I asked them what they thought was causing it, because I've started making a point of trying to encourage the younger kids to use their own judgement about things. One of them said "God." So I said "so if ghosts aren't real because you can't see them, how do you know God is real?" To this she replied, "because in religion they tell us he's real."
And don't worry, for those of you who have strong opinions about these sorts of things and don't think it's my place as an educator to challenge children's religious beliefs - I didn't take the conversation any further than that. I have no desire to have kids' parents chasing me through the streets with flaming torches and pitchforks. But it really made me think about what it is and is not acceptable to tell children these days. This girl had clearly been told there was no such thing as ghosts because the idea that there might be would scare her. In accepting this information, she used the only type of logical reasoning she has at this stage in her life - her ability to see that something is or is not the case, and her ability to rely on the judgement of those older than herself.
I understand that to believe in God is to do so through faith. It isn't about proof or logic, it is about believing something is true in your heart and that being enough for you. That's fine, I respect that. But children don't think like that. People tell their children there is a God, the children accept it unconditionally because that's what they do when an adult tells them something. But what value is there in a belief that has never been questioned, or hasn't been formed of one's own free will? As an atheist, I would never tell my children there was no God, because they don't have the ability to understand the reasons why there might or might not be one.
I would, however, tell them that I didn't believe there was a God. I've been asked a lot of times by kids at work whether or not I believed in God, and I always tell the truth and say no. Most of the time I get told I'll go to hell. This is what we are telling our children. Believe in God, or go to hell. I don't think that's a fair choice to give them. That's like saying "do you want to clean your room or do you want to be yelled at and punished?" It's likely that some kids would not like to clean their rooms, but what choice do they really have when the alternative is worse? If we're always presenting belief in religion to our kids as the better of two things, then their understanding of religion will always be through fear and the default better option. That is not true belief, not the kind that adults have as a result of faith or experience or spiritual understanding. If I did believe in God, I wouldn't want my kids to do so as well just because I said so, I would want them to truly believe it, and for it to mean something to them as it did to me.
So while it's OK for school religion programs to tell children there is a God, it's not generally accepted as being OK for me, as a carer-educator (as per my Education Queensland classification) to challenge the idea. I find this ridiculous, and always have, because it makes it seem as if religion and the religious are afraid of their potential disciples being presented with an alternative view. As I said before, I would want my kids to hold a belief that meant something to them, not one that they only held because they weren't aware that there was an alternative.
If I'd carried the conversation through with this girl, I probably would have asked her what reasons God might have for disturbing our school hall's electrical current. A question for another day, perhaps.
We have a new grade one boy who just started coming to our center. He approached me and the group of girls during this conversation and I asked him what he thought was going on with the lights. He said "it's just a problem with the electrical circuit, or maybe the fuse."
"You think so?" I asked.
"Yes," he said, "I come from a long line of electricians."
Can't argue with a professional.
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