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Attempts at overthrowing the teaching of evolution gathering steam
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Mon, 08 Nov 2004 16:02:17 -0500
Begin forwarded message: From: "Robert J. Berger" <rberger () ibd com> Date: November 8, 2004 2:32:35 PM ESTTo: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>, Dave Farber <dave () farber net> Subject: Attempts at overthrowing the teaching of evolution gathering steam
The Christian Fundamentalists are hard at work at making the US on par with
Islamic fundamentalist states. First step, have their religion taught in schools. Cases in Georgia and Wisconsin are the first points of legalattack. All they need is get Bush to appoint some more fundamentalist judges
and there will may be no stopping them. ----------- Evolution case opens in Georgia court By Kristen Wyatt http://www.salon.com/mwt/wire/2004/11/08/evolution/print.html Nov. 8, 2004 | ATLANTA (AP) -- A warning sticker in suburban Atlanta science textbooks that says evolution is "a theory, not a fact" was challenged in court Monday as an unlawful promotion of religion. The disclaimer was adopted by Cobb County school officials in 2002 after hundreds of parents signed a petition criticizing the textbooks for treating evolution as fact without discussing alternate theories, including creationism. "The religious views of some that contradict science cannot dictate curriculum," American Civil Liberties Union attorney Maggie Garrett argued Monday before U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper. The trial is expected to last several days. But a lawyer for Cobb County schools, Linwood Gunn, held up a copy of a textbook's table of contents Monday that showed dozens of pages about evolution. "The sticker doesn't exist independently of the 101 pages about evolution," Gunn said. "This case is not about a sticker which has 33 words on it. ... It's about textbooks that say a lot more than that." The stickers read: "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered." One of the parents who filed the lawsuit, Jeffrey Selman, said the stickers discredit the science of evolution. "It's like saying everything that follows this sticker isn't true," he said. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1987 that creationism was a religious belief that could not be taught in public schools along with evolution. Gunn said he expects the warning will hold up in court, saying it "provides a unique opportunity for critical thinking." "It doesn't say anything about faith," Gunn said. "It doesn't say anything about religion." And: Wisconsin district to teach more than evolution http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/11/06/evolution.schools.ap/ GRANTSBURG, Wisconsin (AP) -- School officials have revised the science curriculum to allow the teaching of creationism, prompting an outcry from more than 300 educators who urged that the decision be reversed. Members of Grantsburg's school board believed that a state law governing the teaching of evolution was too restrictive. The science curriculum "should not be totally inclusive of just one scientific theory," said Joni Burgin, superintendent of the district of 1,000 students in northwest Wisconsin. Last month, when the board examined its science curriculum, language was added calling for "various models/theories" of origin to be incorporated. The decision provoked more than 300 biology and religious studies faculty members to write a letter last week urging the Grantsburg board to reverse the policy. It follows a letter sent previously by 43 deans at Wisconsin public universities. "Insisting that teachers teach alternative theories of origin in biology classes takes time away from real learning, confuses some students and is a misuse of limited class time and public funds," said Don Waller, a botanist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Wisconsin law mandates that evolution be taught, but school districts are free to create their own curricular standards, said Joe Donovan, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Instruction. There have been scattered efforts around the nation for other school boards to adopt similar measures. Last month the Dover Area School Board in Pennsylvania voted to require the teaching of alternative theories to evolution, including "intelligent design" -- the idea that life is too complex to have developed without a creator. The state education board in Kansas was heavily criticized in 1999 when it deleted most references to evolution. The decision was reversed in 2001. In March, the Ohio Board of Education narrowly approved a lesson plan that some critics contended opens the door to teaching creationism. -- Robert J. Berger - Internet Bandwidth Development, LLC. Voice: 408-882-4755 eFax: +1-408-490-2868 http://www.ibd.com ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as interesting-people () lists elistx com To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- Attempts at overthrowing the teaching of evolution gathering steam David Farber (Nov 08)