Posted on 01/19/2005 8:52:24 AM PST by FeeinTennessee
Pa. Students Learn 'Intelligent Design' By MARTHA RAFFAELE The Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. - High school students heard about "intelligent design" for the first time Tuesday in a school district that attracted national attention by requiring students to be made aware of it as an alternative to the theory of evolution.
Administrators in the Dover Area School District read a statement to three biology classes Tuesday and were expected to read it to other classes on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., which was speaking on the district's behalf.
The district is believed to be the only one in the nation to require students to hear about intelligent design - a concept that holds that the universe is so complex, it had to be created by an unspecified guiding force.
"The revolution in evolution has begun," said Richard Thompson, the law center's president and chief counsel. "This is the first step in which students will be given an honest scientific evaluation of the theory of evolution and its problems."
The case represents the newest chapter in a history of evolution lawsuits dating back to the Scopes Monkey Trial in Tennessee nearly 80 years ago. In Georgia, a suburban Atlanta school district plans to challenge a federal judge's order to remove stickers in science textbooks that call evolution "a theory, not a fact."
The law center is defending the Dover district against a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of eight families by two civil-liberties groups that alleged intelligent design is merely a secular variation of creationism, the biblical-based view that regards God as the creator of life. They maintain that the Dover district's curriculum mandate may violate the constitutional separation of church and state.
"Students who sat in the classroom were taught material which is religious in content, not scientific, and I think it's unfortunate that has occurred," said Eric Rothschild, a Philadelphia attorney representing the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit.
Biology teacher Jennifer Miller said although she was able to make a smooth transition to her evolution lesson after the statement was read, some students were upset that administrators would not entertain any questions about intelligent design.
"They were told that if you have any questions, to take it home," Miller said.
The district allowed students whose parents objected to the policy to be excused from hearing the statement at the beginning of class and science teachers who opposed the requirement to be exempted from reading the statement. About 15 of 170 ninth-graders asked to be excused from class, Thompson said.
A federal judge has scheduled a trial in the lawsuit for Sept. 26.
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Dover Area School District: http://www.dover.k12.pa.us
Thomas More Law Center: http://www.thomasmore.org
January 18, 2005 6:44 PM
They will. The cats out of the bag now.
We may have a chance - but I won't hold my breath.
I mostly agree with this except it's not a vote or a decision on how "it" happened. Humans have several theories and beliefs on this and examining them (all) cultivates unique things that make us different form the beasts, faith and science. In this classroom I could care less if anyone draws any conclusions if it just inspires a curiosity to discover humanity; faith and science.
This is stupid. If the objection to evolution concerns lack of evidence, how is intelligent design any better? At least evolution has the fossil record to back its claims; ID has nothing.
"Things are so complex, only an invisible sky-god could have made them." Some theory!
I thought the revolution was over and Evolution was dead?
This is going to turn out just like the environmental movement. Here this lawyer is, getting money from fools that blieve in litteral translations of Genesis.
The left has an entire class of lawyers that glean money from greenies. Now the right will create another class of lawyers to decide science in court rooms.
I suppose lawyers have to make money some way.
Sorry boss. Its the fossil record that is undermining the theory.
No, you don't. The amount of sheer horsepower behind the evidence of Evolution will drown you. You have no idea.
And in the mean time this stupid fight will drain the oxygen from more important fights like for supreme court justices.
This is stupid.
Probably a bunch of lefties doing this just to start a back-fire to prevent conservatives from doing good stuff.
Neither evolution nor intelligent design should be taught as iron clad fact. In my church they teach that humans and animals have only been around for about 5000 years, yet we know through science that is not possible. On the other hand evolution has it's problems too....ever met a blue eyed ape? Ever seen one turn into a human? Ever seen a half human half ape?
Well, the students discussions about the conflicts in Genesis should be interesting. I'm just amazed that Christians actually want government schools to teach their children about religion.
Christians should be the very first to protest such things.
Just as they abandoned "creation science" that attempted to prove a 6000 year old earth, they have been defeated in the 2nd law argument.
Creationists are loosers, they just don't know it yet.
You have been misinformed.
A lot of us don't think it is stupid. And really, if you look at US students and how they compare to other industrialized countries in math and science, it probably doesn't make much difference anyway.
Loosers? Well, at least maybe they can teach spelling.
I agree. It's an attempt to mix science and religion and the result is both are diminished.
Does the fossil record show that evolution occurs within the plant kingdom too? Or, that plants can evolve into animals?
Did that make you feel better?
I am Catholic and don't believe in a literal translation of Genesis (6 day creation theory), but I do believe in intelligent design - the complexity of life demands that something other than chance was at work. Statistically, the enormous number of changes required to get one species to "evolve" into another is impossible to arrive at by chance alone, and even the evolutionists will admit that they haven't found a way for the math to work, given the theory as it currently exists. Evolution is an extremely flawed theory on many different levels, and yet it is taught to children as absolute fact, with no alternative being presented at all! I am not so much concerned about the religious aspect of this as I am about the scientific ramifications - why should entire generations of children be indoctrinated with a flawed theory which is on the decline? If anything, they should be focusing on all that is wrong with evolution and discussing other explanations, not being sheltered from them. Just my $.02...
From the formless mists emerged Ymir, The frost giant. He was suckled by the cow Audhumble. God Odin slew Ymir and made the world from his corpse. Odin then formed an ash tree into the first man Aske, and an elm tree into a woman Embla and gave them lives and souls.
If you don't believe me it's all written in the Eddas for all to see.
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