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 Jeffrey Selman |
Posted on 09/07/2002 7:55:51 PM PDT by mhking
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Cobb dads enter fray over evolution in schools
By MARY MacDONALD
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer
When Jeffrey Selman learned the Cobb County public schools had put disclaimers on evolution in thousands of science books, he skipped his usual outlet, a letter of protest.
The 56-year-old computer programmer sued the district to remove the textbook stickers. And he is ready to broaden the suit's scope if the school board allows science teachers to discuss what he sees as faith-based alternatives to evolution.
"I saw something wrong, and I went after it," Selman said.
Five miles away, in another east Cobb neighborhood, Larry Taylor had his own visceral reaction to the debate over science and religion.
Well-read and articulate, Taylor grew tired of seeing critics of evolution dismissed as uneducated rubes.
The construction manager attended his first school board meeting two weeks ago to urge members to require teachers to expose flaws in evolution.
"If it raises tough questions in the classroom, that's why they're there," Taylor said.
The men, both fathers of students in east Cobb schools, inserted themselves into a fray that neither expected would turn national. Both have found the attention unsettling. They worry about the impact on their families and will not disclose the names of their wives or children. Both screen phone calls. But neither regrets taking a public stance on an issue that has divided Cobb and drawn national media attention.
The board vote on instruction policy is set for Sept. 26.
Selman: I'm a patriot|
The division among parents is unprecedented, said board Chairman Curt Johnston, who is receiving 15 messages a day, divided on either side. "This is the most difficult and polarized debate the board has had since I've been on the board," he said. "Right now, we're just listening."
Selman, the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against the district by the American Civil Liberties Union, said his decision to seek court intervention took perhaps "half a second." A transplanted New Yorker, Selman wants people to know he believes in God. A practicing Jew, he attends temple several times a year. He does not want to be equated with the California atheist whose challenge of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance drew national scorn.
Selman describes his lawsuit as a patriotic action, stopping a move toward government-sanctioned religion. While the textbook advisories are vague, Selman and many other parents think the school board discussions that produced the inserts reflect a conservative Christian intent.
The advisories were approved after the board heard about two dozen parents protest the teaching of evolution, many on religious grounds. They produced a petition signed by nearly 2,000 parents who demanded accurate science texts. Many petitions circulated in Cobb churches.
A counterpetition is now circulating among pro-evolution parents, who will demand that the board maintain "traditional academic standards and integrity in the sciences."
Selman isn't sure what sparked the anti-evolution movement in Cobb, a county he and his wife chose nearly 10 years ago based on the good reputation of its schools. He thinks the board is pandering to a small group of parents. His own actions have produced a few dozen phone calls to his home, more supportive than not.
"This is one battleground," said Selman, who has a child in elementary school. "I'm sure they're not going to stop at this. The next thing, the moment of silence is going to be attacked, which is a beautiful piece of compromise."
Nancy Myers, a co-worker, wasn't surprised that Selman became involved in the dispute. "He's got a hot justice button," she said. "When he sees wrong being done, he wants to do something about it. I'd call him principled."
Although Selman thinks his lawsuit will squash any attempt to dilute evolution, he suspects the board policy will open classrooms to religious-based instruction. "The side for scientific education was asleep," he said. "We felt safe. This is the 21st century, for crying out loud. We can't go back to this."
Taylor: Teach all facts|
Taylor, 41, moved to Cobb as a child and was educated in its public schools. But like Selman, he now questions whether the county schools live up to their generally good reputation. He has two daughters and a son, in middle and high school.
While he disagrees with biological evolution, Taylor will not identify himself as a creationist or an advocate of "intelligent design," which argues that the diversity of life is the result of some master plan by an unidentified "designer."
But Taylor has read "Darwin's Black Box," a challenge of evolution by a biochemist at Lehigh University, and a stack of other books that question evolution. He has given copies to friends and co-workers.
Taylor believes these critiques, many written by scientists if not biologists, are being ignored unfairly by public school teachers and the media. "The media presents it as the educated scientists vs. the religious, fanatical extremists."
He was particularly angered when science teachers told the Cobb school board that criticism of evolution was based in religion.
"All the facts should be taught in the science class," he said. "There are many credible scientists in America who believe evolution has many flaws."
Taylor attends his church, Trinity Fellowship in west Cobb, twice weekly. The Rev. Richard Hemphill said the church had not become involved with the evolution dispute. Taylor has spoken out before, taking a position against abortion in a letter published in a newspaper. His pastor is not surprised to see him take a stance on something that affects his family.
"When he talks about an issue, he has studied it thoroughly," Hemphill said.
Parents and teachers who dismiss views opposing evolution are practicing their own form of religion, Taylor said. He insists intelligent design is not a faith-based approach.
"The supporters of evolution have an agenda as well. Their agenda is to keep God out, even if the evidence points to God. . . . It's faith. Those people are as fervent in their beliefs as Christians are in believing God created Earth."
I do not believe that fantasy and religion should be taught in a publicly funded classroom, PERIOD.
Guess we need to get rid of classical literature as well? After all, it's all fantasy, right? No need to read The Illiad or The Odyssey. We can get rid of Wilson Rawls Where The Red Fern Grows, and all that Dr. Seuss garbage as well.
PCR-DNA tests have nothing whatsoever to do with the theory of Natural Selection. You'd think that they would have taught you that it med school. The founder of genetics, himself a Catholic priest, did not believe in natural selection, so your assertion that they are somehow connected is ludicrous.
As you may have heard, there is no 'theory of gravity'. There is however, a 'law of gravity'. The existence of gravity is not in doubt. IMO the existence of evolution is not in doubt. The mechanism of evolution by natural selection is a theory, and requires a faith in materialism, since it assumes that direction is not a possibility. This has not been proven, and probably can never be proven. It requires a proof that God does not exist.
In a way, I agree with you. It is my belief that after a period of transition, participation in public education in any way should be punished by execution. Only private and religious education should be permitted. Public schools are a pernicious evil, in part because it permits folks like you to attempt to impose their prejudices by force upon the population. I do believe that this private and religious education should be financed by the government.
I do not need logical proof in a democratic society. All I need is majority support. The number of committed atheists is about 1%. You lose.
No matter how many times you repeat a lie, it does not become true. It did not work out for Joseph Goebbels in the long run, it will not work for you.
A good working definition of an atheist is that an atheist is someone who does not adhere to the truth that God created the human race. You do not adhere to this truth, therefore you are an atheist, QED.
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