Philadelphia Inquirer
Thursday, May 17, 2001

The evolution of an activist:
A Pennridge senior says Darwin's ideas should be taught only as theory.

By Zlati Meyer
INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF

Like many seniors at Pennridge High School, Joe Baker dresses in cargo
pants, plans for his college career, and hangs out with his friends.

What makes him stand out is the district-wide battle he spawned over the
teaching of evolution.

Baker, who as a child aspired to be a scientist, wants evolution
presented as a theory, not scientific gospel, with warning stickers in the
books highlighting what he views as problematic passages.

As fiery as his orange hair, Baker has sparked the interest of CNN,
which dispatched a camera crew to tape the teenager's recent presentation
before the Pennridge school board and interview his peers.

On June 5, the school board's curriculum committee may adopt a formal
process to let residents request that the board reconsider using a
textbook.

Committee member Joan Kulesza said that the potential policy change was
a result of Baker's campaign.

Karen M. Sterling, chairwoman of the curriculum committee, said that
"when books are reviewed for adoption, they're accompanied [by] a rubric,
available for public inspection."

Baker, 19, of Perkasie, who is bound for Montana Wilderness School of
the Bible, has surveyed 640 students and organized two lectures by
anti-evolutionists. The first, held at the high school in November, drew
an estimated 1,200 people.

"I was taught evolution as the only paradigm," Baker said. "I really
believed it, and I think students should be taught to think about the
evidence, shown 'Here's some evidence for evolution, here's some evidence
against evolution.' I don't think we should go through a public-school
education without knowing that evolution is controversial."

Roberta Recenes, state coordinator for Freedom to Learn Network, an
Allentown-based public-education advocacy group, and the mother of a
Pennridge junior, said: "This opens the door to teach creationism as
science. It's not science. It's religion, and whose version? [Baker]
doesn't want evolution spoken about at all."

A recent study by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, an education think
tank, on state science standards on the teaching of evolution ranked
Pennsylvania and New Jersey among 10 states receiving A's.

In contrast, the study found that 12 states did not even use the word
"evolution" in their standards.

Kansas, the only state to avoid dating Earth or the universe, received
an F-minus. That state's Board of Education reversed its policy in
February.

Baker got the idea for his campaign about 21/2 years ago when he heard a
guest speaker at Camp Men-O-Lan, a Christian camp in Milford Township,
discuss what he called the "problems" of Charles Darwin's theory.

It became Baker's graduation project topic; the result was a 14-page
paper on his "evolution into a creationist."

Baker said he had been attending school-board meetings over the last
year and a half to present his viewpoint.

Disagreement about how public schools should teach human origin goes
back decades. The most famous clash was the 1925 Tennessee trial of
science teacher John Scopes, who taught evolution. Forty-three years later, the
U.S. Supreme Court in Epperson v. Arkansas decided that public schools may
teach evolution.

The Pennridge chapter of the dispute may end next month when Baker
receives his diploma. He said he was not sure if anyone would continue his
crusade, though he hopes someone will. He is considering writing a book to
help others wage similar campaigns, including techniques he has learned
such as writing down everything said to him and preparing questions to be
answered. He plans to do missionary work after a year in Montana and then study - and
possibly teach - science.

Oryginal:
http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2001/05/17/bucks/KCREAT17.htm
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