Set up my classroom today…it’s an ordeal.
I have this gigundous bookshelf next to my desk that contains the books I’ve read. My theory is that if I want to make my students readers, I must model it myself. In order for that to happen, they need to see me as a reader, which means they should see what I read.
If a student’s parents sign a waiver, the student has permission to check out any book in my room, including from my shelf (the lone exception is that books from my shelf can’t leave the room–I’m very territorial about my books. 
).
While I have a large range of reading interests, there are many Christian themed books. Science, philosophy, theology, history–it’s all represented.
I can see some students balking at this. “Isn’t that illegal?” they might ask. “Hey! Them’s religious books, and that violates the separation of church and state!” they might quip.
One time during a discussion at my previous school in which a religious question came up, a student objected: “my junior high teacher told me that it’s a sin to talk about religion in the classroom.” Now there’s a contradiction if I ever heard one!
There’s no way I’m gonna let some ill-thought out one liner from a student or even parent get me to back down. I’ve thought about this, and I have a ready response.
Where, exactly, does it say that religious books aren’t allowed in the classroom? Where does it say that in the Constitution? The Ed Code? School district policy?
Good luck finding that law.
The First Amendment perhaps? No. Establishment language, not “separation of church and state,” is what is found there, and as long as I’m not establishing a religion for my classroom and/or unduly favoring a religion, I’m in the clear.
Well, am I establishing a religion or unduly favoring? Again, no. I have a number of books from a plethora of viewpoints on ultimate issues. Since I’ve read a decent number of atheist books, my shelf even features books from that worldview. Am I establishing atheism just by putting a book sympathetic to atheism on my shelf? Does Nietzsche’s presence in my “hall of authors” mean I am unduly favoring naturalism? Hardly. Then why should I be faulted for having C.S Lewis’s nonfiction on my shelf as well?
More to the point, if I’m guilty of breaking the law, then the school district itself is guilty. Think about all the literature that is a regular part of any public school curriculum. The Scarlet Letter; The Crucible; anything from Shakespeare. Martin Luther King, Jr’s speeches and letters (you ever read “Letter from Birmingham Jail”?). These are not neutral books, folks! They assume certain things on certain religious and spiritual themes. Heck, 75% of the European Lit course (which most seniors take) deals with overtly religious themes. If I am guilty of religious favoring, then so is the school district. What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
Are there any good reasons, besides giving the students a glimpse into my reading life, to have such books on my shelf in the room? Sure. For one, it prepares the students for the post-high school world. In college, they will have no choice; they will regularly be confronted with the questions and issues these books raise. Sheltering them now in the name of a misinterpreted law will do them harm. They need the opportunity now to be exposed to these issues and think through them while they are with me.
Speaking of…opportunity for engagement is another reason. If a student takes interest in any one of my books (and this goes for the books from the various non-Christian perspectives as well), that gives me an opportunity to engage them as a professional educator. Helping them think critically, reasonably, and logically is my duty as both a Christian and a teacher. The more teachable moments I have, the better.
Next, it gives them the opportunity to wrestle with viewpoints that they oppose. This goes for both the believing students and non-believing students in my classroom, and it is yet another thing they will have to do in college. Critically and dispassionately evaluating viewpoints you don’t agree with is a skill every citizen should have, yet so few possess. More teachable moments for engagement for me; more opportunities for maturity for them.
Perhaps the best reason is that the books deal with downright interesting and deep subject matter. Taking out all literature that hints of religion in the name of “keeping public schools neutral” wipes out a wide swath of legitimate human experience, and thus would deprive the students of so much rich education. I’m a teacher, for goodness sakes, and I can’t do that.
Just take the Bible as one example. That book is quoted and referenced so often in politics, culture, and other literature, that it’s a malicious deprivation of the highest degree to take that away in the name of secularism. And remember: we’re talking about cultural literacy here, not so much holy writ.
Some Christians might object to me having Nietzsche or Russell on my shelf. “Won’t that damage your students’ faith and drive them away from Jesus?” Perhaps…but only if I choose to sit back and not engage. Remember, it’s not a matter of “if,” but “when.” These kids will come into contact with these viewpoints and arguments sooner or later, and I’d rather it initially be with me while I have the chance to help them evaluate and critically analyze what they are reading. Plus, the vacuity of guys like Hitchens and Dawkins is so apparent…as soon as students start asking the right questions (What is his argument? Do the premises lead to the conclusion? Where is the loaded language? etc) it’s game over. A discerning student–and again, that’s what I’m after–can see the truth if he examines the different worldviews, claims, and arguments side by side.
It would be different if I was exposing them to temptation and sin, but that’s not what’s going on…there’s a big difference between contrary arguments and temptation to sin.
Still others say that it’s just safest to not go there. Response: I’m all for picking battles, but since when has retreat and backing down become synonymous with wisdom? I don’t buy it, not for a moment. If enough teachers are bullied into adopting that sort of policy today, tomorrow freedoms we currently take for granted will be in jeopardy. Without anyone to be stubborn (and it’s not like I’m calling for revolution or calling for the recitation of Scripture after the Pledge), ugly privitization will march on. Call that a slippery slope if you like, but that’s usually how it works.
Then again, a student doesn’t *have to* read anything from my shelf. She can check out a book from the library (which, coincidentally, also features religiously themed books. Ever read Siddhartha? Hey, that one’s on my bookshelf too.), or she can check out any other book from my library, like Harry Potter.
I hope you can see that this is much, much different than indoctrination or manipulation. Rather, it goes straight to the heart of what teaching is all about.
