For some reason, I got to thinking about the stunned things I heard or was taught during my school years. Not like the stuff like getting the strap for laughing in the face of my teacher, a former Sydney Steel worker - bad move. What I was thinking about were those moments when I learned what was really in teachers' brains. Here are some of the nutty things I recall from the classroom:
- I recall being taught that inter-racial marriage was "against God's plan" in grade eight science. I wish I could recall more of the delicate logic used to place this before our innocent minds. The teacher, later drummed out I understand, also taught such principles as if we were meant to smoke we'd have chimneys on our backs. Similarly, we were taught about the revelations which came to his mind during a weekend party when he chose to drink only coke rather than rum - including the principle that it was something you could so without anyone else knowing if you just acted a little drunk.
- When my grade eleven math teacher complained about the small size of my writing in front of the class, he turned on me and said "What are you, Scottish?" - meaning a genetic cheapskate. The fact that this was months into the year and my last name was McLeod seemed not to cross his mind. I can't recall if I just thought or actually said that he would not dare to make the same slander using the word Jewish.
- Again in junior high, I recall being troop to the A/V room (do you recall the world of "audio/visual"?) by the French teacher to watch a science movie...in English. It was about the "recent discovery" of Noah's Ark as proof of the historical fact of Jesus. The flickering and even then dated black and white film failed to make any real logical connection over the 2,000 intervening years between the Ark and the manger but that did not seem to bother the public school officials involved.
Comments
Craig (HB-Craig) - February 20, 2004 9:04 AM
How strange. Being a little older than you - er 16 years I think, and educated in the US, I don't recall any of that sort of thing. Mind you we probably did not have to hear it at school as our parents would teach us that.
I do recall being told that all of Canada spoke French.
(channel change) 1990 standing at a crowded bar in Upstate NY. Offered to keep a full glass for anyone that could name all of the Canadian provinces. I did not have to buy. Most popular guess of a Canadian province was "Toronto", gah!
Cyn - February 20, 2004 10:05 AM
Grade Three, Hillcrest School (public school), 1970, Miss O'Brien's class.
Morning prayers for the poor people and for the 'deaf and dumb' kid in Grade 4. Hymn Sing before Math included songs with lyrics like, "Deep and wide, deep and wide, there's a fountain growing deep and wide" and " Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight...".
I sat in the 'Owl' row because I was one of the lucky wise ones. Beside me in the next row were the 'Beavers' (the hard working, busy ones), next to them the 'Turtles', and so on, all the way to 'Koala' (cute but slow). Such discreet labels.
I'm just glad I can still remember the smell of crayons...ah...those were the days.
Arthur - February 20, 2004 11:02 AM
Grade Three, Hillcrest School (public school), 1970, Miss O'Brien's class.
High school, mid Eighties. English teacher. We're watching a film on two tapes (VHS). First tape ends and teacher tries to put the tape back in the recorder upside down to play the 'other side of the tape'. She turns around and says 'It doesn't work'. It never came up to her that the 'other side' of the movie was on the other tape.
There was no laughter, just a stunning silence.
SayNay? - February 20, 2004 1:50 PM
All I can say that in all my years of grade school, and High School I can not remember a teacher making what might be considered to be a racist or bigoted remark. In fact, I remember vividly in Grade 5, when a kid used, what might to have been seen at the time, a rather common, casual invective about a certain religious group, our teacher asked him to repeat the remark and then stopped the session, without embarrassing the kid ( I think we were reading, in turn, our “creative” writing stories) to discuss with the class, in a reasoned, and (what now seems for Grade 5) intelligent way, why such a remark was improper. I think this was the first time I heard the word “stereotype”. The fact is, the kid, when asked, explained what the word meant to him and to others, but couldn’t explain, nor could any other kid explain where the word came from. The teacher broke it down for us, and I think I can say, we all were ashamed. It caused us all to stop and think of the meaning of the words we used, and how the casual use of words without knowledge of their true meaning, could hurt others and “perpetuate stereotypes”. Now that’s education.
SayNay? - February 20, 2004 2:19 PM
I also remember the particularly abusive teachers who seemed to take pleasure in inflicting punishment on their students. Since we were a rather homogenous group ( ie. white and Catholic) there were not the racial or religious issues to deal with, but rather there seemed to be a definite “class” (wealthy v. poor) divide, and the “poor” kids seemed to get the short end of the stick or the long end of the strap more often than not, and the rich kids always seemed to get a “pass”. At the same time, there were kids from “poor” families that were bright and attentive, whose mothers were revered by the teachers and the local priests, for their ability to do what they could for their kids, with the little they had. These kids did well generally and I can think of three of these kids right of the top of my head who you wouldn’t have given a “tinkers dam” of a chance to in today’s society, that are now successful “professionals”.
Arthur - February 20, 2004 5:22 PM
All I can say that in all my years of grade school, and High School I can not remember a teacher making what might be considered to be a racist or bigoted remark.
My previous (random, but the first thing that came in my mind when talking about high school) comment aside, I can't remember discussions about racists, bigotry and that. Christian school that was too. I fondly remember the first day on school: history lesson. Our teacher (on a Christian school, mind you) literally, rationally and elegantly dismantled the Bible and threw us all straight into Darwinism. "I hate to disappoint you, but it looks like we descent from monkeys. If you can't live with that, you are allowed to leave the classroom". A hero he was. Truly a remarkable person.