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Is this legal?

Posted on 09/28/2009 3:00:59 PM PDT by MNDude

My teenage nephew just got back to school this month with science teacher who is nicknamed "Mr. Evolution" because of his zeal for his beliefs.

Mr. E started class saying by saying "In this class, I intend to completely dismiss and disprove many religious myths".

I think this is going a little too far. Your opinions?


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: chat; creation; evolution; intelligentdesign; leftismoncampus; liberalfascism; science; scienceeducation
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1 posted on 09/28/2009 3:00:59 PM PDT by MNDude
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To: MNDude

“Is this legal?”

I believe so. It is also NOT the job that the man was hired to do any more than it is my Pastors’ job to disprove scientific beliefs.


2 posted on 09/28/2009 3:03:18 PM PDT by Grunthor (Gun toting, Bible thumping Flag waver. According to the left, I am a racist.)
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To: MNDude

It’s one thing to teach evolution. It’s another thing to tell your students that religion is a myth. Is it legal? Only one way to find out. Take it up to the Supreme Court.


3 posted on 09/28/2009 3:03:22 PM PDT by Brilliant
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To: MNDude

in what state does your nephew attend school?


4 posted on 09/28/2009 3:03:37 PM PDT by Harry Wurzbach
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To: MNDude

Not enough info, IMHO.

What exactly does he disprove? Adam and Eve?


5 posted on 09/28/2009 3:03:45 PM PDT by scottdeus12 (Jesus is real, whether you believe in Him or not.)
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To: MNDude

By referring to religion as myth even if he does believe that is harassment and he should lose his job.


6 posted on 09/28/2009 3:03:59 PM PDT by DHSMostWanted (MSNBC and CNN are not news channels, they are Propaganda.)
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To: MNDude

You could tell your son to bait the hell out of the teacher by asking him why he’s trying to foist his religious views (evolution takes more faith than creation) on his students...

Waiting for the zots...

Colonel, USAFR


7 posted on 09/28/2009 3:04:17 PM PDT by jagusafr (Kill the red lizard, Lord! - nod to C.S. Lewis)
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To: MNDude

I would think you might have grounds to complain. I would not have ever done that when I taught biology. And I didn’t give my opinion on the topic, just taught the material. Of course the kids are free to discuss and express their opinions, but any time a teacher does, I would think they are at risk. Make sure that’s really what the teacher said and go talk to the principal. If you don’t get satisfaction, kick it up a level higher. BTW it would probably help if you got more parents involved. Believe me, principals don’t like mad parents.


8 posted on 09/28/2009 3:04:36 PM PDT by brytlea (Jesus loves me, this I know.)
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To: GodGunsGuts

Loyal opposition submits this for your ping list.


9 posted on 09/28/2009 3:04:43 PM PDT by humblegunner
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To: MNDude
""In this class, I intend to completely dismiss and disprove many religious myths". "

Interesting. He's pigeon-holed himself here by overtly mentioning "religious myths". It could be problematic. He would have been wiser to use a phrase like, "were going to dispel objections to the theory of evolution", or something similar.

A public school may not proselytize, but the flip side of that coin is that it can campaign for atheism either. It's a principle that found in a 70's Supreme Court case called the "Lemon Test".

10 posted on 09/28/2009 3:08:23 PM PDT by OldDeckHand (No Socialized Medicine, No Way, No How, No Time)
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To: MNDude
How about "It's a really stupid thing to say" as he's just offending people.

There's good logical evidence against the "Bishop Usher" chronology of creation, but that's about as far as it goes.

11 posted on 09/28/2009 3:09:32 PM PDT by jimt
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To: MNDude

I would think this would fall under the “wall of separation between church and state” policy if it’s a public school. If you can’t promote religions you shouldn’t be able to attack it, either. I’d be interested in what an attorney has to say.
In any case, by saying what he did the teacher is showing how gullible or naive he is. You can’t “disprove” religious tenets in the laboratory. If you could, it would have been done by now. Instead, arguments for evolution are often weak and thin and only win the day because the proponent speaks more loudly and forcefully.
I’m guessing this teacher is a blow-hard who can easily be out-reasoned. This could be interesting.


12 posted on 09/28/2009 3:10:10 PM PDT by ElayneJ
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To: MNDude

I would definitely inform the School Board of this and your disapproval and your thoughts that its likely illegal. Then if they do not do something you can make a call to the ACLJ, American Center for Law & Justice.


13 posted on 09/28/2009 3:10:35 PM PDT by GeronL
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To: jagusafr
..."tell your son to bait the hell out of the teacher..."

That's what I'd do and then sit back and watch the sparks fly!
14 posted on 09/28/2009 3:10:52 PM PDT by The Louiswu (I live vicariously, through myself.)
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To: MNDude

At every turn your child should say God Bless you to him and mean it every time he leaves he should say God be with you or Gods speed ...Weather the teacher likes it or not let him chew on the Kindness and Goodness of Gods graces ...


15 posted on 09/28/2009 3:11:02 PM PDT by ATOMIC_PUNK (Screaming in Agony they ran to the Government But then Realized from whence the Agony came !)
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To: jagusafr
"Waiting for the zots..."

There not coming from me. There was a federal case, CF et. al v.Capistrano Unified School District, earlier this year that addressed a very similar circumstance. The teacher could very well be on some shaky ground here.

Here's the court's opinion in the earlier case.

16 posted on 09/28/2009 3:12:20 PM PDT by OldDeckHand (No Socialized Medicine, No Way, No How, No Time)
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To: MNDude

Why doesn’t he ask his teacher how all of the enzymes lined up in the perfect order to create an strand of DNA? My guess is he can’t answer that. The odds of something like that happening are astronomical....and then there is the age old big bang theory. Has anyone found the answer to the question “What Banged?” assuming that there was nothing before the bang. I need answers to these questions before I blindly believe his theory. At least belief in a higher does answer these questions.


17 posted on 09/28/2009 3:13:13 PM PDT by marstegreg
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To: MNDude

Seems like a fairly clear violation of the “...nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof” clause of Amendment 1.


18 posted on 09/28/2009 3:14:20 PM PDT by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: MNDude
Mr. E started class saying by saying "In this class, I intend to completely dismiss and disprove many religious myths".

I think this is going a little too far. Your opinions?

It is entirely appropriate to teach science in a science course. That of course includes evolution.

However, the moment the teacher mentions "religious myths" of any sort, he has strayed into philosophy or perhaps theology. I doubt that either subject is appropriate for a general high school science course.

19 posted on 09/28/2009 3:15:52 PM PDT by Logophile
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To: MNDude

See #16...You need to find out more, but if what your nephew says is true, I say encourage his parents to go right for the jugular.


20 posted on 09/28/2009 3:16:44 PM PDT by GodGunsGuts
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