Meanwhile, Over in "Oiho"

The Dayton Daily News is covering the goings on of the Springboro School Board, which is in the news yet again, and is locked in a tussle with some parents and the ACLU over the inclusion of creationism in the county school curriculum.  Lawrence Budd writes:

Local parents and the American Civil Liberties Union urged the Springboro school board on Thursday to abandon plans to pass policies inserting creationism and other religious issues into local classrooms.

Parents, teachers and students crowded a board meeting at Springboro High School where the board sought comments on policy changes including creation and evolution in a list of controversial issues.

Lynn Greenberg said the renewed consideration of bringing creationism into classrooms was just the latest controversy diverting attention from educating Springboro students.

“We’re being defined by our issues and not our accomplishments,” said Greenberg, a parent.

This kind of thing seems to be playing out in quite a few venues across the country and, with the advent of the Internet and the instant news cycle, it is likely that these events, which have probably been going on all the time, are now brought to our attention.  It does not help that the recent spate of "academic freedom" bills at the state level has given these school boards cover to attempt imposing not just ID but creationism at a local level.  The ability to shine a national spotlight on these sorts of debates, however, does make it hard for another Dover to occur.  In that case, the local school board was counting on people not paying attention.

What Is Being Taught in Public Schools?

Digital Journal has an article about the struggle involved in teaching evolution in Dayton, Ohio. The story and accompanying video are quite alarming and show not just a complete misunderstanding of what evolution actually is but a fear associated with it.



The usual “acceptance of both God and evolution” argument is turned on its head by the teacher who argues that he doesn't “think that God has to have evolution to make a world.” Because of his extreme dislike for evolution, his biblical world view puts God in a box by denying Him the option of using evolution. In other words, evolution is so bad that God simply could not have possibly done it that way. As the writer of the article points out:

However, beyond the church and state controversy, the teaching of Creationism may have a grave impact on America's long-term competitiveness in science. According to a recent Huffington Post report, the World Economic Forum slapped the United States with a ranking of 48th among measured countries in the quality of mathematics and science education provided to students.
But the video segment ends with a big bang of its own:
“How can, like, an African American person evolve from a white person,” one student asked. “We're different skin.”

Even basic human variation involving melanin, latitude, sunshine and Vitamin K is a complete mystery to these students. That is astounding and sad and it makes one wonder about the competence of the teacher even in areas that don't involve evolution.

Interestingly, the narrator of the video does not come without some internal preconceptions as well. Remarking about the teaching style and beliefs of the teacher as it relates to his class, she states:

Unable to deny the word of God to his students or himself, Joe Wilke [sp?] walks a thin line between religion and science.

Why would he need to deny the word of God to teach evolution to his students? This is an a priori assumption that is a mirror image of the constraint in which Mr. Wilke places himself. Mr. Wilke is unable to deny a particular interpretation of the word of God, not the word of God, itself. This nuance is lost on the narrator.

It is this kind of biological education that leads to students coming out of high school thinking that evolution is religion, suggesting that the answers given by the Miss USA contestants might not be that unusual.

“Alleged”

The trailer for the new film on the Scopes trial called “Alleged” is out. This is not a backwoods production—it has Brian Dennehy, Fred Thompson and Colm Meaney. It bills itself as

“a romantic drama based on events occurring behind the scenes and outside the courtroom of the famous Scopes “Monkey Trial” of 1925”

and the trailer is pretty ambiguous in terms of a position statement but it does deal with lawyerly prevarication and media bias at some level. Fred Thompson is a staunch conservative so it is not likely that he would lend himself to a project that makes William Jennings Bryan look like a fool, which is what Inherit the Wind kind of did with Fredric March. The tag line is “Some Lies Just Have to be Told.” Here is the trailer:



I missed “Creation” and will not Netflix it yet until we get away from the controversy being such a hot topic at the Kidder household. I will try to see this when it comes out. Here is the web site for the movie.

Hat tip to Todd Wood.

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Rachel Evans: Evolving in Monkey Town

Rachel Evans, a new writer who grew up in Dayton, Tennessee has written a new book called Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions, in which she chronicles her life growing up in the shadow of the Scopes Trial. In an article for the Tennessean, she is quoted as saying:

"I was taught that if you don't interpret Genesis 1 and 2 literally, then you don't take the Bible seriously,'' said Evans, 29. "I held on tightly to that for a long time.''

My boss went to college in Dayton and, while not really be attuned to this area of controversy, he remembers there being a definite creationist bent. The article continues:

Evans is part of a movement of mostly Protestant writers and scientists trying to reconcile faith and science, 85 years after the trial ended. Instead of choosing sides, some prefer the middle ground of intelligent design, which claims God designed how life evolved. Tennessee gubernatorial candidates Ron Ramsey, Zach Wamp and Mike McWherter all advocate teaching intelligent design in schools.

I do not think I would characterize
the ID movement in this way. It is largely an anti-evolution movement (for example, this unfortunate piece from Cornelius Hunter) although there are some that accept some forms of evolution. On balance, however, it is reassuring that another person was able to find the narrow path of belief in God and acceptance of science.

Another book to read. Yay.

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