<Sigh.> I don't have any friends.
Actually, it would be best not to have public schools at all. But as long as they're there and we're all paying for them it is necessary to prevent any particular religion from gaining favor over another, whether it's atheism, or any one of the hundreds of religions out there.
The difference between evolutionist and creationist thought is dichotomous enough, and the intrusiveness of either view in a science curriculum innocuous enough, that grownups ought to be able to work out a both/and scenario in public schools.
The controversy is best reserved for the later years of education when the evaluative faculties of the student are developed to the extent they can express the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. It will teach them to respect not only the various ways science can be undertaken but also the people who do science either way.
Alas, however, we have Judge Joneses out there, along with his following, who are as zealous in establishing atheism by law as certain others are in establishing Christianity. Allowing a generic theological approach along side an atheistic one is probably, from a practical standpoint, the best we can do.
I wasn't picking on you, Fester. Mr. Buchanan (thanks for correcting my typo in the quote, btw) has provided the direction for this thread, and your statement puts you in the more rational camp.
The controversy is best reserved for the later years of education when the evaluative faculties of the student are developed to the extent they can express the strengths and weaknesses of both sides.
I agree.