but I don't think it should be a point of discussion.

However, I also recognize that there are schools in the country where the norm is for people from the dominant religion of the area, which is often but not always Christian, to be very open about their faith with students. If a middle school student has 7 teachers, and 5 of them profess a certain to the class, then I think there is some power in teachers with other beliefs letting the students know their own beliefs. I think it's easy for a student to assume that all atheists are . . . or all Muslims are . . . when they think they've never met them, and that having an adult they know and admire share their faith can be a powerful thing. I absolutely don't think that a public school teacher ever has an obligation to share their beliefs, but I can understand the choice to do so in certain circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Why can't you be honest?

Yes. I am atheist.

If he asks more questions you should be honest. "Teachers are not allowed to discuss religion to their students."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can't you be honest?

Yes. I am atheist.

If he asks more questions you should be honest. "Teachers are not allowed to discuss religion to their students."

bingo - otherwise it looks like atheism is something wierd or bad that you should be ashamed of and try to hide.

I'm distressed by the number of posts here mentioning avoiding "discussing" or giving one's "opinion" about atheism, when that was not the issue presented at all - which was answering a direct yes or no question about religious affiliation - "are you an atheist?" It implies that people perceive the very assertion that a person is an atheist as an opinion not fit for mention in school. I strongly doubt that would be the expected, acceptable reaction to a student's question about a mainstream religion, e.g., are you Episcopalian; are you greek orthodox.

Atheism, like other issues before it, is going mainstream and deserves to be treated like other issues. Obama has on several occassions, mentioned agnostics, atheists, or nonbelievers as being part of the nation's composition, along with religions.

I think it would be appropriate, if asked "what is atheism" or "Is atheism devil worship?" (which unfortunately some people believe), to simply explain what the word means, the way a teacher would define any word that kids don't understand. It means "without religion" "not having religion."

Of course, this may make the kids more curious, but this is where you cut off conversation - the way a teacher would cut off conversation on any other topic that is not related to the academic subject being taught.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can't you be honest?

Yes. I am atheist.

If he asks more questions you should be honest. "Teachers are not allowed to discuss religion to their students."

Agree with this. Or maybe, if he asks more questions, "Those are very personal questions, and I'm not going to discuss them." Then, turn back to the subject at hand -- if it's religion, move towards general information regarding religions, rather than personal beliefs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can't you be honest?

Yes. I am atheist.

If he asks more questions you should be honest. "Teachers are not allowed to discuss religion to their students."

Agree with this. Or maybe, if he asks more questions, "Those are very personal questions, and I'm not going to discuss them." Then, turn back to the subject at hand -- if it's religion, move towards general information regarding religions, rather than personal beliefs.

but, for instance, if a student who asked a teacher, "are you Catholic" I don't think the teacher, after answering "yes" would then respond, "That's is very personal question" if the student asked "Do you believe in Transubstantiation?" The teacher could give a definition of it and/or stop the conversation there, and redirect the discussion back to the subject being taught.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster who originally asked whether you work in a public school, and that was more about whether your job would be in jeopardy, as it might be were you a teacher in a religious school.

I don't agree that you should blanket everything with "We can't talk about religion in a public school." But I do think you can blanket everything with, "That is a very personal question, why do you ask?"

Agreed.

I think kids have no business asking teachers personal questions, especially in middle school. What's next, what kind of birth control you're using?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster who originally asked whether you work in a public school, and that was more about whether your job would be in jeopardy, as it might be were you a teacher in a religious school.

I don't agree that you should blanket everything with "We can't talk about religion in a public school." But I do think you can blanket everything with, "That is a very personal question, why do you ask?"

Agreed.

I think kids have no business asking teachers personal questions, especially in middle school. What's next, what kind of birth control you're using?

OP here. I don't think this is a fair comparison. Religion is a big part of people's lives and is shared among families. I think that's not as personal as birth control, which has no relevance to their lives.

I realize this comment may have been a bit tongue in cheek, but the way I feel is - this isn't necessarily a bad or inappropriate question. I would like to be able to just answer it and move along (not proselytize), the way a teacher with a religion would. I don't want to give the impression I am ashamed or it is secret.

[Anonymous]

To those who ask why I can't just answer- I can, my concern is that students are not very familiar with atheism and their own religions may make them have a negative opinion of me due to it.