Sometimes, I think I'm too much of a hard ass; I've had an ongoing issue with my daughter's teacher this year over the fact that she is very religious and very conservative, and I'm...well...NOT. This teacher insists on injecting her political views into day to day classroom conversation; I suspect she has not been challenged on this for the simple fact that most parents in our extremely conservative area either agree with her, so see no reason to question this practice; or they simply are too wrapped up in their own lives to care.
However, I fit into neither category.
I have been letting a lot of what is said slide, because, for the most part, she is an excellent teacher, and my daughter has done quite well with her. However, yesterday, my oldest decided to argue with me regarding a point made, and one that I knew was neither accurate nor remotely correct. Normally, I would have just simply told her it wasn't right, and given her the reference; but she sat there and debated me on it...even bet me $10 on it...just because Mrs. So and So "said". Well, Mrs. So and So was wrong, and my daughter quickly lost $10.
The argument was over the English translation of the Bible, and how it came to be. I have told my oldest quite some time ago about King Henry VIII and his battle with the Roman Catholic Church, and how he had authorized and funded the first English translation of the Bible meant for public use (it was, however, far from the first English translation - that had been accomplished in the 1380's by John Wycliffe). So now comes a chapter in her Social Studies book, which states that the King James Version was the first widely distributed English version of the Bible...which is not exactly true. In fact, it isn't true at all. Of course, this led my oldest to pop off with: "But my mom said..." And it was all downhill from there.
So here comes the oldest last night, and she tells me, "I thought you said King Henry VIII had the first English translation, and I told Mrs. So and So that, and she said, 'I don't think so,' and then showed me in our Social Studies book..." and on and on and on. When she was done, I told her that was not true, which brought on the above bet, which she promptly lost; not only did I prove her book wrong, but I wrote down the entire time line of how the English translation of the Bible we know as the King James Version came to be.
While I was in the middle of my crusade, one of my friends sent me a text, and when I explained what I was doing and why, I promptly got a text back that was the equivalent of: "why do you let that stupid shit bother you?" And that's a good question...why did it bother me? Why did I let something in an outdated 6th grade text book get me to the point of spending an hour and a half writing a detailed accounting of how the Bible got translated into English for a child who would probably not remember half of it by the next day? Is it because I knew the book, and the teacher, were wrong, or was it because I was pissed that my child chose to challenge me because Mrs. So and So said so? Was I really doing this to educate my child, or was I doing it to satisfy my own ego?
Simple answer...both.
On the one hand, I want my daughters to know the truth about certain things so they are able to make educated decisions about important issues, including religion, as they gain age and knowledge. On the other, I also am not about to have someone telling my kids I don't know what I'm talking about, especially when I most certainly do. This isn't the first time this teacher and I have been at odds over our ideologies, and I'm not saying she is any more biased in her beliefs than I am; however, I have always been of the mind that my children need to see and understand different, and even opposing, viewpoints, because that is how we learn to be more well rounded, and respectful, individuals.
This time, though, was different; not because of the topic, but because of the direct affront to my knowledge, and how I chose to impart that knowledge to my child. I fully understand that I was getting the almost 12 year old's version of the story, and that version may be quite different than what actually took place, but the underlying indication was most definitely there: a point was made, my daughter challenged it based on something I had told her, my daughter was told point blank that I was wrong, and that challenge was brought home to me, which I not only met, but trumped, in no time flat.
Yet by the time I finished putting this time line, and all the subsequent references, footnotes, and miscellaneous, and utterly useless, information down on paper, I had calmed down significantly. I called my daughter into my office and handed her the paper, at which time I told her that this was the actual history, but I did not expect her to use it to prove her teacher wrong; this was for her, and nothing else. I explained that just as I did not like having my authority and knowledge questioned, her teacher would not, and that out of respect for her as a teacher, I didn't think it would be a good idea. I then said that if it continued to be an issue, I would deal with it as an adult; it was my place to do so...not hers.
So now that I have proven my point, I will once again let something slide; no reason to make life hard for my daughter because I don't agree with a teacher. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that it won't be long before I once again hear: "But my mom said..."
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