My history teacher is a communist

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Your assessment of this teacher is based on a high school student’s report of her. I don’t think you really have enough information on which to base an honest evaluation. Additionally, if this student is smart, he’ll realize that taking alternate positions in a debate – even those with which you ardently disagree – is a crucial part of learning. That we now encourage disparagement of authority figures among children is really sad.
 
gracepoole said:
authority figures
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I remember me being in one physics conference where Nobel laureate made the plenary presentation. The chair who introduced him joked a lot and clearly said - “I don’t believe in authorities, I have no authorities”. She referred to the conference sessions about neutrino mass measurements and oscillations - exactly the topics that were said to be false under the Standard model and Standard model is yet another physics theory whose creators have been awarded Nobel prize. So - Nobel prizes come and goes, they create authorities, but the life is more complex and goes ahead.

No, dear brother, be open and be ready to question any so called truh. Have a look on catholic theologians jesuit priests Francis A. Sullivan - Wikipedia and Francis Xavier Clooney - Wikipedia They are making the catholic theology and catholic faith live and for them and similar theologians I am with Church and many others will find their way to Church.
 
Respectfully, this is false dichotomy. You can respect authority without giving up the ability to question. We’re speaking here of the ability to maturely question without belittling, dismissing, and behaving arrogantly. High school students do not naturally have this ability – they need to learn how to access and wield it. Through the process of logic (again a learned skill), one can come to truth. But that process demands that we actually engage with alternate positions.
 
StudentMI said:
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gracepoole:
But that process demands that we actually engage with alternate positions.
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So was the Index of prohibited books wrong? Should we have engaged those ideas as opposed to just banning them?
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The Index was created by the Church – an authority – not high school students.
 
StudentMI said:
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gracepoole:
The Index was created by the Church – an authority – not high school students.
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But it had an effect on high school students. Those works and ideas were not entertained. Should they have been?
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This is a separate issue. I’ll provide my opinion on it if you wish, but it doesn’t matter to this discussion. In terms of this discussion, encouraging high school students to casually dismiss authorities is irresponsible. It’s impossible to genuinely refute a pro-abortion position, for example, without knowing what the pro-abortion opponent actually asserts. We cannot adequately defend truth without understanding others’ beliefs.

In terms of the Index, in a time when most are not well educated and do not have the benefit of discussions with knowledgeable sources, it may be a benefit. Generally, however, the better model would be exposure and discussion of contrary ideas. I’m grateful to raise my children in an environment that permits greater discussion of what is appropriate viewing and reading and why. This, of course, is simply my opinion and again, it doesn’t matter to this thread’s topic.
 
I guess the term “authority” upsets my instincts that are embedded in democracy and meritocracy. I understand terms “expert” (has worthy skills and opinion in some domain in some time point), “pecking order” and “position in reception line” (has temporal achievements in power games), “dignity as person” (at least being polite and human), but it is very hard for me to understand what “authority” means. High school and junior college teacher certainly are not experts in their domains, students definitely should be ready to go beyond them and achieve more. That is the simple fact. And good teachers let this know to their students very early, teachers are guides.
 
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High school students are in no position to determine what a true authority or expert is.
 
gracepoole said:
When did these sorts of antics become acceptable?
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This has been going on for a long time, well over a decade. Honestly, I’m surprised that you’ve just noticed or heard of this. The days of sitting in one’s seat and attentively listening has been replaced by, depending on your school district, varying degrees of disrespect and chaos.
gracepoole said:
That we now encourage disparagement of authority figures among children is really sad.
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Once again, nothing new. We’re seeing the results all around us now. Like they say, You reap what you sow. :man_shrugging:t2:
 
Cruciferi said:
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gracepoole:
When did these sorts of antics become acceptable?
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This has been going on for a long time, well over a decade. Honestly, I’m surprised that you’ve just noticed or heard of this. The days of sitting in one’s seat and attentively listening has been replaced by, depending on your school district, varying degrees of disrespect and chaos.
gracepoole said:
That we now encourage disparagement of authority figures among children is really sad.
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Once again, nothing new. We’re seeing the results all around us now. Like they say, You reap what you sow. :man_shrugging:t2:
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I taught for 20 years – I’m not really new to any of this. That doesn’t make it any less disturbing that adults here are encouraging it.
 
I wonder - whether it is really so hard to say “I don’t know, but I have some experience and intuition and will seek this information, maybe it will help you”. There are things that we know and then there are things that we don’t know and let students know where our capabilities start and end.

But maybe I have this other experience. In my field I am up-to-date with the cutting-edge science, I know what new preprints were published this morning and I am reading those that are suitable for me. I know which researcher is doing what in my field and I have no this obstacle to contact and ask questions to them and answer, if someone asks me. I know what has already been discovered and I know the open questions that should be discovered. I didn’t have such teachers, unfortunately, but if I had them in my years as student, then that would have improved my life greatly.

My guess is that every people, especially teacher - has to have this passion for his or her field and has to dig all through to the border between already known and so far unknown, already discovered/invented and yet to be discovered/invented. And this gives confidence to speak, to do, to teach.

Well - and students essentially are seeking exactly such teachers - that know and can guide students to the summits in their field. Really, students don’t need comedians and entertainers in front of classrooms. Students have life to live, fights to compete and win and they need the strongest tools, utmost tools.
 
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Lost_sheep2 said:
she very pointedly assigned me to the communist side
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Embrace the challenge. I would suggest that you prepare by examining the good motives and good intentions behind communist revolutions. What evils were they trying to abolish? What good did they strive for? These movements start out benign and might flourish except for human nature. Bit by bit, the goodness is eroded by greed, pride, etc., like the fall from Eden. So put yourself back to the dating or honeymoon phase of communism and argue it like a true believer.
 
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gracepoole said:
Every logician recognizes the tu quoque fallacy.
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Not everyone recognizes whataboutism as valid.
Christian Christensen, Professor of Journalism in Stockholm, argues that the accusation of whataboutism is itself a form of the tu quoque fallacy, as it dismisses criticisms of one’s own behavior to focus instead on the actions of another, thus creating a double standard. Those who use whataboutism are not necessarily engaging in an empty or cynical deflection of responsibility: whataboutism can be a useful tool to expose contradictions, double standards, and hypocrisy.
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Whataboutism - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
 
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Eh, I think we’re now discussing two different topics. Again:
You can respect authority without giving up the ability to question. We’re speaking here of the ability to maturely question without belittling, dismissing, and behaving arrogantly. High school students do not naturally have this ability – they need to learn how to access and wield it. Through the process of logic (again a learned skill), one can come to truth. But that process demands that we actually engage with alternate positions.
Click to expand...
 
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