Saratoga News

Letters & Opinions

Speak Out

No need to worry about dangers facing students

Wesley I. Ferguson should not worry about the danger of students being indoctrinated by teachers discussing their opinions on Christianity, conservatism and other "controversial issues" ("District should protect students from teachers," letters April 10). Why?

Think of it this way: The Pythagorean Theorem is routinely discussed in classrooms across the country, yet the United States lags far behind the developed world in mathematic proficiency. Now, if on a daily basis we have proof that the average student is not retaining information about "a₂+b₂=c₂" what makes Mr. Ferguson think they are going to listen to their teacher about whether John McCain is telling the truth when he puts on body armor and asserts Baghdad is "getting safer" or whether Jesus was "resurrected from the dead" or not?

Come to think of it, maybe Mr. Ferguson should be worried. Because if students aren't grasping such simple, proven mathematical concepts, maybe completely baseless religious tenets aren't sticking to some percentage of the churchgoing population either.

Hmm. Maybe that explains why there's so much crime! But wait, that can't be! Surely the blinding truth of religious beliefs, like "resurrection from the dead," which are not shaken by things like science or child molestation scandals, can't be called into question by someone so un-ordained as a teacher who no one is listening to in the first place.

The consequences of religious misbehavior are far too great for that to happen. After all, if you don't pay attention in Sunday school, you might be condemned to an afterlife in, well, you know where ... but if you get a F in math, you can always join the army and take it on faith that there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and that your conservative commander in chief is not an idiot of historic proportions.

For as I think I remember learning at Saratoga High (between naps), history has proven that society is best served when freedom of expression is stifled, when everyone thinks exactly the same, when questions are frowned upon, when the demanding of proof for important concepts is heretical, and when obedience to male authority is placed above all else.

Or wait, maybe I learned that in Sunday School. I forget. Just trust me.

William Lorton

Los Angeles