Selling your Soul 101

[Bateluer]

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=7291998

Slightly torn here. I'm not a religious person, but I can see how this assignment would make people uncomfortable. It is a fictitious story though, she could have easily written an essay from the standpoint of sacrificing long term prosperity for short term gain, or something similar.

FAYETTEVILLE, NC (WTVD) -- A Cumberland County high school student says a homework assignment violated her Christian beliefs, so she took a stand.

Tieanna Trough is an A-B honor roll student at Gray's Creek High School. The junior potentially sacrificed her good grades over her Christian faith.

Trough refused to write an essay on making a deal with the Devil.

"I believe you don't write about how to sell your soul to the Devil," she said.

Trough's English class was studying the Washington Irving short story "The Devil and Tom Walker" - a miser who makes a get rich deal with the devil, then later tries to back out of the deal.

Trough says when the teacher told students to write an essay on how they would sell their souls - or what trade they would make with the Devil - she refused, saying that compromised her Christian values and her parents agreed.

"We can't allow God into the classrooms, but yet they are going to allow the Devil in the classroom, that's the way I felt," Trough's mother Monice McLean said. "They were told if they didn't do it they would get a zero."

Monice McLean-Trough says an alternate assignment was also unacceptable, so they complained to school officials.

"I think we had a genuine complaint and we just got lip service instead of really getting attention to the subject," father Frank Trough said.

Trough says other classmates also objected to the assignment.

But the school's principal, John Gibbs, says the short story is text-book curriculum and he hasn't heard any other complaints.

"I don't think it's anything wrong," Gibbs said. "I mean parents are going to do what they think is correct and I respect that, we can sit down and talk about what we think is right."

Trough says what's right is not making a deal with the Devil.

Monday, the school gave Trough a third alternate subject, how and why money is important.

Trough and her parents say that is more agreeable - if not a harder subject to explain.

Trough's parents say they wanted to get their story out just to make sure other parents are aware of what - and how - some things are being taught.

 

[Possessed Freak]

It is a shame that the student couldn't come up with a single scenario worth damning yourself for eternity but saving countless others.

 

[RoloMather]

Why don't she write an essay about God and not selling the soul to the Devil?

Creativity: she lacks it.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Trough's parents say they wanted to get their story out just to make sure other parents are aware of what - and how - some things are being taught.

Kid comes home with assignment - parents see an opportunity to push their agenda.

 

[Bateluer]

It is a shame that the student couldn't come up with a single scenario worth damning yourself for eternity but saving countless others.

That would be an essay worth reading, methinks.

 

[Modelworks]

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=7291998

Slightly torn here. I'm not a religious person, but I can see how this assignment would make people uncomfortable. It is a fictitious story though, she could have easily written an essay from the standpoint of sacrificing long term prosperity for short term gain, or something similar.

I don't think the assignment was appropriate , it crosses the line. For Christians it mocks the religion by trivializing the role of the devil/satan in life. People would be up in arms if the teacher had asked for an assignment that was something like "Write a story about what the world would be like if Mohamed was a woman" . If I was her I would have written a simple sentence " I would not even consider it"

 

[Modelworks]

Kid comes home with assignment - parents see an opportunity to push their agenda.

Or maybe there are still kids in America that stand up for what they believe.

 

[K1052]

Or maybe there are still kids in America that stand up for what what their zealot parents have pumped them full of.

fixed

 

[StageLeft]

Why don't she write an essay about God and not selling the soul to the Devil?

Creativity: she lacks it.

Yeah unless the assignment specifically mandates a scenario in which you would sell it, which is silly.

 

[Modelworks]

fixed

Or they believe in what they feel is real to them regardless of how many people with other agendas want to try to make them think otherwise.

 

[HumblePie]

I'm non religious myself. Forcing students to read something for their education is one thing. The purpose of an assignment after reading a book is to discover if the kid has learned the book, the lessons from the book the teacher wanted the kid to learn, and if the kid can express what they learned.

So a book essay is there to prove the kid learned the assignment. The problem I have is that some subjects are a bit "touchy" for certain people. It's fine to have them explore those subjects, but to get them to say they are the subject is a bit much I think.

The article does state the teacher offered an "alternative" assignment, although what that assignment is we don't know. So unless we know what it was, I reserve judgement on whether the school or the parents here are in the right.



Side note: Although I'm not religious at all, my Junior and Senior highschool AP English class both required I read the King James Bible all the way through several times. I even had to write essays about the book. The reason for reading the Bible is that many authors draw literary allusions and references directly from the Bible. Knowing where the source of an author's motivation for a story or a particular point in the story is key to understanding the view of the author. So although I'm not religious, I do not resent having to read the Bible for school.

 

[Moonbeam]

Jesus wouldn't have written the essay or contested the consequences, me thinks.

 

[Moonbeam]

I would have written an essay on how the devil was using a teacher to offer my soul for a grade and how that teacher could go fuck him or her self, but, of course, would have done it in the required number of words and in such a way that the teacher would know the deal is I get an A or the teacher is going to Hell right away.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Inappropriate assignment for school. Props to the kid for fighting the power.

 

[K1052]

Or they believe in what they feel is real to them regardless of how many people with other agendas want to try to make them think otherwise.

Only the religious would call the expansion of the human intellect an "agenda".

 

[sandorski]

lol, I don't know what to say so I'll just /facepalm

 

[StageLeft]

I would have written an essay on how the devil was using a teacher to offer my soul for a grade and how that teacher could go fuck him or her self, but, of course, would have done it in the required number of words and in such a way that the teacher would know the deal is I get an A or the teacher is going to Hell right away.

win

Only the religious would call the expansion of the human intellect an "agenda".

Someone in this thread sure has an agenda

 

[thraashman]

Inappropriate assignment for school. Props to the kid for fighting the power.

It's not inappropriate at all. It's having the student examine a fictional situation from their own point of view. If the student can't separate fantasy from reality, perhaps that's a problem they should seek professional help for? I'm an atheist myself and I took a world religions class in college in which I had to place myself in the position of people from another religion. I took an ancient world civilizations class in which I had to read a book on buddhism and write a major essay on it. If the teacher had made them read about Job and had them write a fictional story from their own point of view on how they would react should their god torture them, I'm sure she wouldn't have had a problem. And guess what, I bet most atheists wouldn't either. In fact I bet most atheists would have fun with it.

I think the inability to separate fantasy and reality is in essence this girl's problem. And I'm guessing it's also directly related to her being so religious in the first place. She sounds like one stupid little bitch to me.

 

[thraashman]

I would have written an essay on how the devil was using a teacher to offer my soul for a grade and how that teacher could go fuck him or her self, but, of course, would have done it in the required number of words and in such a way that the teacher would know the deal is I get an A or the teacher is going to Hell right away.

While I think the aggressiveness of this would need to be toned down, the idea is itself actually brilliant. It'd be protesting the assignment using the assignment itself and probably be a brilliant piece of writing if done the right way.

 

[heyheybooboo]

...
The article does state the teacher offered an "alternative" assignment ...

Yeah. But it's North Carolina.

The Bible Belt (some also prefer Tobacco Road) still fits.





--

 

[MJinZ]

Personally, I think the school should have made it an optional assignment with a much more PC alternative.

If you think about it, it's still a religious topic to a large extent. We aren't enduring bible-study in schools, so we should conversely not try to do the same to Bible-thumpers.

 

[Modelworks]

I think the inability to separate fantasy and reality is in essence this girl's problem. And I'm guessing it's also directly related to her being so religious in the first place. She sounds like one stupid little bitch to me.

She probably has morals and values and doesn't go around calling people bitch. Yeah I wouldn't want to be like that.

 

[Cogman]

....
The article does state the teacher offered an "alternative" assignment, although what that assignment is we don't know. So unless we know what it was, I reserve judgement on whether the school or the parents here are in the right. .

nm, The chick overreacted.

 

[Budmantom]

Isn't that what being a Dumocrat is all about?

 

[werepossum]

I don't think the assignment was appropriate , it crosses the line. For Christians it mocks the religion by trivializing the role of the devil/satan in life. People would be up in arms if the teacher had asked for an assignment that was something like "Write a story about what the world would be like if Mohamed was a woman" . If I was her I would have written a simple sentence " I would not even consider it"

Agree totally. It's odd that no public school would ever dream of assigning essays to sell your soul to G-d; that would violate the "wall" of separation between church and state. Evidently Satan and the state have no such barrier.