“Schools are teaching young people how not to be offensive…but they also need to be teaching a new generation how not to be offended.”
One glance at the average Facebook feed confirms the growing epidemic of irrational public discourse. The widespread implementation of “safe rooms” on state university campuses across the country, the broadening definition of “hate speech,” and the ever-lengthening legal list of sentiments that qualify as “discrimination,” demonstrate the apparent “allergy” to rational discussion.
What causes this demonstrable aversion to logical engagement with difficult ideas? It seems that most are more committed to the protection of their feelings than the pursuit of truth.
Our friends at Breakpoint identify schools as key-holders to public progress in this arena, quoting Irshad Manji, “Schools are teaching young people how not to be offensive…but they also need to be teaching a new generation how not to be offended.”
Building Immunity
Classical Christian Schools employ time-tested methods purposed to expose students to opposing ideas early in life. First, classical Christian schools teach the best of the Western canon of books, many of which contain ideas that fundamentally oppose Christian ideology. Such authors include Darwin, Nietzsche, and Camus. Major world religions such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Mormonism are also considered in the classical Christian classroom. Not only are students exposed to these ideas, but their classical Christian educators employ what is called the “Socratic method,” encouraging students to dialogue with one another, comparing the discussed idea with the Biblical standard of truth. Here students are evaluated on the quality of their objections and rebuttals, and the extent to which their ideas are Biblically supported.
By exposure to this method, we hope that our students will fearlessly engage with the difficult topics that life will inevitably present to them, armed and confident with the tools they received from their education. We hope that our students’ voices will pierce culture’s chaos with clarity.
Read BreakPoint’s article here: http://www.breakpoint.org/2019/03/breakpoint-allergic-to-disagreement/
Read more on the Socratic method here:
