Oh boy. Starting my first class with a bunch of eighth-grade boys screaming at me āTHE EARTH IS FLATā was not on my agenda for the day. Squashing every quippy comment about the earth being flat in group work? Also not on my agenda. Having to pause for a moment to figure out how to explain something I thought we were all in agreement on by kindergarten ā¦ you got it. Not on the agenda.
Somehow, a few years have passed since flat earth theorists gained traction in 2019, and these poor Reddit teachers are still struggling with the same fight I did with my middle schoolers.
Hereās the original post:
If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
Itās not an opinion. The earth is round. Itās a sphere. Itās not that hard to understand. You can not understand the basics of world geography (my subject) if you base it on the earth being flat.
People four thousand years ago knew the earth was round. Now all it takes is a tiktok to prove its flat???
I teach freshman, but recently my adult brother started sending me TikTokās āprovingā the earth is flat. At first I thought it was just for laughs, but now he says science is an opinion and I just canāt.
If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
byu/wandering_grizz inTeachers
How about these responses for the steadfast-opinioned āflat-earthersā?
The actual science!
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Maybe ignore them completely?
This. If theyāre goofy and laughing about it, theyāre probably trolling. If theyāre bleary-eyed from watching YouTube all night and frustrated that no one else knows the truth, then you can worry.
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A lesson in constructive arguments
Rhetoric 101.
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Pics or it didnāt happen
Yes.
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A shout-out to cats
Aww. So true.
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Maybe there really is no convincing
Whether or not students subscribe to the deeper beliefs this Reddit user mentions, I think they bring up valid points about teenage contrarianism and not playing the game.
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LOL @ language
We feel your pain, @darklordette.
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There is always a third way
Dad jokes are always an effective distraction.
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Oh, Kansas!
And again with the dad jokes!
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We wouldnāt ever actually say this one ā¦ right?
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Top 10 reasons
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A fun activity at the beach!
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Do they seriously believe it, or like my students, were they just yanking this teacherās chain? Hard to say. But itās clear that itās become more difficult than ever to lead students away from conspiracy theories.
Hopefully some of these Reddit responses gave you some ideas on how to respond to those āTHE EARTH IS FLATā chants.
But as every teacher knows, if itās not this chant, isnāt it just something else?
How do you respond to the āflat-earthā students? Let us know in the comments.
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