The Blaze, Glen Beck’s website, is currently discussing fellow Minnesotan James S. Morrison who teaches high school in Red Wing. He recently contacted The Blaze (the guy must be fearless) to let them know he teaches a religion class… one they may not find agreeable.
“My goal in all of this: Move public education in the direction of inclusive honest curriculums that don’t shy away from controversial topics,” he said.
What Morrison does is examine all religions with a critical eye. If you don’t think that sounds controversial, you haven’t met The Blaze people. They’re not happy.
Morrison isn’t a Christian, but he told us that he’s also not an atheist. Without an attachment to any faith, the teacher describes himself as an “agnostic social scientist with a passion for concrete evidence and logical reasoning.” Naturally, he isn’t looking at life through a faith lens and he’s most concerned, it seems, with bringing students face-to-face with controversial content that they must learn to critically analyze.
Sounds like we have a lot in common. I feel a road trip to Red Wing coming on. Hope they have a Caribou there. I’m buying the guy a cuppa joe. But I digress…
Morrison maintains a fascinating blog where he outlines his classroom activities and engages in lively discussion. He’s also hoping other teachers will consider using his curriculum:
“I am making myself available to any teacher or district that is looking for some advice and direction,” the educator said. “If children can dissect frogs in biology, they should certainly have a chance to dissect religion in social studies – it’s all the same. It’s all about learning and empowering children with knowledge.”
If you click the link below, consider adding a polite comment to the conversation. So far, the comment thread is a tad one sided.
