Inferences: Sixth Grade Wisdom
Last quarter, I read Where the Red Fern Grows with my 6th graders. A sweet book. I love reading literature with my students; I love the discussions I have over literature with my students.
Most of these discussions deal with inferences (“conclusions
based on evidence” – the first word on our first vocabulary list at the start
of every year). For example, what can we infer from the evidence in the book about
this family’s beliefs about God? And just as importantly, what can we not
infer? Billy prays, so he clearly believes IN God. And he says he believes God
answers his prayers. But do we know he believes all the same things you believe
about God? Do we know if he has “trusted in Jesus Christ as his Lord and
Savior”? Do his parents believe in God? Do they believe God answers his
prayers? At the point we were having this discussion, there was no evidence yet
to answer most of these questions . . . so we couldn’t jump to conclusions.
This is a good lesson for life. Don’t assume when a person says “God” that they
live in your camp theologically.
Let me repeat, people: a crucial lesson. INFERENCES. Don’t
make assumptions; look at the evidence and draw appropriate
conclusions.
Sooooo, I’ve begun to wonder how many of my Facebook friends
passed 6th grade English.
I’m seeing many friends post things about how “the last days
will be full of deception”. This is from the Bible (Matt 24:24, 1 Tim 4:1, 2
Tim 4:3-4), so we know it’s true. We know this is going to happen. I’m not
arguing that. But can I caution us all to be sure that we are not the ones
participating in that deception?
Don’t say that the schools are teaching racism and critical
race theory if you don’t know that they are. Do you have evidence? Have
you looked at the curriculum? Did you hear the teachers’ words in the classroom?
Don’t say that Trump supporters and Republicans want to take
voting rights away from minorities if you don’t KNOW that they do. Have you
spoken to one personally? Have you examined the situation in every voting
district in question? Do you have evidence?
The whole covid and vaccine fiasco – this is the most
problematic to me because we’re living it and have personal experiences, and
this all comes to us as evidence. But we sometimes forget that our personal
experiences are limited to us and not always applicable to all – and that we don’t
always even do a good job of evaluating our own personal experiences
accurately.
Another thing I sometimes have to train out of my 6th
graders is the temptation to assume the worst of people. “He doesn’t say
anything about Jesus, only God – so he’s not a real Christian. And that
means he’s going to burn in hell and everything he says is dangerous and we can’t
trust anything that comes out of his mouth.”
Whoa there.
Y’all, even those who want critical race theory in the
schools are not trying to destroy our society; they're trying to find a way to correct actual wrongs that do exist. We all want justice for all
races – we just disagree on how to get there. Even those who are in support of
more stringent voting procedures are not trying to disenfranchise black people
or anyone; they want us all to be able to trust the election results we get. We all want free and fair elections – we just disagree on how to get
there.
And I truly don’t believe anyone in this country is
trying to use the pandemic as a tool to force their particular set of political
or religious beliefs on the nation . . . or to enslave the minds and
hearts of our children by destroying the education system . . . or to kill off a
segment of society they don’t like. All of us just want people to not suffer or
die.
Inferences. Conclusions based on evidence. Do the
work to find the evidence and examine it objectively. Give the same grace to those
you disagree with as you would want them to give you.
You are all welcome in my 6th grade English class
if you’ve forgotten how to be good humans.
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