An Idaho English teacher is in trouble for ripping up a Bible in class.
Burley High’s Karen Christenson said she was trying to illustrate a point about censorship, as her sophomore students read Ray Bradbury’s novel “Fahrenheit 451,” which is set in a future society that commands all literature be burned. —Teacher In Trouble For Ripping Bible
I once did a scene from Dr. Faustus for a drama survey course. I did the same scene two or three different times, to demonstrate how a different acting style could bring out different themes.
At any rate, at one point, I threw a “Bible” across the room. But I immediately picked it up and showed them it was just a prop — an ordinary book with a cross on the cover. I managed to make the point.
Maybe Christenson ripped her bible on the spur of the moment… but with a little planning, she could have made her point without risking offense.
Thanks for the e-mail, Josh.
Post was last modified on 26 May 2022 3:13 am
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The point that I would make..is that humanism is basically a religion and our secular schools teach from this stand point.
Why not throw a Moslem Koran to illustrate a point. Because that would be to controversial!
Christianity has to take a "back stage" when it come to respecting its sanctity and rights.
Look at the outrage and news coverage at Gitmo when a Koran was thought to have been flushed down the toilet. But it wasn't! Then it was found that the prisoners do that deliberately to get media attention and cause chaos.
I believe shock value has an important role in the classroom, particularly in high-shcool where you don't often have a captive audience. However,I do think the censorship point could have been without defacing a book some may consider sacred. (Moby Dick perhaps?)
Shocking! I blogged about this incident -- and the role of shock value in the classroom -- tonight. -- Mike A.
Dennis,
I find this story stunning and bizarre. Both the teacher and the students in her class will learn many things from this experience not all of them positive.