March 9, 2004
By Amy Endicott
On Feb. 11 senior Tali Barash refused to do her homework. Her excuse was original. She felt it questioned her faith.
The assignment, which was for Bruce Baird’s World Cultures class, was to read an article by historical revisionist Daniel Lazare that questions the authenticity of the Old Testament.
After reading this six-page piece from Harper’s titled “False testament: archaeology refutes the Bible’s claims to history,” students were asked to answer six analysis questions.
But several of them didn’t.
“It was the way [the article] was presented,” Barash said. “To me it just sounded like some pissed-off guy who didn’t like Jewish people, rather than someone trying to teach something.”
Barash was not alone in her sentiments. Two other Jewish students, sophomores Bess Tavill and Yael Barash (Tali’s sister), were also offended by the article. They saw it as an attack on their faith.
But the purpose of the class assignment was not question faith or to cast doubt on historical evidence of Judaism. The class had been studying Hinduism and other ancient religions. The students had been examining religion from both the “narrative and historical standpoints,” Baird said.
“The textbook didn’t have a good summary of the archaeological information,” he said. “I chose the article because I thought it was a good summary of what we were discussing and the research on historical Judaism I had done last summer.”
The article was labeled “criticism.” Written before the questions on the homework sheet was the reminder “All of the following questions should be prefaced ‘According to Daniel Lazare and the archaeologists he cites.'”
Despite this, the assignment still surprised students.
“I can see how it could be offensive because it talks about how there was no exodus,” sophomore Sarah Kelly, who is not affiliated with any religion, said. “That suggests there was no Moses, which undermines [the Jewish] faith.”
However, Kelly did not feel as if Baird was forcing a point of view on her or criticizing Judaism.
“It’s somebody’s opinion, so if that’s what they want to say, whatever,” she said. “It did say, ‘according to [Lazare].'”
The Jewish students in the class did not share Kelly’s attitude, however.
Upon reading the article, they showed it to their parents. Both Yona Barash, father of Tali and Yael, and Mark Tavill, father of Bess, were greatly upset by the article.
“I object to exposing the children to the article,” Barash said. “I think it is one thing to discuss what other people believe and what the principles are. But teaching religion and then deciding to tear it apart is inexcusable.”
Tavill also felt the article should not have been assigned and Judaism received disproportionate criticism.
“I don’t mind that there are questions raised in the classroom,” Tavill said. “However, I feel one religion was singled out. I am sure there are comparable articles about other religions.”
The parents were so concerned that they wrote to headmaster Stephen Repsher.
“I received a letter and a e-mail,” Repsher said. “The parents said [the article] was inflammatory. My feeling is that if a parent finds a class assignment objectionable, we will accommodate their concerns.”
Repsher wrote e-mails responding to the parents’ objections. He maintains that what Baird did was done in the spirit of historical investigation, not religious persecution.
“It’s very personal,” Repsher said. “Dr. Baird and the school certainly do not have any intention of trying to convince anyone to question their faith,
“[Baird] was presenting a view by another person to help students learn to think critically about history.”
In the end, Baird did not grade the analysis assignment, and students will not be penalized for their objections.
“These are very sensitive issues,” Baird said. “I would never have assigned the article if I thought it was anti-Semitic.
“I like to push limits. I like to get students thinking about things, but sometimes it’s too much.”
No restrictions have yet been placed on the assigning of articles.
Still, Baird feels, in hindsight, his students weren’t ready for the religious focus of the course.
The decision of Repsher and Baird that the articles was inappropriate for class has other teachers worried.
“That there would be an infringement on academic freedom would be my concern,” English teacher Ron Bell said.
“I don’t buy it. It’s not Dr. Baird’s job to be an equal opportunity offender. It’s his job to make students think critically.”
