sparklingphoenix Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Here's a plot twist for everyone: One of my professors insists on bringing Christianity in the classroom. He teaches language development and I am taking his class to complete my linguistics degree. He uses bible verses in class as examples of sentence structures and he asked everyone to pray with him that we'll have a great semester on his syllabus. I was able to overlook these things because it didn't bother me that much, but today he proposed that spirituality is a valid theory-alongside theories by Noam Chomsky and other people- to prove how children acquire language. I was really shocked. I can't believe an educated university professor would suggest that spirituality from god gives us the ability to acquire language. How can anyone accept a religious idea to fill in the gaps for modern linguistic theories?? Students were nodding their heads when he said this!!!!!!!!!!! WTF?! If anyone doesn't know, Noam Chomsky proposed that children have innate knowledge of language, that they have a language mechanism in the brain, and it develops with maturity of the brain and input from the environment. Linguistic input triggers a particular pattern from those innately stored in the mind. There are also theories that counter this, stating that language is not innate in humans, but it is a learned skill. I won't go into a lot of detail because it's probably boring to a lot of people, but my teacher thinks that god bestowed us with the ability for language just like he sprinkled all the people around the tower of babel with different languages. There is not scientific proof or empirical data or studies to suggest that is a valid theory. Why is this being mentioned in my university class?? smh... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skepticjess Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 If I tried this crap with any of my professors, I would receive a 0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeThinkerNZ Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Littlena, it is just so saddening that your professor gets away with saying stuff like that. I long for the day when students in the US will be safe enough to challenge it, like they would be in NZ, Australia, and most places in Europe. For many US students the consequences make it not worth it... people could lose their parents' funding or be disadvantaged by the college. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparklingphoenix Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Yeah, I probably won't say anything just because I'm trying graduate and I can't afford to fail the class because of a difference of opinion. If I did try to counter the teacher I feel like I'd probably be villainized by the other students who agree with him anyways. -.- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
older Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Here's a plot twist for everyone: One of my professors insists on bringing Christianity in the classroom. He teaches language development and I am taking his class to complete my linguistics degree. He uses bible verses in class as examples of sentence structures and he asked everyone to pray with him that we'll have a great semester on his syllabus. I was able to overlook these things because it didn't bother me that much, but today he proposed that spirituality is a valid theory-alongside theories by Noam Chomsky and other people- to prove how children acquire language. I was really shocked. I can't believe an educated university professor would suggest that spirituality from god gives us the ability to acquire language. How can anyone accept a religious idea to fill in the gaps for modern linguistic theories?? Students were nodding their heads when he said this!!!!!!!!!!! WTF?! If anyone doesn't know, Noam Chomsky proposed that children have innate knowledge of language, that they have a language mechanism in the brain, and it develops with maturity of the brain and input from the environment. Linguistic input triggers a particular pattern from those innately stored in the mind. There are also theories that counter this, stating that language is not innate in humans, but it is a learned skill. I won't go into a lot of detail because it's probably boring to a lot of people, but my teacher thinks that god bestowed us with the ability for language just like he sprinkled all the people around the tower of babel with different languages. There is not scientific proof or empirical data or studies to suggest that is a valid theory. Why is this being mentioned in my university class?? smh... If this is a public university I'd be making an issue of this with the dean of the appropriate college or school. And I'd be prepared to call the ACLU for backup if necessary. You should be allowed to transfer to another class without penalty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 If I tried this crap with any of my professors, I would receive a 0. I take it you're in the US, too. Just when I thought all American schools were no good I came across your post and felt greatly encouraged to see that at least some American post-secondary schools still teach fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparklingphoenix Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 If this is a public university I'd be making an issue of this with the dean of the appropriate college or school. And I'd be prepared to call the ACLU for backup if necessary. You should be allowed to transfer to another class without penalty. It is a public university, which is why I was so shocked. I'd like to transfer out, but this class is the only one of it's kind. He is the only teacher. The linguistics program is very small, so many classes are only taught by one professor or aren't offered consistently. I am about to graduate so I will try to stick it out. If I could be completely anonymous, I'd look in to informing the dean. I'm wondering, though, if any higher ups would actually take my side, considering I'm living in the heart of dixie... -.- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogueScholar Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 If they are a higher education institution that takes state money (public college or university), they cannot "preach" or support any specific religion. If you are not comfortable with the grievance procedures that are in place at your college (you should reference your student handbook), colleges and universities have an office of student services. You can also contact this office and they will get the ball rolling on corrective action. An incident occurred a while back at the institution where I teach and the college acted quickly to rectify the situation. I would also just want to add a quick caveat to the conversation. If you teach at a higher institution just be aware that student information is considered protected. In fact, it falls under a federal law known as the family educational rights and privacy act (FERPA). FERPA applies to all institutions that receive funds under application programme/s from the U. S. Department of Education. I would just caution you to be careful about how much information you give out on a public forum or how much you quote from your students. While in principle, we start out as anonymous posters on this site; you must always think about the consequences if somehow, your identity was “blown” so to speak. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 52 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeThinkerNZ Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orbit Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share Posted March 26, 2015 If they are a higher education institution that takes state money (public college or university), they cannot "preach" or support any specific religion. If you are not comfortable with the grievance procedures that are in place at your college (you should reference your student handbook), colleges and universities have an office of student services. You can also contact this office and they will get the ball rolling on corrective action. An incident occurred a while back at the institution where I teach and the college acted quickly to rectify the situation. I would also just want to add a quick caveat to the conversation. If you teach at a higher institution just be aware that student information is considered protected. In fact, it falls under a federal law known as the family educational rights and privacy act (FERPA). FERPA applies to all institutions that receive funds under application programme/s from the U. S. Department of Education. I would just caution you to be careful about how much information you give out on a public forum or how much you quote from your students. While in principle, we start out as anonymous posters on this site; you must always think about the consequences if somehow, your identity was “blown” so to speak. No name = No FERPA violation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 When I was in college, I had an English professor who had us write several objective papers on various topics. One kid kept saying things like, "When God created Adam and Eve, He did not intend for there to be genetic manipulation." He flunked the class because the professor warned him repeatedly that he can offer an opinion, but should not state it as fact. He even gave the kid a script to follow, but the kid said he wouldn't "deny his faith." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogueScholar Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 If they are a higher education institution that takes state money (public college or university), they cannot "preach" or support any specific religion. If you are not comfortable with the grievance procedures that are in place at your college (you should reference your student handbook), colleges and universities have an office of student services. You can also contact this office and they will get the ball rolling on corrective action. An incident occurred a while back at the institution where I teach and the college acted quickly to rectify the situation. I would also just want to add a quick caveat to the conversation. If you teach at a higher institution just be aware that student information is considered protected. In fact, it falls under a federal law known as the family educational rights and privacy act (FERPA). FERPA applies to all institutions that receive funds under application programme/s from the U. S. Department of Education. I would just caution you to be careful about how much information you give out on a public forum or how much you quote from your students. While in principle, we start out as anonymous posters on this site; you must always think about the consequences if somehow, your identity was “blown” so to speak. No name = No FERPA violation. I agree but you know how tricky students can be. It is not outside of the realm of possibility for students to take a disliking to a certain professor, track them down and find their various electronic aliases. From there, a student could identify their work or references to their work. Then, armed with this knowledge, cause problems for the professor. It's unfortunate but it occasionally occurs. I am certainly not saying this thread should be locked and people shouldn't reply, I am just urging caution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orbit Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share Posted March 26, 2015 If they are a higher education institution that takes state money (public college or university), they cannot "preach" or support any specific religion. If you are not comfortable with the grievance procedures that are in place at your college (you should reference your student handbook), colleges and universities have an office of student services. You can also contact this office and they will get the ball rolling on corrective action. An incident occurred a while back at the institution where I teach and the college acted quickly to rectify the situation. I would also just want to add a quick caveat to the conversation. If you teach at a higher institution just be aware that student information is considered protected. In fact, it falls under a federal law known as the family educational rights and privacy act (FERPA). FERPA applies to all institutions that receive funds under application programme/s from the U. S. Department of Education. I would just caution you to be careful about how much information you give out on a public forum or how much you quote from your students. While in principle, we start out as anonymous posters on this site; you must always think about the consequences if somehow, your identity was “blown” so to speak. No name = No FERPA violation. I agree but you know how tricky students can be. It is not outside of the realm of possibility for students to take a disliking to a certain professor, track them down and find their various electronic aliases. From there, a student could identify their work or references to their work. Then, armed with this knowledge, cause problems for the professor. It's unfortunate but it occasionally occurs. I am certainly not saying this thread should be locked and people shouldn't reply, I am just urging caution. I'll take my chances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeThinkerNZ Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Yeah, I probably won't say anything just because I'm trying graduate and I can't afford to fail the class because of a difference of opinion. If I did try to counter the teacher I feel like I'd probably be villainized by the other students who agree with him anyways. -.- I've been thinking about this and I wonder if you could raise the issue after your course is finished? Or anonymously, since after a few years have passed, they won't be able to figure out who it was. On the other hand, there are a lot of things we'd like to change about the world and sometimes it's better to pick your battles. Idk. Just saying, maybe there is a chance to do it later when you're not so dependent on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparklingphoenix Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Yeah, I probably won't say anything just because I'm trying graduate and I can't afford to fail the class because of a difference of opinion. If I did try to counter the teacher I feel like I'd probably be villainized by the other students who agree with him anyways. -.- I've been thinking about this and I wonder if you could raise the issue after your course is finished? Or anonymously, since after a few years have passed, they won't be able to figure out who it was. On the other hand, there are a lot of things we'd like to change about the world and sometimes it's better to pick your battles. Idk. Just saying, maybe there is a chance to do it later when you're not so dependent on them. I would actually feel more comfortable about it if I could say something after I've received my final grade for the course. If I wasn't about to graduate, I might be more inclined to say something sooner, but I am ready to be done with my degree. Thanks for your thoughts, I will probably do like you suggested and contact someone about this after I receive my final grades for the semester. I definitely agree about picking your battles, though. I always like to proceed with caution and with a well thought out plan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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