Posted on 03/24/2007 10:44:48 PM PDT by Diago
Mar 23,2007 00:00 by Alisha Wilson Board member releases teachers powerpoint presentation; says it was a calculated decision on his part to bend young minds
Kris Helphinstine, a part-time biology teacher at Sisters High School was fired by the school board Monday night for deviating from the curriculum on the theory of evolution after only eight days on the job, four of which were spent teaching his own theories of evolution through a PowerPoint presentation that referenced Nazi Germany and Planned Parenthood.
When asked why Helphinstine was dismissed, school board chairman Mike Gould said, He lacked judgment in departing from the district science curriculum in a very controversial subject area and this departure occurred without any consultation or without an appropriate supervisor. This is a sensitive area. When teachers teach in certain areas, they have to teach it straight down the line.
He taught that evolution doesnt exist, said seven-year board member Glen Lasken. Of course we want our students to think, but this went beyond that. He spent four days dismantling the theory of evolution for these kids. He was terminated for a gross error in judgment, without checking with the superintendent or principal. This was an extreme error in judgment.
In a phone interview, 27-year old Helphinstine said that his whole purpose was to promote critical thinking. Eugenics, the self directed evolution of mankind is an interesting subject. Every teacher brings in supplemental material. What is standard curriculum? asked Helphinstine who has a masters degree in science from Oregon State University.
The PowerPoint presentation included photos of dead bodies taken during the Holocaust and referenced a 1941 article printed in The Journal of American Psychiatric Association calling for the killing of mentally retarded children, referred to as natures mistakes.
He was trying to make the point that not only is evolution wrong; he suggested that evolution is used for bad purposes. Evolution was used as an experimental basis in Nazi Germany. He said the founding fathers of Planned Parenthood are Nazis. His PowerPoint presentation of the Holocaust is pretty revolting stuff. What is most discouraging is that he says he was trying to encourage critical thinking. This was a calculated decision on his part to bend young minds, says Lasken.
Board members met with Helphinstine in private for approximately 90 minutes before a public meeting on the matter, though the teacher did not stay for the public forum.
Mr. Helphinstine was dismissed for failing to teach science in a freshman biology class. He didnt expressly teach Creationism but provided significant messages from advocacy groups in his presentation. The materials he submitted were not age appropriate, said board member Jeff Smith. >View Helpinstine's powerpoint presentation named 'Eugenics' >View the presentation named 'Human' (Both links will open in a new browser window.) |
They actually had a person from Planned Parenthood come give a sex education class at my daughter's school. I was the only parent who would not sign a permission form. The principal called me and tried to talk me into to signing it, so my daughter wouldn't feel ostrasized by my actions. My daughter didn't want to go and I didn't want her to go. I told the principle what my daughter told me, "We have already had a discussion on the matter and she didn't need anymore instruction."
It turns out that yes they had a banana demonstration and each of the girls had to in turn show that they learned how to do it correctly on their own banana. For weeks after the girls had to listen to banana jokes from the boys. Other girls told my daughter that they wish their parents had made them have to go sit in the principal's office instead of going to the class.
A little snip from NuggetNews.com, from a link Diago posted in an earlier thread on this:
One parent, John Rahm, said his daughter reported that only "one day of 10" was devoted to the study of evolution, with the rest devoted to "Intelligent Design" materials.
"The test as well was 90-plus percent ID material," Rahm said.
When asked by The Nugget if he believes the Bible is the final authority when determining scientific fact, Helphinstine said that assumptions have been made about him that are not accurate. However, he acknowledged that he was not responding directly to the question.
Is this what so-called conservatives are pushing for? Science teachers that use a holy book, a religious book, for the final determining of what is and is not valid scientific evidence or facts. But..but..but I thought creationists were not anti-science??
One thing that everyone is glossing over here, is that the childrens' parents complained. Just as parents complain when some Health teacher demonstrates putting condoms on fruit. They do not want their children taught sexual stuff at school.
Yet in this case, some posters here think that their wish to shove ID and creationism into the classroom supercedes the parents' right to object to their kids being taught bad (junk)science. And objecting to what should be a science class turned into a bizarre presentation about Nazism and Planned Parenthood.
Now Hildy,...I bet you like to watch trainwrecks and peek into the freakshow tent at the carny too, don't ya?
No, just less nutty and far, far less paranoid. Seriously, what is it with some (not all) of you creationists? (or for those that like to use weasel tactics, IDists)
Over on another thread about this, some lady that praised this teacher is hawking her newsletter (just send 2 dollars to the address)for info on the Tri-Lateral Commission the Foreign Relations Committee and Builderbirgers and how they're some "shadow government" putting the pieces in place and controlling the puppets towards The New World Order.
There is another creationist dude on here that thinks the "globalists" and the ETs; aliens that have made contact, little green or grey men, have some sort of secret cabal and are planning on doing something with a hologram or holograph projector to try and induce a crisis of faith and drive people apart from Christ. I kid you not.
I was posting on these issues here years ago, and the howls of outrage that emanated from evolution's "true believers"........ I will repost some of this material and watch the howls of protest come from the evolutionary left here.
I doubt those were howls of outrage. At any rate, I can guarantee that the howls you will hear on this thread are howls of laughter at such ignorance and strawman bufoonery.
Ooops. Not PC. Off with his head.
Sanger and Singer can go to hell for all I care. People here are not so much defending evolution, as they are objecting to religious dogma, myth and crank wackiness, being presented as scientific theories. You can expect the same reaction if the ID nuts ever decide to start teaching that the earth is the center of the universe or that it is only 6-10,000 years old. Or that angels--oops! I mean Invisible Agents of an Intelligent Designer, hold airplanes aloft and make them fly.
After all, it's much easier for some of our evolutionist friends here to provide intellectual affirmation to butchers than it is to do the dirty work themselves.
It's much easier for Creationists and ID dupes to try their darnedest to link a scientific theory that their interpretation of the Bible clashes with, to atrocities like the Holocaust, or outright lie and call people that are not anti-science, leftist liberals...than it is for them to do some actual research and tests and produce some papers or fossil predictions, DNA marker predictions, ANYTHING, that points to Intelligent Design being a workable theory.
Instead all they produce is whiny press release after press release and hold conference after conference.
Good for you and especially for your daughter!!
He brings up a lot of good points, and I like his opinions but it's probably not a good idea to have this guy teach high school. We can't have it both ways.
College, on the other hand...
I believe that Evolutionism is junk science. I object to you robbing me and my compatriots of $7,000 per-child, per-year in Tax Dollars to force my kid to learn Evolutionist Junk pseudo-Science.
Total Privatization of all schooling is the only moral choice.
bump
He should have been burned at the stake.
It turns out that yes they had a banana demonstration and each of the girls had to in turn show that they learned how to do it correctly on their own banana. For weeks after the girls had to listen to banana jokes from the boys. Other girls told my daughter that they wish their parents had made them have to go sit in the principal's office instead of going to the class.
I'm hoping you and other parents have enlightened -- or will enlighten -- the community with a few letters to the editor in the local paper.
That was then; this is now, regrettably. FIRE has given UW-Madison a speech-code rating of red.
Well said!
One has to wonder what Dr. Peter Singer thinks of all this.
Yeah, I know :-) But it was ever thus. There was a functioning communist cell on campus when I was there (I think it was called the Labor Youth League). Now, that's nothing out of the ordinary for a great progressive university, but it had consequences for me -- the mere fact that I went to UW was enough to delay my military security clearance by two months.
"Materials" that expressly reveal the evil truth behind the leftist agenda is not "age appropriate", but the evil itself is acceptable, and sometimes taught to, children HALF the age of high schoolers.
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