"Cobb County (Georgia) School Board Promotes Academic Freedom"
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77 years after Scopes trial, evolution fight still rages
By Lori Horvitz
Sentinel Staff Writer
September 16, 2002
COBB COUNTY, Ga. -- Every new biology textbook used in public schools
here comes with the warning: Material in these pages contains evolution.
The label, pasted inside the textbooks by the Cobb County School Board
to placate angry parents, tells students that "evolution is a theory,
not a fact" before advising them to read the material "with an open mind."
Seventy-seven years after John T. Scopes was charged with violating
Tennessee law for teaching evolution, parents and educators across the
country are still clashing over what students should learn about the origins of man.
"The public schools want evolution accepted at face value, and those who
feel otherwise are ridiculed or criticized as being Bible-thumping
Christians or anti-intellectual," said Rick Burgess, a Cobb County parent and Sunday
school teacher. "All we are advocating is free and open discussion."
Last month, the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the textbook
warnings in court, an action that could affect other parts of the
country.
So far, Florida has avoided the controversy with a simple solution --
excluding the word evolution in written standards for students. Still,
students are required to learn specific evolution-related concepts that are outlined in the
science standards. And most science textbooks in middle and high school
use the word repeatedly. Whether students learn about the topic in much detail depends on the
teacher.
"The colleges and universities consider evolution to be a remedial
activity, like how to write a paragraph in English class," said Eugenia
Scott, the National Center for Science Education's executive director in California.
She said evolution is taught at the college level as a matter of fact,
just like cell division of DNA.
"It's only when you have elected school board members who feel they have
to pander to a minority in the population that evolution becomes
controversial," Scott said.
Seeking to remove labels
The suit filed last month by the ACLU seeks to have the Cobb County
evolution labels removed and contends the warning is intended to promote
religion, particularly the fundamentalist interpretation of Christianity.
"To isolate evolution out of an entire body of thought shows it's all
based on religion," said Cobb parent Jeffrey Selman, a computer
programmer who initiated the suit.
Those who pushed for the labels are also backing a Cobb School Board
proposal that would allow teachers to discuss alternative ideas to
evolution, Charles Darwin's scientific theory that living things share common ancestors but
have changed over time.
"The concern I have is the dogmatic approach the science community is
taking to the exclusion of other views," said Burgess, a civil engineer
with three daughters.
The discord in Cobb County -- a booming suburb 20 miles north of Atlanta
-- is being felt outside Georgia and is another sign that the clash over
what students should learn about human origins remains a bitter one.
Since the Scopes Monkey Trial, as it came to be known, the courts have
barred public schools from teaching Bible-based creationism, which holds
that the Earth and all life forms, including humans, were fully formed by God and did
not evolve.
But the battle was far from over when Scopes was found guilty in 1925
and fined $100 for teaching evolution in his science classes. The
verdict was later overturned on a technicality. The contentious issue has resurfaced through the
years.
Other trouble spots
In 1996, Tennessee lawmakers considered allowing school boards to fire
teachers who presented evolution as fact rather than theory.
Kansas made international headlines three years ago by curbing the
emphasis on evolution in its science standards. The state rescinded that
action last year after a
new board of education was elected in the wake of public outrage.
Conservative fundamentalists led those efforts, demanding that science
teachers give equal treatment to both creationism and evolution.
More recent battles from Ohio and Pennsylvania to Michigan and now
Georgia, have evolved into something with a more sophisticated spin.
A small but growing number of people want evolution taught in tandem
with a concept called "intelligent design," which holds that human
development -- and all of the Earth's natural complexities -- was the work of an unspecified
guiding force, not the random results of natural selection and mutation.
Some proponents, including scientists and nonscientists, do not
necessarily think God is the designer and distance themselves from
conservative Christians who take that position. For some religious groups, intelligent design is gaining
ground as a fallback position now that previous efforts to bring
creationism to the classroom have been quashed by the courts.
Caught in the middle of the conflicts, wherever they occur, are
teachers, who often tread cautiously when they broach the topic.
"Our teachers are required to teach evolution, but they are not
proselytizing," said George Stickel, a Cobb County administrator.
This year, school officials nationwide have been watching the debate in
Ohio, where evolution critics have been trying to persuade state Board
of Education officials to allow teachers to discuss intelligent design as an alternative in the
science curriculum.
The board's vote on the issue was set for December. But some members of
Ohio's standards committee are vowing to look at ways to teach the
concept in subjects other than science, such as history or government. The idea emerged
after scientists and teachers objected to including intelligent design
in science classes.
What science teachers say
Science teachers explain it this way: Evolution is a scientific theory,
and what constitutes "theory" in science differs from the more widely
used dictionary definition of the word. In science, something is deemed a theory only if there is
strong evidence to support it.
People often misuse the two, said Mark Schiffer, a Seminole County
biology teacher at Lake Mary High.
"Gravity is a theory," said Schiffer, a teacher for 32 years. "The idea
that germs cause disease is a theory. It's an explanation. It doesn't
mean we're blindly guessing. It means we have an enormous amount of substantiated evidence to back up
the explanation."
That's not the case for creationism and intelligent design, the
mainstream scientists say. And that's why Schiffer and other teachers
don't think those concepts belong in science classes.
But most Americans think creationism should be taught along with
evolution, according to a 2000 poll conducted by the People for the
American Way Foundation, a liberal group. The poll indicated that 83 percent of those surveyed
generally support the teaching of evolution in public schools, but about
79 percent believe creationism also has a place in the curriculum.
Asking teachers to present all sides of the debate sounds reasonable but
actually makes no sense in science, Schiffer said.
Would it be fair, he asked, for someone to speak to his students about
the Earth-is-flat concept?
"What we teach is what is acceptable to working scientists, not
politicians," Schiffer said.
Florida has not had any statewide controversies over evolution since
1986, when the state Board of Education heard objections to biology
textbooks proposed for high-school students. Opponents said the books were dangerous because
they presented evolution as fact. Their request for textbooks about
creationism was rejected.
Dodging the issue
In Central Florida, attempts to teach creationism along with evolution
failed in Lake and Osceola counties in the early 1990s. Even with its
majority of self-described conservative Christians, the Lake board voted not to teach creationism
in science classes, opting instead to place books on the subject in
school libraries.
There is nothing in Florida law that specifically prohibits or
encourages the teaching of evolution or creationism, said JoAnn Carrin,
a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Education.
As for intelligent design, state science specialists don't think it
belongs in the classroom either, Carrin said.
"Intelligent design is so much aligned with the creation theory it would
possibly be illegal based on court decisions," she said.
The state has avoided public clashes on the issue by tiptoeing carefully
around the topic: Florida's science standards, adopted in 1996, simply
do not mention evolution or Darwinism.
Carrin said that evolution is "somewhat of a stereotypical word" that
pulls students toward one body of thought.
Still, Florida's science standards appear to endorse evolution.
By the eighth grade, students are supposed to know "that the fossil
record contains evidence that changes in the kind of plants and animals
in the environment have been occurring over time." They're also supposed to know that "generally
organisms in a population live long enough to reproduce because they
have survival characteristics."
Biology courses for grades 9-12 should impart an understanding that
"mutation and natural selection . . . lead to adaptations in a species."
And by the end of high school, students are supposed to know that the
"Earth's systems and organisms are the result of a long, continuous
change over time."
Plus, the state's science textbooks in middle and high school devote
chapters or sections of chapters to evolution and Darwin's work. In
Orange, a science textbook used in seventh grade lists evolution in the index, but the word never
reappears in the book. Textbooks for eighth-graders and high-school
students use the word repeatedly.
Students generally learn about human evolution in biology, and it may
appear in other courses such as social studies. Typically, the origin of
life is only a small part of a biology course, if at all.
Sarah Longino, a Timber Creek High biology teacher in Orange, said the
issue has become so highly politicized that some teachers avoid the
topic or skim through it rather than risk confrontations with some parents.
"I choose not to avoid it because I think the topic is so important,"
said Longino, a teacher for 21 years. "But I don't force students to
believe or say their beliefs are incorrect."
Theories and scenarios
In Cobb County, among Georgia's three largest school districts with
nearly 96,000 students, school officials said they don't want teachers
to sidestep evolution. The proposed policy states: "The Cobb County School District believes the
discussion of disputed views of academic subjects is a necessary element
of providing a balanced education, including the origin of the species."
The board wants to ensure students are exposed to "a variety of testable
theories and scenarios" in science, according to a district statement.
The board votes on the policy Sept. 26.
Selman, the Cobb parent who initiated the lawsuit, said the board is
caving in to the demands of conservative Christians who are trying to
force their beliefs upon the rest of the community.
"I'm not stopping until we win this fight," Selman said. "I'm not
dramatizing it when I say that something like this jeopardizes America
and our freedoms."
Lori Horvitz can be reached at lhorvitz@orlandosentinel.com
or 407-420-5273.
Copyright © 2002, Orlando Sentinel
Oryginał: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/orl-asecevolution16091602sep16.story
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Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2002 19:51:55 -0500
The Cobb Board voted unanimously tonight for the following resolution:
"As stated in Policy 1A, Philosophy, it is the educational philosophy of
the Cobb County School District to provide a broad base curriculum;
therefore, the Cobb School District believes that discussion of disputed views of
academic subjects is a necessary element of providing a balanced
education, including the study of the origin of the species. This subject remains
an area of intense interest, research, and discussion among scholars. As a
result, the study of this subject shall be handled in accordance with
this policy and with objectivity and good judgment on the part of teachers,
taking into account the age and maturity level of their students."
In connection with the adoption of this policy, the following clarifying
statement was adopted by the Board:
"The purpose of this policy is to foster critical thinking among
students, to allow academic freedom consistent with legal requirements, to promote
tolerance and acceptance of diversity of opinion, and to ensure a
posture of neutrality toward religion. It is the intent of the Cobb County board
of education that this policy not be interpreted to restrict the teaching
of evolution; to promote or require the teaching of creationism; or to
discriminate for or against a particular set of religious beliefs,
religion in general, or nonreligion."
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Discovery Institute Praises Cobb Board
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2002 18:47:03 -0700
Cobb County (Georgia) School Board Promotes Academic Freedom, Not
Religion Praising the adoption Thursday night of a policy encouraging the
"discussion of disputed views" about evolution in Cobb
County, Georgia schools, Discovery Institute President Bruce Chapman
called the decision "a victory for academic freedom
and good science education" and faulted critics of the policy for
"trying to mischaracterize the controversy as a battle over
religion."
"The policy adopted by the Cobb County School Board is clearly about
science, not religion," said Chapman, who
commended the board for choosing "the sensible middle path" in the
controversy. "The board declined to promote either the
Bible or the dogmatic presentation of Darwinism in science class.
Instead, it encouraged allowing students to study the
diversity of scientific views on the origin of new life forms."
Chapman noted that the school board essentially adopted the advice of 28
Georgia scientists from such institutions as the
University of Georgia and Georgia Tech who sent a letter to the board
expressing their skepticism of Darwinism and urging
"careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory." That letter
was backed by more than 130 scientists from around
the nation expressing the same view. "The charge that this is about
religion is nothing but a smokescreen to shut down free
inquiry. There are growing numbers of scientists who believe that it's
time for students to study evolution like they would any
other controversial topic in science--by learning about scientific
evidence both for and against the theory. Why should
evolution be the only controversial topic immune from critical
examination in the classroom?"
Chapman added that the new policy "follows the lead of the U.S.
Congress, which in the Conference Report of the landmark
No Child Left Behind Act urged the nation's schools to 'help students to
understand the full range of scientific views that
exist' on controversial topics like 'biological evolution' and to know
'why such topics may generate controversy.'"
Chapman also called on the ACLU to end its efforts to intimidate the
Cobb County School District through legal action. The
ACLU already has sued the district over disclaimers in its biology
textbooks that urge students to approach evolution "with
an open mind," and now it is threatening to sue over the new policy as
well. "Imagine being opposed to studying evolution
'with an open mind'! It's truly bizzare that the ACLU-which claims to
defend the rights of students to study different
viewpoints-would go to court in order to censor an open discussion of
the scientific evidence for Darwin's theory. The ACLU
treats Darwin's Origin of Species with the same unquestioning reverence
that some people reserve for a sacred text."
Discovery Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan policy and research
organization on issues from transportation to technology
to tax policy. In science education, it supports a "teach the
controversy" approach to Darwinian evolution. Its Center for
Science and Culture has more than 40 affiliated biologists, biochemists,
physicists, philosophers and historians of science,
and public policy and legal experts, most of whom also have positions
with colleges and universities. For more information,
check www.discovery.org/crsc.
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Associated Press
Thursday, September 26, 2002
Georgia School District Votes to Allow Different Views Taught on Origin of Life
MARIETTA, Ga. — The board of Georgia's second-largest school district
voted Thursday night to give teachers permission to introduce students
to varying views about the origin of life, including creationism.
The proposal, approved unanimously by the Cobb County school board, says
the district believes "discussion of disputed views of academic subjects
is a necessary element of providing a balanced education, including the study of the
origin of species."
Opponents said it was a backdoor way to bring religion into the
classroom.
"Let them believe in God. Let me believe in God. But how can they deny
that this is bringing religion into classrooms?" asked Jeffrey Selman.
Supporters, including high school junior Michael Gray, said the board's
choice encouraged academic freedom.
"I had to do a term paper about evolution and there were just things
that I could disprove or have alternate reasons for," said Gray, who
attends Pope High School. "I want my brother and sister to be given the option and not told it's the
absolute truth."
The theory of evolution, accepted by nearly all scientists, says
evidence shows life developed from earlier forms through slight
variations over time and that natural selection
determines which species survive. Creationism credits the origin of
species to God.
In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled creationism was a religious belief
that could not be taught in public schools along with evolution.
After Thursday night's vote, board chairman Curt Johnston read a
six-paragraph statement. No other board members commented.
"The purpose of this policy is to foster critical thinking among
students to allow academic freedom consistent with legal requirements to
promote tolerance and acceptance of diversity of opinion and to ensure a posture of neutrality toward
religion," Johnston said.
Critics say the board's decision will not end the emotionally charged
debate.
"It would be as if Cobb County were putting up a giant `sue me' sign,"
said Barry Lynn, executive director for Americans United for Separation
of Church and State.
The board's decision in August to consider the proposal attracted
national attention to the conservative county north of Atlanta.
Biology professors at every major university in Georgia and the National
Science Teachers Association have told the board that passing the
resolution would be a mistake.
John Avise, a professor of evolution and genetics at the University of
Georgia, said he was concerned the resolution would create confusion and
open the door for religion to
enter public schools.
"Subjects are always open for discussion," Avise said. "That doesn't
mean any theory dreamed up by someone deserves equal time."
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CNN Student news
Ga. school board OKs teaching creationism
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) --A suburban Atlanta school board Thursday night
voted unanimously to allow teachers to introduce students to different
views
about the origins of life, among them creationism.
The Cobb County Board of Education, the state's second-largest school
board, approved the policy change after limited discussion, calling
it a "necessary element of providing a balanced education."
The board's vote drew cheers from some and expressions of dismay from
others in the packed meeting room.
"This supposed victory [by proponents of alternate theories] was
shallow, very shallow," said Jeffrey Selman, who opposes the teaching of
creationism in schools. "We're going to be watching this very closely."
The board's decision pleased Michael Gray, a Cobb high school junior.
"I had to do a term paper about evolution and there were just things
that I could disprove or have alternate reasons for," Gray told The
Associated Press. "I want my brother and sister to be given the option
and not told it's the absolute truth."
Religion in school?
A lawsuit, filed last month by Selman and the American Civil Liberties
Union, prompted the board to reconsider its policy.
Selman, who has a son in Cobb schools, sued the system because some
middle and high school science textbooks include a disclaimer
telling students that evolution is a theory and not a fact. He argued
that the disclaimer was a step toward introducing religion in schools,
which is unconstitutional.
Some educators agreed. "This is an intrusion of theological views into
the classroom," said Wyatt Anderson, dean of the Franklin College of
Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia. "What our students need
to learn ... is science."
Cobb school officials took another look at the policy and discussed
amending it to include other theories, said board member Lindsey
Tippins.
The new policy, he said, drops a provision barring the district from
teaching views contrary to "family values," which he said had been
struck down by the courts.
"We're just cleaning up an old policy," Tippins said, who added that
officials don't want to force religious thought on students.
Larry Taylor, who has three children in the Cobb County schools, said he
doesn't advocate creationism but believes evolution should not
be presented as the only acceptable theory.
"Evolution has not been proven," said Taylor, who joined the debate over
what should be taught in Cobb schools after reading about the
ACLU lawsuit. "There are a growing number of scientists who are
skeptical about Darwinism."
The debate of teaching about the origin of species is not limited to
suburban Georgia. Ohio educators and parents are split over teaching
"intelligent design," which theorizes that life was designed by a higher
power.
In Kansas last year, the state Board of Education voted to restore the
theory of evolution to its curriculum, which had been removed in a
controversial vote two years earlier.
Oryginał: http://www.cnn.com/2002/EDUCATION/09/26/creationism.evolution/index.html
If you go their site now, you'll see that CNN has changed their story slightly. Now it reads:
"GA. School Board OK's alternatives to evolution" Also, in the opening
header, instead of "creationism" they have "different views about the
origins of life."
No, this wasn't the work of a under-the table paid computer hacker, just
two phone calls.
The new full story is at http://www.cnn.com/2002/EDUCATION/09/26/creationism.evolution/index.html
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This press release went out from Discovery Institute last night, shortly
after the first stories were appearing. Some national media (CNN for
example) have corrected their erroneous reporting. But the AP reporter
refuses--he obviously has an agenda that he wants to push no matter what
the facts are.
Discovery Institute
AP Flubs Cobb County (Georgia) Story--It's NOT about Creationism!
SEATTLE, Sept. 26--The Associated Press tonight seriously misreported
the decision of the Cobb County Georgia School Board. The lead paragraph
of the AP story asserts that the Cobb County Board "voted Thursday night to give
teachers permission to introduce students to varying views about the
origin of life, including creationism." The school board DID approve a policy encouraging teachers
to discuss "disputed views" about evolution, but the board's chairman
Curtis Johnston specifically stated at the meeting that the board was NOT authorizing
teachers to teach creationism or religion.
"We expect teachers to continue to teach the theory of evolution. We do
not expect teachers to teach creationism," Johnston stated at the board
meeting. "...Religion has no place in science instruction." Johnston's comments
were reported in The Atlanta Journal Constitution, but not by the AP.
"It's unfortunate that the AP would print such a misleading story," said
Dr. John West, Associate Director of the Center for Science and Culture
at Discovery Institute in Seattle. "To report as a fact something that the school
board specifically denied is poor journalism, and I hope that the AP
will correct its story. The AP seems to have accepted at face value the claims of opponents of the
school district, without bothering to report the actual facts of the
case."
"In reality, the Cobb County controversy isn't science vs. religion,
it's science vs. science," said West, noting that 28 Georgia scientists
from such institutions as the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech had expressed their skepticism of
Darwinian theory to the board and urged "careful examination of the
evidence for Darwinian theory." West added that the AP report mentioned scientists
from Georgian universities who were critical of the school board's
policy, but failed to mention scientists from the same academic institutions in Georgia who
were supportive of the board's approach.
"It's unfortunate that the AP report perpetuates the outdated 'Inherit
the Wind' stereotype that the controversy over Darwinian evolution is
religion vs. science. Today there are genuine controversies in science about the evidence for
Darwinian theory, and these scientific disputes are what can now be
discussed in Cobb County Schools," said West.
Discovery Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan policy and research
organization on issues from transportation to technology to tax policy.
In science education, it supports a "teach the controversy" approach to Darwinian evolution. Its
Center for Science and Culture has more than 40 affiliated biologists,
biochemists, physicists, philosophers and historians of science, and public policy
and legal experts, most of whom also have positions with colleges and
universities. For more information, check www.discovery.org/crsc.
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