Teaching "Intelligent Design"

I think it's only right to inform students of all possibilities and let them make their own decision. It figures anti-religious folks would get bent out of shape over it, but it's not preaching. Telling kids what some people believe is not the same as telling them that THIS is the way it happened.

Taking religion out of school did not mean you can never speak about it ... only that you can't force it on children.

I think it's great that some schools are finally doing this. And the way they're doing it is really good - they are giving information and references to follow up with if they choose. It's too bad they can't go into more detail about it.

Besides, most kids already know about God and know the story of how He created the world and us human beings, so it's not like they'll be throwing something out there that most haven't heard.

I've never had a problem with evolution being taught - I personally think evolution and the creation of the world by God go hand-in-hand - but have always had a problem with the "other" ideas being left out. I applaud the Dover, PA schools for doing this and hope other schools and other states follow their lead.

I don't agree with it at all. It's nearly the same thing as those stickers in the science textbooks in Georgia.

Evolution may be a "theory" but there are physical things to back it up. Besides, lots of people who have their panties in a bunch about evolution are misunderstanding it.

Once "intelligent design" isn't based on faith, then it can become part of public school curriculum. Until then, if they want to teach it in the faith-based private schools, more power to them.

What it boils down to for me is that it's not the school's job to teach things like that, it's the parents' job. If the parents don't or choose not to, then so be it.

Well, as a Christian who believes God created the world and all that is in it, it should be my decision to teach my kids about evolution or not so why is every school in the US allowed to teach it? If you're going to leave out one theory then leave them all out.

Again, I personally think this school has found a wonderful way to put the "other" theory out there without mentioning God and without trying to convince kids that it is the only way the world was created, unlike how evolutionists have been doing for years.

I think they should either include it all or leave it all out.

I'm in the mood for a good debate, ladies, so let's get those opinions out there!

I think part of the problem with today's society is that we as parents tend to "shield" our children from anything that we don't care for or agree with. Parents should instill their values and beliefs on children, but I don't think it is right to shield them or forbid them from hearing about ideas we don't agree with. To make an intelligent decision, a person needs to know all sides of a story. It teaches our children to make informed decisions based on all the facts, and not to jump to conclusions.

I've said this many times before ... we are not particularly religious. We don't go to church regularly nor do we openly pray. We are also not atheist. I guess you could say I'm still a bit undecided. It does, however, disturb me greatly that my child is not allowed to learn about anything even remotely religious because a select few parents don't want their own children to learn it. My children attend church preschool -- they come home and want to say blessing before a meal. That's fine with me. I try very hard to be open minded and let them make as many decisions for themselves as they are capable of.

I guess my opinion stems from the fact that we are giving Kyle a religious education outside of school.
We go to church nearly every Sunday, say a blessing before dinner, he acolytes, and he's currently in Confirmation classes.

I see no reason for the two not to be separate. I still feel it's not up to the public school system to teach about a "higher power" or whatever the phraseology of the moment is.

Again, just because evolution is called a "theory" doesn't mean there isn't any physical evidence to back it up.

Faith doesn't belong where my tax money goes.

Again, as a Christian, my tax dollars don't need to be supporting a theory, fact-based or not, that I don't wholly believe in if they don't go to support a theory, fact-based or not, that I do believe in.

And Dawn said it well in that if our kids aren't given all sides of an argument, how will they make an intelligent decision? There are many parents that may believe in God but don't take their kids to church, don't pray with them and don't talk about God to their children. So how are they getting all the facts?

I know a lot of my opinion is coming from my beliefs, but I really hate the way religion and God are so taboo simply because a minority of the population believes it hurts them in some way. As long as God or Buddha or Allah or whoever and their religion isn't being forced onto you, how can it be wrong to learn about them?

Everyone says they want their kids to feel free to explore other religions but how can they went they aren't allowed access to them? How many are going to go to a Jewish Synagogue when they are raised Catholic, and vice versa?

I'm way off the subject now, I know. I just hate that our country is being turned into the land of the free, as long as God is kept hidden.

I also think that along these lines, we are teaching our children intolerance ... if they aren't allowed to learn about and accept other religions, ideals, and beliefs, how can we live together harmoniously? I try to teach my children every day that race, religion, weight, income level, etc do not matter in the grand scheme of things. That requires education on all aspects of life, including things that I may not personally believe in or practice. But then there is always somebody out there that blows that out of the water when their child is not allowed to hear about, see, or learn about what my child may or may not believe in.

Why can't they just say "some people believe this" and "some people believe that"? If people are so afraid of allowing the expression of an idea that is contrary to their beliefs - whether it be creation or evolution in this case - don't they just need to find a country with whose idealogies they agree and live there?

I like this idea but I also like the idea of telling children soeme people believe and some do not.

Evolution isn't a theory in the sense that "it could happen"--it's provable fact. It's theory in that there's always new research that changes what we didn't understand before.

Evolution isn't something to be "believed in" like the tooth fairy. It's provable and it's solid, unlike God, who people are asked to take on FAITH.

It's simple, FAITH vs. PROOF. If it's provable, it should be taught. If it's not, then it belongs in the realm of religion or mysticism or whatever, and not at school *UNLESS* it's specifically a religion class, in which case, evolution shouldn't be taught THERE.

I say if you are going to teach one, then you should teach the other as well. It is not like they are trying to push any particular religion onto these kids. What they are doing is letting them know that there are other ideas out there and giving them the resources to explore those ideas IF THEY WANT TO!

What happens when they start to learn about Brown vs The Board of Education? That was a very pivitol moment in our country's history. They will HAVE to be informed of BOTH sides of that argument to understand what the case was about. And how will they be informed if they are not given the information they need?

No child is going to learn it all, but I think we should do our best to provide them with all of the options available to them. How else are they going to be able to decide for themselves when they are older? Like I said in the beginning, teach both or teach nothing.

And who is to say that God (or whomever) didn't allow evolution to happen? Think about THAT one!

I have no problem with thinking God allowed evolution to happen. I have a problem with people thinking that it's some ethereal thing like in my former example, the tooth fairy or Santa Claus.
Unfortunately, God hasn't given us anything concrete to show he exists, so we have to take it on faith.

Brown V. Board? The segregation trials? Has what to do with evolution and "intelligent design"?

What has taking Christmas off got to do with education? Yet schools seem to be out at that time every year. Sure they are trying to call it winter break now, but we all know it's to celebrate the birth of Jesus. If you're gonna do that, why not teach about how God created the world? Same thing for Easter. May be called spring break now, but we all know they're taking off to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. Hmm . . .

Thanksgiving isn't religious, neither is Presidents' Day.

"If you're gonna do that, why not teach about how God created the world?"
Because it's wrong to teach kids *beliefs* rather than solid fact. Teaching kids *beliefs* belongs squarely in the realm of parenting.
Even if I didn't drag Kyle kicking and screaming nearly every Sunday to church I'd have a problem with teaching intelligent design to kids.

But Christmas and Easter are, that's my point. God isn't mentioned when kids are told they have those holidays off and God isn't mentioned when the creation theory is explained in one or two paragraphs either. So I guess I just don't understand why anyone, believers in God or not, have a problem with how this school has decided to put forth this theory.

And around here no one gets President's Day off. Do you?

And where is Elaine? She started this thread and needs to let us know her opinion!

Just like Elaine ... start some sh!t and take off! She's probably off getting her tush waxed!

I'm a Christian and I don't have a problem with my child learning about evolution. But as a parent I have to make sure I KNOW what my child is learning at school so I can teach them what I know and believe too.

If my child is learning about Evolution then they need to learn about Creation. It doesn't have to be Evolution Vs. Creation. It just needs to be taught so that my children can decide which one to believe instead of being FORCED to believe Evolution because someone doesn't want their tax dollars to teach on the other spectrum.

If there are 2 sides, I believe the BOTH need to taught. Isn't it sad that when I took Biology that I had to have a note sent home and signed so that I could learn both "theories" If not I had to write an essay on the theory my parents believed in...I was in 10th grade what if what my parents believed differently then I did? I was FORCED to write on the topic my parents chose. But since I have great parents they decided to teach me both theories and let me form my own opinion.

In the end by not teaching them you are FORCING them to only see one theory. I don't want my child to grow up with tunnel vision. I want him to learn about ALL aspects. Whether it be horrible or not. Like, I didn't learn about how the ladies in the middle east were restricted until college in my Anthropology class. Since it was different then our culture we weren't taught it

But like I said with everything that is learned the PARENTS need to be following along and not leaving it up to the teacher so that they can explain their beliefs. Just not throw it out of the school system because they don't feel like sitting down and talking about it with them.

Elaine is that what you are doing?

Wendy you put that very well.

I felt the need to voice my opinion because this particular district is just down the road from us. I'm sure this has been covered in our local news much more in depth than elsewhere in the country. All the district is doing is supplying reading material if the children desire to learn about creationism. It is NOT being taught in the classroom. My personal belief in their reasoning, since I know many parents with children in the district, is it was proposed because so many children were questioning the theory of evolution. All of the parents I know have supported the two paragraphs, yes just two paragraphs, that are being mentioned with directions to reading material that is available on creationism if the children want to read it. I would actuallly think that anyone opposed to creationism would rather it be briefly mentioned than have entire discussions going on when children question the theory of evolution in class.
I was always forced to learn evolution even though I didn't believe in it. I questioned that if we evolved from apes, they why would there still be apes and where are the ape-people that are still in the process of evolving.

Miss

I'm not sure that there is an "effective" way to separate the teaching of these two "theories" ( using that for lack of better word. )
One just seems to naturally lead to questions/questioning on or about the other. I learned the faith based "theory" in Sunday School and the evolution "theory" in school. My parents left it up to me to decide which I would rather believe in, and when it comes time, I'll do the same for Jared. That way, he has knowledge of both sides and can make an informed decision - and if his beliefs differ from mine, so be it