Posted on 05/12/2005 5:30:04 AM PDT by wallcrawlr
With its lavish illustrations of colorful, cuddly critters, "Our Family Tree" looks like the kind of book kids keep by their bedside to read again and again.
But when its St. Paul author, Lisa Westberg Peters, planned to talk about the book in classroom appearances today and Friday at a Monticello, Minn., elementary school, educators got cold feet.
"Our Family Tree" focuses on evolution, the scientific explanation for human origins that some believe contradicts biblical teachings. Peters' appearances, which were to focus on helping kids learn how to write, were canceled.
"It's a cute book. There's nothing wrong with it. We just don't need that kind of debate," said Brad Sanderson, principal at Pinewood Elementary.
Monticello's assistant superintendent, Jim Johnson, said school officials made a reasonable request of Peters to talk about writing but leave the discussion about evolution to teachers. When she refused, the visit was scuttled.
Across the country, there has been increasing opposition to teaching evolution. Peters said officials at two other Minnesota school districts have asked her not to talk about the book in visits over the past year.
The author believes that she is being censored -- something the schools deny.
"Once you start censoring, it's a slippery slope. Are geology and physics next? You have to stop it right away," said Peters, who won a Minnesota Book Award for "Our Family Tree," published in 2003.
In Kansas, the State Board of Education is expected to require that teachers tell students that evolution is controversial. Bills have been introduced in Georgia and Alabama to allow educators to question evolution in the classroom and offer alternatives.
Last year, the Grantsburg, Wis., school district drew widespread attention when a new policy urged teachers to explore alternative theories to evolution.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
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The Sun and the Moon
The first sun, the water sun, was carried off by the flood. All who lived in the world were turned into fishes.
The second sun was devoured by tigers.
The third was destroyed by a firestorm, which burned up the people.
The fourth sun, the wind sun, was wiped away by the storm. The people turned into monkeys and scattered in the woods.
Deep in thought, the gods met in Teotihuacán. “Who will take care of bringing the dawn?” The Lord of the Snails, famous for his strength and beauty, stepped forward. “I will be the sun,” he said. “Who else? Silence. The all looked at Little God Purulent, the ugliest and unluckiest of the gods, and they decided: “You.”
The Lord of the Snails and Little God Purulent retired to the hills, which are now the pyramids of the sun and of the moon. There, fasting, they mediated.
Then the gods gathered firewood, built an enormous bonfire, and called them.
The Little God Purulent braced himself and jumped into the flames. He immediately emerged incandescent in the sky.
The Lord of the Snails looked frowning at the fire. He advanced, retreated, stopped. He turned around a few times. As he didn’t make up his midn, they had to push him. After much delay he rose into the sky. Furious, the gods slapped his face. They hit his face with a rabbit, again and again, until they killed his brightness. Thus, the arrogant Lord of the Snails became the moon. The stains on the moon are the scars of that punishment.
But the resplendent sun did not move. The sparrow hawk of obsidian (lava) flew to the Little God Purulent: “Why don’t you move?” And the despised, the purulent, the hunchback, the cripple, answered: “Because I want the blood and the kingdom.”
This fifth sun, the sun of movement, illuminated the Toltecs and illuminates the Aztecs. It has claws and feeds on human hearts.
=====================
Their creation belief was the excuse the Aztecs used for human sacrafice.
The greatest irony of all, IMHO, about "mass schooling" versus "homeschooled"? Homeschooled children are introduced to the concept of individual rights and responsibilities right from the get go. Whereas in pub ed, there's this trippy idea that somehow they are going to be working and living within the same "age group" as themselves, all their lives. I think this is why many HS graduates suddenly freak out after HS graduation -- they are introduced to a much larger world comprised of an infinite variety of variables in those around themselves.
I guess if you hadn't followed the posts between me, tax-Chick and Taxrelief that wouldn't make much sense to you. We got in a side discussion about home schooling after I inferred Tax-Chick was inept in the sciences and was doing her kids a diservice, then she came back with rebut, Tax relief jumped in at some point, I apoloogised the discussion went on......By this point it had nothing to do with the original article. Basically a threadjack!
LOL.
Perhaps the book was relying on the monotony of the professor's voice to lull the control group to sleep.
Now there's an idea. L. Ron Hubbard did pretty well with it.
There's a saying out there that "if you take religion away from the people, they won't believe in nothing, they'll believe in anything".
Popular culture has been, deliberately I think, pushing Christianity aside for decades now. The "God is Dead" cover of Time magazine comes to mind.
And now the people will believe anything. Like impending Environmental holocaust, for example.
Tax-Chick, I did cover "evolutionary" theory in my homeschool but only when the students had reached an age of scientific inquiry. Furthermore, it permitted my students to question some of the "conventional wisdom" about "darwinism" as promulgated by "big names"; it allowed them to understand pure Darwin as opposed to "pure" anti-religious secularism "using" Darwin.
On the other hand you do seem to know hwat I was talking about. What was the 'say what?' referring to?
Our Homeowners' Association doesn't allow human sacrifice. We can't even have chickens!
Not even for the eggs? Bummer.
I love psychology. It's been my passion all my life. However, when I was in college going towards my degree (long ago) - the shift came in.. the "new agers". Liberalism began preaching its own "religiosity" in the form of modern human secularism as a "technique". And, it allowed for no dissent and no challenge at the college level. I changed my focus; but I've remained a life-long afficionado of psychology. It is a science. Studying gravity, IMHO, is a bit easier on the "stress thresholds" than applying a single standard to that vast infinitum known as "mankind". :) Nice to meet you.
Just a minor detour :-).
Gotcha! I did continue to read (after posting you), and I found the exchanges between y'all to be ultimately very civil. Good show!
Nope. Some people down the block who own a Chinese restaurant tried to keep chickens last year, and the HoA made them get rid of them. On the plus side, at least they don't seem to be raising cats and dogs for the restaurant!
The discussion had been volleying; and I was stopped cold by yours to Tax-Chick. It struck me as out of context. That's all. Matter cleared up. :)
\ Not only that, but apparently his foreskin had previously been removed....
Thanks for your support (or edifying disagreement, as the case may be). I agree with your larger points, Alia, about education. We think that there are a variety of educational paths leading to the result of a self-sufficient, fulfilled adult.
One issue, as I mentioned up the thread, is that much of what is presented to children under the "evolution" heading is simply drivel ... giraffes stretching their necks, and the next generation has a longer neck. (If I get suntan this summer, will my next baby be black?)
In this context, I have to agree with those who are saying that evolution instruction to young children is intended as indoctrination. The full complexity of the issue is not being presented, and it couldn't be, because the audience isn't capable of understanding at their age level.
What's being "taught" is the materialist worldview, that everything happened without supernatural agency. Now if you believe that, fine ... but that belief is not the result of experiment, double-blind or any other kind.
Data (1) (1)
The head of the Galactic Confederation (76 planets around larger stars visible from here) (founded 95,000,000 yrs ago, very space opera) solved overpopulation (250 billion or so per planet -- 178 billion on average) by mass implanting.
He caused people to be brought to Teegeeack (Earth) and put an H Bomb on the principal volcanoes (Incident 2) and then the Pacific area ones were taken in boxes to Hawaii and the Atlantic Area ones to Las Palmas and there "packaged."
His name was Xenu. He used renegades. Various misleading data by means of circuits etc. was placed in the implants.
When through with his crime Loyal Officers (to the people) captured him after 6 years of battle and put him in an electronic mountain trap where he still is. "They" are gone.
The place (Confed.) has since been a desert.-- Scientology's OT III
Again, please dont post anything to my attention.
John Robinson has discussed adding a "blocker" feature to the programming. Maybe if the next FReepathon is really over the top!
Obviously those scientists that dont believe in a a creation model wouldnt want to think of TOE as a belief, but as a Christian I'm not willing to give up that point. I'll call it a theory, you'll call it a theory. I know what I mean and I know what you mean. But we dont agree with what we each mean.
I cant imagine how small some people must feel...I pity them.
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