This is in the state of New York:
Holland Patent biology teacher accused of unscientific lesson
By Amy Neff Roth
Posted March 1, 2020
Holland Patent is the latest school district to be pulled into the more than century-old debate over how to teach the creation of the earth and the development of species.
A district biology teacher has been accused of casting doubt on the theory of evolution during a Jan. 14 lesson, in favor of more religious explanations of the origin of species.
Phil Lucason told students that “evolution only goes so far” and that passing the Regents Exam in biology requires students to “play the evolution game where evolution is the answer to everything,” according to a letter sent to the Holland Patent Central School District by the Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation earlier this month.
Those comments, and others Lucason allegedly said, violate federal law, which does not allow for the undermining of evolution or the promotion of creationism or any other religious theory of creation, according to the foundation.
Asked for comment, Lucason said In an emailed statement to the O-D that the situation won’t happen again.
“I recently taught a 42-minute lesson on the science of evolution,” the statement reads. “Having taught about evolution for 20 years, I know that our students hear various theories on the origins of species. I enumerated some of them by way of example. My mention of those other theories led to the concerns that have been articulated. In the future, I will not refer to other, non-scientific explanations and will clearly teach the science and theory of evolution as the explanation for the development of life on earth as provided by the New York State standards.”
Various theories
The letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation also alleges that Lucason said, “They have never been able to find when something becomes something else,” and that evolution is “contrary to genetics.”
“So what that means,” Lucason said, according to the letter, “is you have to play the evolutionary game because the people writing this are married to that idea despite the new proof and new science coming out. What that means is anything is really fair game whether it’s the belief that aliens came down and created us as, like, a project; God created us and everything else, whatever god that might be, that you subscribe to; ... that Mars got hit by — this is another one that’s out there — that Mars got hit by an asteroid and a chunk flew off and came into Earth and boop here you are.
“So yeah, there is all kinds of different scenarios and in reality, we don’t know. We don’t know. There’s no proof. And everything we thought we knew, we are finding out we know less and less of.”
The parent of a student in the class alerted the foundation to the situation, according to the letter.
“This issue has been pretty well settled by the courts,” Chris Line, staff attorney for the Freedom from Religion Foundation. “We probably — a few times a year — get something along these lines. Usually it’s school-handled pretty well.”
One of the parents who has a child in the class was concerned when they heard about the comments both because they think Lucason’s comments violated the separation of church and state, and because of the poor information given out. The Observer-Dispatch has chosen not to reveal the parent’s identity to keep their child anonymous.
“A biology teacher telling students that evolution can cause only minor changes within a species and cannot cause one species to gradually become a different species over the course of thousands of years is the equivalent of a math teacher telling students that it’s possible to add two plus three, but it’s impossible to multiply 987 by 6,789,” the parent said in an email. “If a math teacher taught his students that multiplication were an impossibility, there would be no question. People wouldn’t say that he was entitled to his opinion.
“He would be told by administration that if he weren’t willing to teach what he is supposed to teach, he would not be allowed to continue as a teacher of the subject. And that’s exactly what should happen in this case.”
A second Holland Patent parent has contacted the foundation with concerns about the evolution lesson, Line said.
“It’s concerning that the teacher said these things. We’re not even looking for anything to happen to the teacher,” he said. “We’re looking for the school district to acknowledge that this is inappropriate.”
Separating church and state
The school district put out a statement saying it does not comment on personnel matters, but can comment on the process for handling individual curriculum concerns.
“The school district’s teachers instruct our students according to New York State’s approved curriculum,” the emailed statement reads. “We are committed to doing so using the highest educational standards.
“When concerns are raised regarding the content of a lesson, we investigate those concerns and, if founded, take appropriate steps to correct any issues identified in order to promote approved standards and meet the educational needs of our students. We appreciate the feedback provided by the parent and the Freedom from Religion Foundation and will continue our review of this matter.”
If Lucason really made the statements reported by the foundation, then it would be a violation of the law, said Jay Worona, deputy executive director and general counsel for the New York State School Boards Association.
“Evolution is a scientific theory,” he said. “Creationism is a religious theory. If this individual was attempting, as it appears, ... to discredit evolution perhaps to make more credible creationism, that would be promoting a religious message and that would violate certain precepts of separating church and state.”
Providing a personal opinion is one thing, Worona noted. But telling “impressionable” students that there are holes in the theory of evolution is different, he said.
“That would be very inconsistent with what an instructor is supposed to be doing,” Worona said. “You’re not supposed to poke holes in science, but teach it.”
••••••••••••••••••••••••••
In the comments there are lots of Christian assholes who want to throw out evolution.
If you're interested in Idiot America's idiots you can click this link: Holland Patent biology teacher accused of unscientific lesson
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.