"We shouldn’t just jump into this thing, but we do need to look at it," Martin said. "The American Civil Liberties Union and even some of our principals would not be pleased with us, but we shouldn’t worry about the ACLU. It’s more important that we do the correct thing for the children we educate."
And the subject matter in question was an accurate and comprehensive Sex Ed program, or if they were discussing changing the biased treatment in our history books of slavery and American Indians, or looking to abolish "fuzzy math" I would endorse their bravery wholeheartedly. What were these brave school committee members trying to incorporate into their curriculum that has caused me wipe Louisiana off the list of states I'm willing to live in? Creationism - as science. They feel it is important because "you don’t have to be afraid to point out some of the fallacies with the theory of evolution. Teachers should have the freedom to look at creationism and find a way to get it into the classroom." I'm not a religious person. I'm not raising the children to be religious. Public School should be secular and it isn't. I already deal with the Pledge of Allegiance and various concerts throughout the year instilling the concept of god and religion into my children's lives. I will be greatly relieved when they no longer believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy so that we can have more philosophical discussions on religion. The thought of creationism being taught next to evolution in a science class fills me with dread. Many of my friends are religious - deeply so - and while I don't understand it; I'm not looking to convert them away from their religion either. My religious friends run the gamut from traditional Judaic and Christian religions to Wiccan and Pagan. I wonder how many creation stories these science classes will be required to cover? Would a devoutly Catholic family really appreciate little Joe coming home from school talking about the Mayan creation story Popol Vuh? If the board were suggesting a series of philosophy classes on religion that would be wonderful. Even lessons on religion as they shaped history would be enlightening and valuable. But to insert creationism into science curriculum because: "We let them teach evolution to our children, but I think all of us sitting up here on this School Board believe in creationism. Why can’t we get someone with religious beliefs to teach creationism?" is not acceptable. People used to believe the Earth was flat and the center of the universe. People believed women shouldn't be allowed to vote and that one's value as a person could be determined by skin color alone. People believed cocaine wasn't addictive, bloodletting cured many ailments and X-rays were benign. My children believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny! Believing doesn't make it so.