LCS Board Policies

    3.800 Controversial Subjects and Secondary Doctrine

    1. If in the course of teaching a class, a teacher sees that a subject has arisen which he or she has good reason to believe is controversial and discussion of that subject will not help him or her achieve the goals set for that class in the curriculum guide, then the teacher will not allow class time for the discussion of the topic at all.
    2. If a subject arises which the teacher has reason to believe is controversial and the discussion of that topic will help achieve the goals set out in the curriculum guide for that subject, then the teacher will do the following:
      1. As necessary, instruct the class of the responsibility of Christians to be charitable in debate.
      2. As appropriate (i.e. pertinent to the stated good of the class), direct the students’ attention to informed sources on each side of the subject concerned. This may be done in variety of forms, such as research paper, guest speakers, reading differing authors, etc. Strongly encourage the students to become knowledgeable of the most widely held views on the subject.
      3. Refrain from pursuing tangents or other unplanned subject matter that will lead to a possible mishandling/poor teaching of controversial subjects.
    3. The teacher is to remember that according to Scripture and the stated goals of LCS, he or she is serving as a role model of a mature Christian adult to the students. As such, teachers are never to enter into an adversarial debate with students on controversial subjects within a classroom setting. Even though the teacher may hold strong personal convictions regarding the subject; in light of this policy and sound teaching practices, he or she is to encourage a gracious and scholarly attitude in the students.
    4. Classroom discussion of secondary doctrine should be on an informative, non-partisan level. Teachers must be careful not to speak to the students in a manner that would cause offense to the parents.
      1. Presentation of all sides of an issue is encouraged.
      2. The teacher should encourage the students to follow up on any questions they have with their parents and pastor.