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Reddit Teachers Say There’s No Convincing Their Flat-Earther Students the World Is Round šŸ˜³

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Boy. Coming to school one day with a bunch of eighth-grade boys screaming at me that ā€œTHE EARTH IS FLATā€ was not on my agenda. 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.

Hereā€™s the original post:

If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
Itā€™s not an opinion. The earth is round. Itā€™s a sphere. Itā€™s 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 TikTokā€™s ā€œprovingā€ the earth is flat. At first I thought it was just for laughs, but now he says science is an opinion and I just canā€™t.

If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
by u/wandering_grizz in Teachers

How about these responses for the steadfast-opinioned ā€œflat-earthersā€?

The actual science!

Comment
by u/realnanoboy from discussion If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
in Teachers

Maybe ignore them completely?

This. If theyā€™re goofy and laughing about it, theyā€™re probably trolling. If theyā€™re bleary-eyed from watching YouTube all night and frustrated that no one else knows the truth, then you can worry.

Comment
by u/A-roguebanana from discussion If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
in Teachers

A lesson in constructive arguments

Rhetoric 101.

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by u/Absence-of-Reason from discussion If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
in Teachers

Pics or it didnā€™t happen

Yes.

Comment
by u/Dizzy_Impression2636 from discussion If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
in Teachers

A shout-out to cats

Aww. So true.

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by u/Design-Few from discussion If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
in Teachers

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.

Comment
by u/BaronAleksei from discussion If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
in Teachers

LOL @ language

We feel your pain, @darklordette.

Comment
by u/darklordette from discussion If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
in Teachers

There is always a third way

Dad jokes are always an effective distraction.

Comment
by u/ActivatedComplex from discussion If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
in Teachers

Oh, Kansas!

And again with the dad jokes!

Comment
by u/mitosis799 from discussion If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
in Teachers

We wouldnā€™t ever actually say this one ā€¦ right?

Comment
by u/ImaginaryAI from discussion If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
in Teachers

Top 10 reasons

Comment
by u/Nikifuj908 from discussion If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
in Teachers

A fun activity at the beach!

Comment
by u/melodypowers from discussion If I have one more kid tell me the earth is flat I might quit
in Teachers

Do they seriously believe it, or like my students, were they just yanking this teacherā€™s chain? Hard to say. But itā€™s clear that itā€™s 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 ā€œTHE EARTH IS FLATā€ chants.

But as every teacher knows, if itā€™s not this chant, isnā€™t it just something else?

How do you respond to the ā€œflat-earthā€ students? Let us know in the comments.

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