Greetings Families,
I wanted to inform you about some of the conversations we have had in class this week. The students are currently studying Europe in the Middle Ages. During our lessons, we have talked about the power of the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe during that time. We discussed how Charlemagne acknowledged that the pope was the most powerful man in Western Europe because the pope was the one who had the power to crown emperors. The reason Charlemagne and Catholics of that time believed this was because they believed that the pope was God's representative on earth and, therefore, the pope spoke with the authority of Jesus, who they believed was the king of the whole world. We also discussed the role of the priest in the serfdom, because, once again, the priest was seen as God's representative in the serfdom and because the people had to go through the priest to get to God.
Because our focus has been on Roman Catholics in the Middle Ages, students have asked what it means to be Christian. This is where things get a little confusing for them because some of them think of Christianity as a specific group of people, not an overarching term for many people with very different religious views. I explained that Christianity started with a small group of people who believed Jesus was important. Then, as more people started to believe, the term catholic became used to refer to the universal church. Then, as we studied, in AD 1054, the Roman Catholic Church split from the Eastern Orthodox Church for some important reasons but were still largely the same. Then I explained that there was a Protestant movement from which most of the church we see that aren't Catholic or Mormon come from. Then I said that later on Mormonism and the religion of Jehovah Witnesses developed.
Now, many of my students think of there being three main groups of Christianity: Catholic, Christian (Protestant), and Mormon. I explained to them that when I use the term Christian in class, I'm not referring to a specific group of people, but to those who believe that Jesus is uniquely special in his relationship with Jesus. When a student asked more specific questions about religion, I told them they would need to discuss that with their parents and, if they attend a place of worship, with their religious community. I explained that as a teacher, it is not my role to tell them what to believe, but rather to simply explain the role religion has played in the development of Europe.
I also wanted to highlight the diversity we have in our classroom and how that was different from the era we are studying. In our class, we have students who identify as Catholic, Protestant Christian, Mormon, Muslim, and non-religious. This is radically different from Europe in the Middle Ages because everyone believed the same thing for the most part. No religion has that sort of power in the United States because of our diverse backgrounds and religious systems (or absence of one).
Due to these conversations and my unwillingness to discuss religion in particular with them, I ask that you talk to your child about this. One student asked me if atheists go to hell. I told her she needed to talk to her parents about it. For many students, this is an important part of their lives and because of our diversity, it may cause them to be confused. Furthermore, if religion isn't apart of your family's beliefs and values, I ask that you still talk to them about it because they may have questions about these things that I won't answer. I do not think it is my place as a public teacher to encourage or discourage religious belief or to prefer one belief to another. As a religious person myself, I believe that my children should receive religious instruction at home and at my church. Students have the right to discuss these things among themselves, but I do not.
If you would like anymore context or if you would like to talk to me about this more, please don't hesitate to email me.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren
I wanted to inform you about some of the conversations we have had in class this week. The students are currently studying Europe in the Middle Ages. During our lessons, we have talked about the power of the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe during that time. We discussed how Charlemagne acknowledged that the pope was the most powerful man in Western Europe because the pope was the one who had the power to crown emperors. The reason Charlemagne and Catholics of that time believed this was because they believed that the pope was God's representative on earth and, therefore, the pope spoke with the authority of Jesus, who they believed was the king of the whole world. We also discussed the role of the priest in the serfdom, because, once again, the priest was seen as God's representative in the serfdom and because the people had to go through the priest to get to God.
Because our focus has been on Roman Catholics in the Middle Ages, students have asked what it means to be Christian. This is where things get a little confusing for them because some of them think of Christianity as a specific group of people, not an overarching term for many people with very different religious views. I explained that Christianity started with a small group of people who believed Jesus was important. Then, as more people started to believe, the term catholic became used to refer to the universal church. Then, as we studied, in AD 1054, the Roman Catholic Church split from the Eastern Orthodox Church for some important reasons but were still largely the same. Then I explained that there was a Protestant movement from which most of the church we see that aren't Catholic or Mormon come from. Then I said that later on Mormonism and the religion of Jehovah Witnesses developed.
Now, many of my students think of there being three main groups of Christianity: Catholic, Christian (Protestant), and Mormon. I explained to them that when I use the term Christian in class, I'm not referring to a specific group of people, but to those who believe that Jesus is uniquely special in his relationship with Jesus. When a student asked more specific questions about religion, I told them they would need to discuss that with their parents and, if they attend a place of worship, with their religious community. I explained that as a teacher, it is not my role to tell them what to believe, but rather to simply explain the role religion has played in the development of Europe.
I also wanted to highlight the diversity we have in our classroom and how that was different from the era we are studying. In our class, we have students who identify as Catholic, Protestant Christian, Mormon, Muslim, and non-religious. This is radically different from Europe in the Middle Ages because everyone believed the same thing for the most part. No religion has that sort of power in the United States because of our diverse backgrounds and religious systems (or absence of one).
Due to these conversations and my unwillingness to discuss religion in particular with them, I ask that you talk to your child about this. One student asked me if atheists go to hell. I told her she needed to talk to her parents about it. For many students, this is an important part of their lives and because of our diversity, it may cause them to be confused. Furthermore, if religion isn't apart of your family's beliefs and values, I ask that you still talk to them about it because they may have questions about these things that I won't answer. I do not think it is my place as a public teacher to encourage or discourage religious belief or to prefer one belief to another. As a religious person myself, I believe that my children should receive religious instruction at home and at my church. Students have the right to discuss these things among themselves, but I do not.
If you would like anymore context or if you would like to talk to me about this more, please don't hesitate to email me.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren