What’s a teacher to do when her students ask if the government is secretly hiding alien invaders in Nevada?

“Not that I know of,” I reply, and then note that if the cover-up is a carefully-crafted, big secret, of course, we would not know.

I don’t want to encourage conspiracy theories. I already have girlfriends who are afraid to take trains. But if we are trying to stimulate critical thinking, I can’t shut down this line of thought. The idea that “you can’t prove a negative” may be pseudologic, but how can I say that the concept of stashed aliens is absurd? I can’t prove that the truth is not out there, buried in some underground bunker in Nevada, so I just do my best to offer the facts and probabilities as I perceive them.

In the end, they are looking at me as if I am a possible part of the conspiracy, wrecking their fun. They want secret government cover-ups. They seem to want aliens.

Eduhonesty: We need more Nova episodes and fewer Cupcake Wars.