here's a challenging thought.

[ulysses]

I'm an agnostic who teaches in a public middle school in a very poor, African-American neighborhood in Atlanta. I believe, as strongly as anybody here, in the separation of church and state, yet I work in a neighborhood in which the few threads to any kind of hope run through the church. More than a few of my colleagues are ministers, and very open on campus about their faith.

Yes, I'm waiting for the first Muslim child to enroll, but for the nonce, I don't see any other avenues of real hope offered by the secular community in the neighborhood I serve. I want to be bothered by my colleagues' regular references to the deity in a public school setting, but in our current situation, such a bothersomeness is well beyond the point, even stupid.

[fshrink]

1. I also work with children

although on the psychological/psychiatric level in a community where nearly everybody is religious, including of course the kids who don't have much choice. What I do and what you do have also one other thing in common: the more they learn and know, the less they are conditioned to believe. Among all the kids we deal with, you can safely bet that at least a few will later evolve from the knowledge we impart as critical thinkers. So we put up with it and do our job as non-believers.

[politicat]

2. same boat here.

what he said.

Critical thinking is the key - teach that and don't worry about the faith system.

Pcat