John Orme, an English and history teacher in Canada, is under review because he asked his students to analyze the lyrics to the song “Dear God” by the British band XTC.

Kelsey Griffiths, a 12-year-old student, construed the song to mean that God didn’t exist and the Bible was false.

Orme asked Kelsey to further the reasoning behind this conclusion. She wrote, “But there’s no real reason why you believe in God. It’s just a faith thing. I couldn’t think of anything about why. I just do.”

Rather than turn in her assignment, she became frustrated and brought it home to show her mother, Amanda. Her mother, a Roman Catholic,  proceeded to go to the principal to try to ensure religion would stay out of school.

“This would be appropriate for a university tutorial, not grade six,” Amanda Griffiths said.

The knee-jerk taking of offense by parents is nothing new to U.S. schools. But it’s still unnecessary.

Future parents, ask yourself if you would allow  someone to teach your child anything that involves saying the word “God.” Ask yourself if you see the differences between education and preaching.

Religion is a part of history that cannot be ignored. Forcing a particular belief on youths in school is bad, but letting students examine a philosophical question is helpful. If nothing else, it will prepare them for the kind of critical thinking they’ll have to do later in their academic careers.

Students today are being shielded from certain topics because some people believe the topics to be over their heads — unsuitable for impressionable minds.

Current and future parents, ask yourself if you would have benefited from the kind of education Orme tried to give his students. Is the answer yes? If so, you should give teachers like him more lattitude in the classroom and less grief.