The people who should be teaching kids that adults aren't always right are the kids' parents. I got into similar arguments in my childhood, and more importantly, so did my kids. If they weren't sure for some reason (or if their teacher argued well), they came home to verify. They rapidly learned how to tell good teachers from the not good ones, without explicit instruction that some adults are idiots. Eventually, they also learned that their parents are idiots, but that took longer.
All kids eventually learn that their parents are idiots. But alas, some of them actually are, and they are the ones that probably aren't teaching their kids that adults aren't always right. Family members, teachers, coaches, caregivers, or any other trusted adult in a kid's life, we should hope that one of them teaches kids not to accept everything as true, even if it's an adult who is providing the information. But, in the end, that's what education is all about, learning to think critically.
My son is unusually astute. The other day he said: "You know what you and mom got right? You never talked down to us, even in front of other adults. You used big words and hard concepts with us even when we were little." Also when I have been wrong about things I have gone to the kids and told them I recognize I was wrong and may have reacted poorly in the moment, but it's because I am human and prone to mistakes. I am bad about denying I made a mistake or was wrong in the moment. But I am good about owning it later. I have worked so incredibly hard not to be my parents. Whom I love, but didn't want to emulate.
I agree with every after the smiley. "Should be" was doing a lot of heavy lifting there, and there are plenty of kids for whom it won't be the case that they learn this from their parents. On the other hand, every kid figures at some point figures out that not everyone is right or even to be trusted, and it is a whole lot easier if they have friendly help to get there, regardless of where that help comes from. I didn't make that clear.
Obviously, I agree with everything before the smiley, too.
Yes, I think my original point on this is that I think a lot of parents teach their children not to doubt adults — and sometimes the parents will trust other adults more than they trust their own children.
I think children need to be taught healthy but respectful skepticism of adults’ claims and actions. It’s a big difference in teaching your child confidence in themselves versus self-doubt. Maybe it’s because my wife worked for NCMEC at one point but we are both very untrusting of adults in a position of power.
They had a cookie swap at my wife's work so she brought home a bunch of different cookies. One of them was just an Oreo dipped in some sort of lustrous fudge. Nice little 2-step process.
While conversing with someone about music and then searching YouTube, I stumbled on this. MCC was my antidote to too much grunge at kegs late into the night: