The Wall Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Hi, guys. Long time reader, very infrequent poster here. Got a situation I'd like to hash out while I'm still thinking about it. Not sure why it came up, but my middle-school daughter said something about evolution the other day. Her comment was about one of her teachers saying that she didn't believe we came from monkeys. What? We didn't discuss it long, but I gave her the quick explanation that common descent does not mean we came from monkeys, which I don't think got through to her. But now I'm wondering about this teacher. She didn't say it was her science teacher, or if the comment was part of a discussion on evolution, or what. Now, if I can remember at a good time, I want to ask again and get more details. I want to make sure that this isn't what passes for "teaching science" in her school. If I find out this was part of science class, I'm considering what my next step(s) should be. Call the school? Talk to the teacher? Talk to the principal? Check the curriculum guidelines? Discuss it with school board members? Move to another state? More ideas? tw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandora Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 I had teachers like that in middle school. Perhaps there are some freethought books out there that are written for her age group. I would investigate a little bit and figure out which teacher said that. Find out if evolution is in the syllabus. You could try talking to the teacher calmly... I wouldn't bring the board into it or anyone else until the teacher says she WILL teach Creationism or other nonsense like that... I would just say that you prefer that she keep her opinions to herself, as is her responsibility as a teacher on such a touchy subject. I would also talk to your daughter again and tell her what you think about the subject and explain the current debate about evolution in the schools. Social controversies like evolution and abortion began to intrigue me at that age, so I think she's sophisticated enough to learn about it. Go through her science book and see if evolution is mentioned, and tell her that text books are almost always more reliable than teachers. Without degrading the teacher, tell her that scientists believe in evolution and they spend their whole lives learning about it, while her teacher hasn't. Etc... etc... but that's just what I would do, and I don't have kids, maybe someone here with actual experience in this will have better advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ro-bear Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 The Wall: I think it's laudable that Pandora suggests such a measured approach. I concur. However, I would make my expectations very clear. No teacher should characterize evolutionary theory as suggesting man came from monkeys. That is a gross deception promoted by creationists. If the teacher is unwilling to provide assurances that she/he is not pontificating about this issue, then the principal should be involved. Most principals are savvy enough to know when it's time to shut a teacher up. (Sadly not always true in my neck of the woods, where a principal assigned Bible verses to an elementary school miscreant. Happily, the superintendant then assigned the principal an essay on the separation of church and state. But I digress.) Don't let your public school (and it IS yours!) indoctrinate students in any sense related to theism, deism, or atheism. I don't care what the teacher believes, so long as no effort is made to propagate their belief among students. Despite the fact that I'm a teacher and a parent, I have a healthy cynicism with regard to both groups. As a parent, I have issues with poor teachers; as a teacher, I have issues with poor parents. I'm glad you are showing a healthy involvement in the education of your child and a prudent approach in dealing with the school system employees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 I hate how so many reationists insist on representing evolutionary theory as saying monkeys randomly transforming into humans one day on Prehistoric Earth. Even one of my teachers at my fundamentalist Christian high school had to admit that evolution was a good, well-supported theory a couple of weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wall Posted February 24, 2006 Author Share Posted February 24, 2006 Thanks for the responses, guys. Hopefully I will have the chance, and will remember, to bring this up with my daughter over the weekend. That's got to be the first step. After that I can decide whether my effort needs to be focused on making sure this doesn't happen in science class again (assuming it did), or if I just need to make sure my children can tell the difference between science and pseudo-science (which I'm always working on anyway). tw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandora Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 I forgot to say welcome, Wall! Welcome! Feel free to post more often. We'd love to hear your story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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