# Has there been a formal debunking of this "note home from teacher"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 5, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477 "2009-08-05T22:22:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Captain\_Gutgore\_Blooddrink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Captain\_Gutgore\_Blooddrink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Gutgore_Blooddrink)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/101 "2009-08-07T06:00:34Z")
When I was in the second grade, my teacher made the statement to the class “All fish lay eggs.” As a guppy owner, I raised my hand and told her, “My guppies are fish and they have babies live.” She slammed her palms on my desk, looked me right in the eyes and repeated in a loud, authoritative voice, “All fish lay eggs!” I went home very upset, and my parents wrote a very nasty letter to the school. This started a long cycle of what some would refer to as insubordination, from which I surprisingly only got served detention from once. Unfortunately for them, elementary school punishment usually involved staying inside for recess. The fact that we had an Apple II with The Oregon Trail on it at my disposal during these periods only egged me on. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/102 "2009-08-07T07:58:06Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > [Amphibian Beaver](http://www.airplanemart.com/aircraft-history-and-specification/photo/lg/DeHavilland-DHC-2-Beaver-Amphibian-Aircraft-N9558Q.jpg) That’s where I thought you were going with this. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/103 "2009-08-07T08:30:18Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > And were fish declared to be amphibians? Ooh, burn! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/104 "2009-08-07T11:21:39Z")
I call fake on the letter merely because I can’t believe U.S. schools have even bothered with the metric system since 1980. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/105 "2009-08-07T15:16:35Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I can’t see a reason not to name this professor. Who was he? > [@The\_Scrivener](#): > > Seconded; who was that anti-semitic, sexist, propagandizing bastard, anyway? His name was Hallba (I think I spelled that right), University of South Carolina, Sumter campus. This was back in the '80s when I was in college so I have no idea if he is still with them or not. I’m not sure how even a professor can get away with stunts like that; you think at some point he would have pissed off one too many people. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/106 "2009-08-09T21:23:41Z")
> [@tanstaafl](#): > > His name was Hallba (I think I spelled that right), University of South Carolina, Sumter campus. This was back in the '80s when I was in college so I have no idea if he is still with them or not. > > I’m not sure how even a professor can get away with stunts like that; you think at some point he would have pissed off one too many people. And no one publically complained about the Holocaust denial crap? :eek: The only thing I can remember is trying to tell (without sucess) one of my professors that [Fr. Dmitri Gallitzin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demetrius_Augustine_Gallitzin) was from Russia, not _Prussia_. She was a local history professor, and we were talking about [Gallitzin, PA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallitzin,_Pennsylvania). ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/107 "2009-08-10T08:08:40Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > made my mom decide to run for the school board. I had a spiffy book I got for Christmas, Portraits of Nobel Laureates in Medicine and Physiology. The teacher said that Dr Walter Reid was the only inventor of the yellow fever vaccine. I objected and pointed out he shared the discovery with several other doctors, and showed him the book. I got slammed for correcting the jackass, and yelled at for having a non school book in my desk in class. I got sent to the office and put on detention for a week. My mom was ripping pissed, and she brought in the actual textbook he was supposed to be teaching from, where it even said that it was Dr Reid and a team that discovered the vaccine … she also pointed out that not only did I have a 4.0 average in the class, I had aced every single test and pop quiz, and submitted every single assignment on time and done correctly. She pointed out that that sort of teacher was why the quality of education was declining, and she told them that I was not going to finish that class with that jerk. I hung out in the library, and handed the questions in the book to the librarian to be graded, and took the NY state testing at the end of the year and still had my 4.0 grade … and the next year I went back to private school [where I was treated as a person, not a body filling a seat.] She got elected and kicked ass .. a number of teachers got put on probation for the way they were treating the students and the overall test scores improved over the next 5 years. Heh, your Mom is awesome! ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/108 "2009-08-10T08:10:25Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > He said lawyer, not D.A. > > This kind of thing was why we both got very involved in our kids’ schools. Much easier to get heard if you have an existing relationship with the principal. But it is also why kids whose parents have a clue do better - because the parents will push back. > However I doubt the letter also. It smells of right wing “support vouchers because all public schools are terrible and teachers are ignorant Nazis” cant - see many Mallard Fillmores for example. That’s a little too conspiracy for my blood. I think it’s probably true at least in spirit. It sounds like **Aruvqan** had that experience personally, and I’ve had friends relate similar stories to me before. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/109 "2009-08-10T09:35:15Z")
> [@JonathanTheRed](#): > > Teacher: “Two plus two equals four.” > Class: “Fact.” > Teacher: “Strawberry ice cream is delicious.” > Class: “Opinion.” > > And then there was this: > > Teacher: “I think the weather today is beautiful.” > Class (except for JtR): “Opinion.” > JtR: “Fact.” I got into that exact same argument once and, when no one in the class including the teacher wouldn’t listen to me, I flunked the test on purpose because I wouldn’t change my mind. One big problem was that the textbook supported the teacher but that doesn’t make it true. ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/110 "2009-08-10T16:26:17Z")
Along the textbook line of discussion, I remembered reading one of Feynman’s books about his experiences with picking textbooks for the State of California. Here is a [link](http://www.textbookleague.org/103feyn.htm) to the story. It is pretty horrifying (but not unexpected, really) to learn how the process worked at least back in the 60s. I would imagine it isn’t all that different today. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/111 "2009-08-10T17:08:24Z")
I used to do science outreach classes at Junior High schools and High Schools, and I was continually appalled at the incredibly poor science and physics knowledge of even high school science and physics teachers. It was clear to me that they were coasting along on their learn-by-rote textbooks for years, or decades, and it took no actual thought or serious intelligence to run the class. Oh, and I got in trouble in 2nd grade for correcting the teacher when she said Mercury was the smallest planet. I did not make that mistake again for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/112 "2009-08-10T17:31:25Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Oh, and I got in trouble in 2nd grade for correcting the teacher when she said Mercury was the smallest planet. I did not make that mistake again for a long time. And now you won’t be able to. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/113 "2009-08-10T17:41:23Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Oh, and I got in trouble in 2nd grade for correcting the teacher when **she said Mercury was the smallest planet**. I did not make that mistake again for a long time. She wasn’t wrong, she was prescient. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/114 "2009-08-10T17:43:47Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > > [@Una\_Persson](#): > > > > Oh, and I got in trouble in 2nd grade for correcting the teacher when she said Mercury was the smallest planet. I did not make that mistake again for a long time. > > And now you won’t be able to. 🙂 Maybe Una’s teacher was a time traveller, originally from the 24th and half century. Or didn’t learn any science after 1930. ---
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/115 "2009-08-10T22:11:58Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > I used to do science outreach classes at Junior High schools and High Schools, and I was continually appalled at the incredibly poor science and physics knowledge of even high school science and physics teachers. It was clear to me that they were coasting along on their learn-by-rote textbooks for years, or decades, and it took no actual thought or serious intelligence to run the class. In High School my son had a ‘Science Teacher’ who gave the class a problem along the lines of; “If your were in Boston and went straight up in a helicopter, how long would it take for the earth to revolve below you so that you arrived in Europe?” The teacher seemed to think that once you got off the ground you would somehow stand still with the earth spinning madly below you. Upon further questioning it also became apparent she thought the earth spun from east to west. Arguing got him nowhere with the teacher. (Note; I believe the earth _would_ precede you by a small amount, especially if you go high enough and don’t add horizontal velocity. But that is not what the teacher was thinking of.) ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/116 "2009-08-10T23:52:13Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > She wasn’t wrong, she was prescient. 😃 Good point…but at the time… ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/117 "2009-08-11T00:56:17Z")
> [@Tamex](#): > > Could have been done on a computer in Courier font, even in 1994. Umm, 19 **84**. ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/118 "2009-08-11T02:02:57Z")
Teachers are addicted to the power of being The One Who Knows, like some parents probably feel when their kids are 2-3 and asking basic questions about reality. If they are ever corrected, or proved wrong, they feel that power dwindling away so they need to re-affirm it to themselves by arbitrarily using their power to dole out punishment. I’m pretty sure the word “insubordination” was invented solely for this purpose. I was once given “5 minutes” (off of recess) for telling a teacher that they’re called “radio stations,” not “radio channels.” I wasn’t being a snot about it, I was just proud that I knew something for once. The message I was supposed to get was “it’s impolite to correct people,” but the message I really got was “grown ups don’t like to get corrected by kids.” ---
**Author:** ![JonathanTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@JonathanTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonathanTheRed)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/119 "2009-08-11T20:38:51Z")
> [@UncleFred](#): > > In High School my son had a ‘Science Teacher’ who gave the class a problem along the lines of; “If your were in Boston and went straight up in a helicopter, how long would it take for the earth to revolve below you so that you arrived in Europe?” Let’s assume for the sake of argument that this took place in New York. New York’s at about 40 degrees North. At that latutude, the parallel has a circumference of about 16,000 miles. As this revolves during the course of one day, any given point on the parallel moves at about 666 miles per hour (ooh, devilish). Whatever you do, don’t jump. Millions of people each year die horrible deaths being splattered into walls that way. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477/120 "2009-08-11T21:44:13Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Umm, 19 **84**. Is this a whoosh? The note linked to in the OP is dated 1994. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-been-a-formal-debunking-of-this-note-home-from-teacher/505477.md?page=7)