DS teacher has apparently told the class...

[rockiestbottom]

That the zika virus is not real and made up to hide other bad stuff in the media.

Seriously?! If true, I'd definitely be having words with that teacher.

Age of DS?

They are 12

I would be asking for a meeting with the teacher to clarify what's been said.

Why does it matter how old the children are??!

definite clarification required. NickNacks I would guess the age is relevant when considering how much the OP's DS has misunderstood.

It matters how old the child is because a) a four year old's version of events is less reliable b) if the teacher had been coming out with conspiracy theories in a KS1 class that would be really weird. It's more reasonable to talk about world events and politics in the course of a secondary class - just not when that means batshit conspiracy theories.

It's definitely real!

And the association between the outbreak of the virus and the spike in microcephaly is real too. But yes, there is more work required to establish a causative link beyond doubt; however the weight of evidence means it is being treated as linked with the hope of minimising the increase in the number of families with affected babies.

Could you steer your DC towards the WHO or CDC websites where information (unfiltered by the media) is readily available?

Check that the teacher didn't say something more nuanced like, 'A conspiracy theorist might believe that the zika virus ... ' If the teacher actually turns out to be a conspiracy theorist then complain.

what bad stuff did the teacher want to expose?

Was it in an English lesson or debating type lesson? Get children to think about 2 sides of an argument? I realise I may be clutching at straws however I have told my class an alien spaceship landed in the playground to write newspaper reports. Rather than a formal meeting just say you were intriguedoing after dc made a comment about zika and see what they say?

What subject? I'd be more concerned if it were a biology teacher rather than say an English teacher (not that it's very good either way).

DD's class discussed Ebola in geography at the time of the epidemic, and DD complained that her teacher was misinformed about some aspects of disease transmission - but I didn't say anything and neither did she ...

Maybe some of the students were becoming scared and over concerned about it imagining a group of teenage girls, perhaps this topic was disrupting the lesson and it was said to try and regain order and move on with the lesson.

Might be worth just showing your ds an article about it from the BBC website rather than jumping down a teacher's throat.

Could it be that the teacher said that the fact it is a "new" virus is made up - it was actually first identified in 1947, so maybe the teacher said that the big media focus on it now is to hide other bad things happening...

The context also matters of course - yes in English the kids might have been asked to debate whether the current media focus on the Zika virus was a conspiracy to divert public attention from certain other world events... Though 12 seems a bit young for that, that's more a year 10/ 11 topic...

Or maybe one of the kids said it and the teacher replied "maybe, Jack, now get on with your work"? Kids are great at exaggerating stuff.

It's all a guessing game until you actually speak to the teacher and ask.

No one has suggested 'jumping down the teachers throat''

I wonder if it's my son's old teacher. His pearls of wisdom included:
Hitler wasn't all bad and he did have a point
Learning difficulties aren't real - anyone with dyslexia doesn't actually have it they're just thick
It's very important to wear a hat everyday even if it's raining otherwise you'll get skin cancer and die

Does your sons teacher wear a hat?

I've had a few FB 'friends' twats, passing round something about it being linked to vaccines. 'Apparently' Wakefield knows all about it.

Just asked Ds to clarify.
They were talking about the virus with teacher who is a science teacher. Teacher apparently then said it was a made up story anyway to cover up bad press.

That very much sounds like a precursor for a lesson on bad science to get them thinking about evidence. If your son's interest has been piqued it worked.

Of course, she might be a conspiracy theorist weirdo.

I'm not jumping down a teachers throat. I'm posting asking whether I should speak to the teacher. I'm an ex HLTA so no teacher bashing here.

They have a 'in the news ' discussion once a week. It came up in that.

I wonder if it's my son's old teacher. His pearls of wisdom included:
Hitler wasn't all bad and he did have a point
Learning difficulties aren't real - anyone with dyslexia doesn't actually have it they're just thick
It's very important to wear a hat everyday even if it's raining otherwise you'll get skin cancer and die

Really? A teacher said all of those things to their students? And when asked to clarify freely admitted saying those things and standing by them?

a made-up story is a very different thing to a made-up virus!