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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."
Since I am talking about your opposition to Christian teaching, it looks like you have more in common with those folks. Your fanaticism approaches the Iranian mullahs.
It is you who are attempting to impose a secular religious theocracy in this country. I am talking about terminating the government provision of education, and totally privatizing it. Where is there any theocracy in that? It looks like you have been smoking some good dope!
OK, so the theory of gravity, is faith based then as well?
Hmmm... I always thought it was the law of gravity. And every morning, when I get out of bed and my feet naturally go to the floor, I believe it, no matter how badly I wish I could fly.
As it happens, since you hate both God and most of his creatures, you seem to fit the definition of an enemy of the human race. In this way, you are an ally of Osama binLaden. This country knows how to deal with enemies of the human race.
I do not support it either. NOTHING should be taught in public school.
1) No matter how you cut it, something cannot come out of nothing. The evolutionists who claim that there was nothing there, and then suddenly there was, are either a few blades short of a propellor or insane. The thing that was made cannot be a part of its own making. It is logically impossible.
2) The whole evolution research (if you'll permit a horselaugh at this point) is working backwards, kind of like detectives trying to find out how someone was murdered. Problem is, there is so much sloppiness on dates, how long something might take, and whatnot, that exactness is impossible. Moreover, evolution cannot stand up to the scientific method because it is *not* repeatable.
3) Any attempt that Arric2000 might say about diversity within the scientific community is a fraud. There are a lot of theories out there from well-esablished people who are shunned because the theories don't fit the norm. One guy, for example, makes a great case for the core of the earth being a nuclear pile about 5-8 miles in diameter, but the *new* textbook on earth science I've seen ignores this fact, even though the theories been around for years. Open minds? Don't hold your breath, pal.
In a book "Bones of Contention," it is stated (and not disproved by anyone I've read critiquing it) that the skulls, etc., that the scientists "study" are actually resin casts of the original. The bone evidence is scant, and when set against other evidence, shows that any kind of "evolution" was not progressive, and that there were different kinds of alleged ancestors living in the same locale at the same time. Yet we're supposed to sit back and let our kids be subjected to such unscientific drivel? I think not.
The public schools need to expose kids to both sides of the issue. There are too many holes in the theory of evolution to present it as a law (like the law of gravity, which is repeatable) or a fact (like chickens lay eggs). Who knows? Maybe our kids might come out of schools actually able to look at an issue and think about it.
One more thing. Given the millions of steps for evolution to occur, I submit this Triple Dog Dare to Arrac2000 (or whatever the name is) and to other proponents of evolution: Get a tupperware bowl and lid, or a butter tub, or something with a lid. Take apart a Lego minifig (head, torso, legs)and put pieces in bowl. Cover with lid and shake. Check every 5 seconds. Let me know when the parts come together to "evolve" into a fully-made, fully-functional minifig. I won't hold my breath.
Since you've read the Bible, you also know, the Jewish people have always had a problem with obedience. Sure they're supposed to believe in creation but like ancient times, they abandon God's Word for vain philosophy.
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