Are critics of the state's new science standards asking the rest of the public to take a leap of faith?
Many of them said repeatedly during the tug-of-war leading up to the Feb. 19 Board of Education vote that their concerns were grounded in science and evidence, not religion and faith. Never mind that leading opponents included the Florida Baptist Convention; the Florida Family Policy Council, a group that supports Biblical family values; and Donna Callaway, the BOE member who publicly announced her opposition through the Florida Baptist Witness.
Now the same argument is being made about the "academic freedom" bills recently filed in the Florida Legislature by Sen. Ronda Storms (left), R-Brandon, and Rep. D. Alan Hays (right), R-Umatilla. The bill language says it does not "promote any religious position" and refers to the right of teachers to present "the full range of scientific views." It does not mention creationism, intelligent design, or any other faith-based theories.
But it's worth pointing out that both Storms and Hays are Baptist, and both make no bones about their strong religious backgrounds. Hays notes on his House website that he picked up the Christian Coalition Faith & Family Award in 2005 and 2006. And last month, Storms filed a bill (SB 2010) to create an "I Believe" license plate, which would feature a crucifix and send proceeds to Faith in Teaching, a group "dedicated to funding education in Florida's faith based community."
If Storms and Hays had a poster child for their bills, it might be David Brackin. The Orange County middle school teacher was one of 10 critics who addressed the BOE Feb. 19, and he told board members, "If I am to lead my students into true scientific inquiry I must be allowed to teach all the evidence including the cracks in and the weaknesses of evolution."
Brackin told The Gradebook yesterday that he was "chastised" years ago by an assistant principal, who told him he could not talk about religion in class. But Brackin said he never mentioned religion. Instead, he said, "I refuted evolution. I talked about the weaknesses in evolution."
Brackin said he now teaches at a school where the principal "believes in academic freedom." He said although he did not think it was relevant, he is an evangelical Christian. He also said he thinks intelligent design is as scientifically valid as evolution. "Neither one can be proven," he said. "Nobody was there."
- Ron Matus, state education reporter
2 users commented in " Religion has nothing to do with it? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackTheir definition of “Academic Freedom” is neither Academic nor Free. The bills in both the Legislature and the Senate are modeled from a bill drafted by the Discovery Institute. Surely you know who they are… They were caught with the Wedge Document (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge_strategy). According to the Discovery Institute’s plan, evangelicals are to be used to get religion into science classes, and then on to battle in the court system! If the Legislature or Senate even entertain placating this group’s ploy, they would be voting for Academic FREE DUMB!
I keep hearing this disingenuous statement from people who should know better, that if you don’t “see” something directly there can be no evidence for it. That may be true for a young child who cannot deal with the abstractions of indirect evidence but for most average adults the fact that we have never directly seen something but have indirect evidence that it exists or that it happened in the past is easily understandable. The public acts on this type of evidence every day in many ways. We take our children to the doctor for treatment for strep throat even though no one ever “sees” the bacteria enter and lodge themselves there and start to grow. we get our flu shots even though no one has ever seen a virus directly. Atomic theory, Germ theory the ecological process of succession, much of human history was never directly seen by many people who accept them as fact with no objections. And yet Mr Bracken who claims to teach science uses this “I never saw it” nonsense to avoid accurately teaching biological science. Apparently his students don’t learn then about modeling as a powerful research tool or about inferring hypotheses from evidence. Much of Science depends on these techniques and the proof that they are valid is that it works! More people are a healthier, safer and more prosperous than at any time in history because of inferring facts from what you have never seen. A second grader may not be able to do this; the middle school children I teach are beginning to do this; apparently adults like Mr Bracken still have not matured to the point of abstract thinking. All I can say to them is if you really expect to live in this civilization and continue to benefit from science and technology its time to grow up!
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