Term paper about "God" earns student failing grade

[westofyou]

IMO the word "god" was asked to be omitted because it was an intellectual excercise to think of religion and the goverment without the deity factor influencing one's interpertation of what role the two have with each other.

Looks like she didn't get the assignment.

[Falls City Beer]

I agree. Surely, a good writer could have come up with enough synonyms to comply with the "letter of the law" here.

And avoid redundancy! See it all works out in the end.

[guttle11]

I was given a little "lesson" on following directions in 5th grade. Our last math test of the year. Our teacher had been building this thing up for weeks telling us this was going to be the hardest test we ever took. Test day came. She passed out the test. Told us to read the directions, take our time, and turn in papers when finished. If you read the directions, the directions stated "Do not answer any of the questions, simply write your name at the top of the page, sit in your seat quietly until 2:15pm, and then get in line at the desk to hand in your paper."

I did not read the directions. I was so concerned about doing well on the test, I looked at the first problem and started working on it. It took me about 45 minutes to do the test (25 questions). I handed it in shortly before the bell rang. I got it back the next day......F. Confused, I took it home to my Dad. We worked the problems at home. All of my answers to the problems were correct. My Dad went into school with me the next day to talk to the teacher. She had him read the directions at the top of the page. He was upset about it, and told her so. He, nor I, could do anything about it, though. Those were the directions. I didn't follow them, and I failed that test (and got a B for the class as a result). I always read directions on everything to this day.

great post

[Redsfaithful]

I don't loose my First Amendment rights when I walk into that college

I don't know about this girl, but the author of the article should have certainly failed his/her college English class.

[registerthis]

I respect that, but.... and the list of other banned words that this teacher gave to the whole class? I want to see the whole list of banned words.

What does it matter? What if God was the ONLY word? Could she really not write her paper without its use?

Why was GOD banned? Was this a class about satanism or is it the teacher's personal views that caused him/her to ban GOD? If so, does that make GOD a bad word like the afore-mentioned words in my 1st post?

First of all, it doesn't matter WHY it was banned--it was. She wasn't being asked to disavow her religious beliefs, only to avoid using 'God' in a term paper.

Secondly, as WoY put it, the professor was most likely trying to get the student to think about the relationship between religion and state without a deity influencing your views on it.

I want to see all the banned words! If there is not a list or other banned words (that are not considered curse words), then something smells rotten.

Would you be just as upset if the student was asked to write a paper about the effect of technology on modern society without using the word "computer"? How about the affect different modes of transportation have had on our population without using the word "automobile"?

[Falls City Beer]

I don't know about this girl, but the author of the article should have certainly failed his/her college English class.

Now, now, she could have actually said "loose," as in "loose the dogs." Meaning that somewhere on the VV Community College campus her First Amendment rights are knocking over garbage cans and peeing on hydrants.

[registerthis]

I don't know about this girl, but the author of the article should have certainly failed his/her college English class.

Amen. What shoddy journalism.

[Johnny Footstool]

Maybe she should have used "YHVH," the Unutterable Name.

[Yachtzee]

Maybe she should have used "YHVH," the Unutterable Name.

"All I said was, 'that meal was good enough for Jehovah.'"

[KittyDuran]

I was given a little "lesson" on following directions in 5th grade. Our last math test of the year. Our teacher had been building this thing up for weeks telling us this was going to be the hardest test we ever took. Test day came. She passed out the test. Told us to read the directions, take our time, and turn in papers when finished. If you read the directions, the directions stated "Do not answer any of the questions, simply write your name at the top of the page, sit in your seat quietly until 2:15pm, and then get in line at the desk to hand in your paper."

I did not read the directions. I was so concerned about doing well on the test, I looked at the first problem and started working on it. It took me about 45 minutes to do the test (25 questions). I handed it in shortly before the bell rang. I got it back the next day......F. Confused, I took it home to my Dad. We worked the problems at home. All of my answers to the problems were correct. My Dad went into school with me the next day to talk to the teacher. She had him read the directions at the top of the page. He was upset about it, and told her so. He, nor I, could do anything about it, though. Those were the directions. I didn't follow them, and I failed that test (and got a B for the class as a result). I always read directions on everything to this day.

I had the very thing happen to me in my senior year... I was so psyched about doing well on a test I didn't read the directions at the top - which said to "X" the correct answer instead of circling them - which most of the test ask for. AND my teacher also told us to read the directions. I got all of the questions right, but I circled all of them. My teacher could have failed me - but since I was the only one (or that what she said) that answered all the questions correctly she gave me a 50% or a "C". Luckily it wasn't a major test so my overall grade was not affected [I even made the dean's list that semester] but like RL I learned my lesson.

[SunDeck]

According to what is written in the article, the instructor required her to not capitalize the word "god".

"I have one limiting factor," Shefchik wrote, according to the ACLJ. "No mention of big 'G' gods, i.e., one, true god argumentation."

The author of the article does not clearly explain that the instructor did not prohibit the word "god" uncapitalized, but instead stated that she was not allowed to use the word "God". This is just bad journalism, an attempt to lead us to the erroneous conclusion that the instructor placed an arbitrary limit on the entire word.
If I am reading this correctly, the instructions were to keep the paper objective, and if I remember grammar correctly, capitalizing the word "god" implies a different meaning than not capitalizing it. The instructor has every right in the world to make such a requirement. The whole point of English 101 is to teach people how to explore the art of writing, to gain an understanding of how the written word conveys ideas, to learn that this particular form of communication is a powerful tool which must be developed. To that end, students have to be forced out of their comfort zones, lest they be doomed to a life of writing about only that which their parents told them or what they heard from a friend. This is what college is suppost to be about, people.

That is why this is so stupid. It's not about the word "god" or "God"; it's about a student too dumb to understand that the instructor is trying to help her learn and become a more complete intellectual being. I feel sorry for her, personally. "A mind is a terrible thing to lose..."

[GAC]

A matter of following directions? The directions of this teacher, when one wants to do a research paper on Christianity and it's effect on the development of the United States, were simply absurd!

How can you OK a paper on Christianity and then make a ridiculous stipulation saying no BIG "G" Gods that may point to any one religion? Does any one else see how laughable this is?

She acknowledges she knew her teacher's condition for writing the paper, but argued it would be impossible to write about the affect of Christianity on the development of the United States without using the word God.

I wholeheartedly agree.

That's like asking a student to write a paper about the light bulb, but don't mention Edison. Be objective.

[traderumor]

Jesus Christ was also available, Heavenly Father, Jehovah, the Almighty, the Holy one of Israel, the Creator, etc. I think she is looking for a fight instead of genuine concern for her grade. Maybe a little remembrance of "wise as serpents...harmless as doves" would have helped her to consider synonyms, but then I'm thinking there might have been an agenda at work here. More confusion about the two kingdoms again.

[oneupper]

I was given a little "lesson" on following directions in 5th grade. Our last math test of the year. Our teacher had been building this thing up for weeks telling us this was going to be the hardest test we ever took. Test day came. She passed out the test. Told us to read the directions, take our time, and turn in papers when finished. If you read the directions, the directions stated "Do not answer any of the questions, simply write your name at the top of the page, sit in your seat quietly until 2:15pm, and then get in line at the desk to hand in your paper."

I did not read the directions. I was so concerned about doing well on the test, I looked at the first problem and started working on it. It took me about 45 minutes to do the test (25 questions). I handed it in shortly before the bell rang. I got it back the next day......F. Confused, I took it home to my Dad. We worked the problems at home. All of my answers to the problems were correct. My Dad went into school with me the next day to talk to the teacher. She had him read the directions at the top of the page. He was upset about it, and told her so. He, nor I, could do anything about it, though. Those were the directions. I didn't follow them, and I failed that test (and got a B for the class as a result). I always read directions on everything to this day.

That one has been around FOREVER! I got it in 4th or 5th grade (like 1970!)... But I was one lucky student. I didn't have a pen or pencil on me, so while I thought about who I was going to ask for one, I read the directions.

Now, just like you, I read the directions, every time!

And they say you can't learn something from a test!

[registerthis]

A matter of following directions? The directions of this teacher, when one wants to do a research paper on Christianity and it's effect on the development of the United States, were simply absurd!

Only that wasn't the topic of her paper. The topic which the teacher approved was "Religion and its Place within the Government". And certainly she should have been able to write a paper on that topic that didn't contain the word "God." And not only did it contain the word "God", it did so over 40 times. It's a blatant disregard for the directions.

How can you OK a paper on Christianity and then make a ridiculous stipulation saying no BIG "G" Gods that may point to any one religion? Does any one else see how laughable this is?

What is laughable is her intentionally thumbing her nose at the directions of her professor, then whining to a reporter about being the victim. It's why I detest the "Christian Victim" role that so many of them like to play.

She acknowledges she knew her teacher's condition for writing the paper, but argued it would be impossible to write about the affect of Christianity on the development of the United States without using the word God.

Then she should have chosen another topic if she was unable to complete her paper within the constraints issued by her professor. This situation is entirely her making.

That's like asking a student to write a paper about the light bulb, but don't mention Edison. Be objective.

No, it would be like asking a student to write about electricity and its affects on modern society, without mentioning Edison. Shouldn't be too hard. And if you couldn't do it, select another topic.