Posted on 02/04/2004 5:28:30 PM PST by Theodore R.
Carter blasts Georgia evolution proposal
By MARY MACDONALD Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer
Former President Jimmy Carter said Friday he is embarrassed by the proposal to remove the term evolution from Georgia's biology curriculum. "As a Christian, a trained engineer and scientist, and a professor at Emory University, I am embarrassed by Superintendent Kathy Cox's attempt to censor and distort the education of Georgia's students," Carter said in a statement.
Her recommendation that the word "evolution" be removed from the standards "will adversely affect the teaching of science and leave our high school graduates with a serious handicap as they enter college or private life where freedom of speech will be permitted."
"Nationwide ridicule of Georgia's public school system will be inevitable if this proposal is adopted, and additional and undeserved discredit will be brought on our excellent universities as our state's reputation is damaged," Carter wrote.
Carter, a Baptist, said that existing references to evolution in Georgia's curriculum have done nothing to damage religious faith in the state.
State school Superintendent Kathy Cox said Thursday that the change, which would strike the word "evolution" from Georgia's science curriculum, is only a suggestion and far from becoming official policy.
Cox's proposal for new middle and high school science standards would not include references to "evolution" and replace it with the term "biological changes over time." She says the world "evolution" is a "buzzword that causes a lot of negative reaction."
The proposal is part of more than 800 pages of revisions to Georgia's curriculum that were posted Jan. 12 on the Department of Education Web site for educators and the public to consider.
Cox spokesman Kirk Englehardt said the superintendent was reviewing Carter's statement Friday morning and did not have an immediate response.
In an interview Thursday afternoon, Gov. Sonny Perdue didn't want to give his opinion on the evolution debate. But as he has done throughout his first year, he supported Cox and her decisions.
"I trust the superintendent and the [state] Board of Education. We appointed great people to the board," Perdue said. "And the superintendent is perfectly capable of making those kind of curriculum decisions. I don't think that's an issue that the people of Georgia expect the governor to get down into."
In an interview shortly after his November 2002 victory, Perdue said has "no problem" with children being exposed to creationism, evolution and other theories, but said the decision should rest with the local school districts.
As a Christian, a trained professional and an American citizen, I am embarrassed by Jimmy Carter.
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