Teacher Must Apologize for Teaching Science! - SAY WHAT???

[Fat Man]

What in the flying fucking Hell is going on in the USA?

No wait! Please don't tell me! I already know the answer to the question!

This is the good ol' USA where only CONservative values are embraced, and we do not have freedom of speech anymore, so we must all just shut the fuck up and suck it up!

OK, this is what I'm talking about.

Here's the first article at:
http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispa ... ng_science

January 12, 2011

Lauri Lebo - RSS


Lauri Lebo is a writer and reporter
whose latest book is The Devil in Dover:
Dogma v. Darwin in Small-Town America.

Lauri Lebo

January 4, 2011 - 10:20AM

Was a Teacher Disciplined for Refusing to
Apologize for Teaching Science?
Post by Lauri Lebo

Last month a North Carolina federal judge threw out a case brought by an eighth grade teacher who says her constitutional rights were violated when her school tried to force her to write a letter of apology for teaching evolution in science class.

In 2004, in the Johnston County school district, Pamela Hensley was instructing students on evolution when what she described as a â??lively discussionâ? broke out with students over science and religion. Later, parents of one of the students complained to the principal that Hensley was rude to their daughter and accused her of giving the girl a bad grade on an assignment because of her â??true Christianâ? religious views. The parents said that it was their intention to see that Hensley was fired from the district and that science classes in the district accommodate views that donâ??t contradict the Bible.

In an investigation, the district determined that there was no retaliation by Hensley against the student, although she was reminded that it â??is imperative that you do not make religious statements about how the Bible could be interpreted as part of your classroom presentations.â?

After the parents met with the school board, Hensley was told she must sign a letter of apology, which she refused, arguing that the presented letter contained factual errors. She was later reassigned to teaching a remedial language arts class. Hensley filed a lawsuit against the district saying that her First and 14th Amendment rights had been violated.

According to Hensleyâ??s complaint, the parents demanded she publicly admit she demonstrated â??unconstitutional hostility against the beliefs of the Christian students in the classroom by questioning the literal content of the Bible and by teaching her theological position that the Bible contains errors.â?

In granting summary judgment to the school district last month, the court ruled that â??her decision not to send the letter requested by her employer, in her capacity as a teacher, is not protected by the First Amendment. Because Hensley was asked to speak in her official capacity as a public employee, her refusal to speak does not give rise to a claim for violation of her First Amendment rights.â?

A link to the full decision is here.
http://ncse.com/webfm_send/1527

The National Center for Science Education has more on the story here.
http://ncse.com/news/2011/01/teacher-pu ... ion-006383

Itâ??s difficult to tell exactly what took place in the classroom and whether Hensley overstepped her boundaries in a discussion of religion. Nonetheless, this all leads me to wonder, if a student argues in class that the bible is lifeâ??s literal blueprint, facts be damned, is it wrong for a teacher, in the course of teaching science, to correct the studentâ??s misinformed worldview? Or, in the interest of not offending the child and parents, must the teacher coddle such ignorance?

Because itâ??s a simple fact that the realities of science contradict a literal belief in the Bible. And not just on the subject of evolution. Heliocentrism, for instance?

â??He has fixed the earth firm, immovable.â? (1 Chronicles 16:30)

â??Thou hast fixed the earth immovable and firm â?¦â? (Psalm 93:1)

â??Thou didst fix the earth on its foundation so that it never can be shaken.â? (Psalm 104:5)

â??â?¦who made the earth and fashioned it, and himself fixed it fastâ?¦â? (Isaiah 45:18)

â??The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.â? (Ecclesiastes 1:5)

The subject of religion only came up when . . .

Pamela Hensley was instructing students on evolution when what she described as a â??lively discussionâ? broke out with students over science and religion.

So, it was some of the students who brought up the subject of religion in the class room. So, how was the teacher supposed to respond?

I think that if I had been the teacher, I would have said that this is a science class and we will not discuss religion in a science class.

Here's another article. It just keeps on getting better.
http://ncse.com/news/2011/01/teacher-pu ... ion-006383

A teacher punished over evolution?
January 3rd, 2011

Was a North Carolina middle school science teacher unjustly treated when she was reassigned to a different job after a complaint about her presentation of evolution in the classroom? That is the question at issue in a lawsuit originally filed in 2007.

In early 2005, the parents of a girl in Pamela Hensley's eighth-grade science class alleged that Hensley gave their daughter a low grade in retaliation for her comments during the class discussion on evolution, complaining that she was "antagonistic and rude when her beliefs are challenged by true 'Christian' students." After investigating, the principal concluded that there was no retaliation. According to Hensley, however, the parents lobbied the district to force her to apologize, to transfer her, and to revise its curriculum to "include a religious view of the teaching of science."

Hensley was eventually asked by the school district to sign a letter of apology; regarding it as containing false statements as originally drafted, she refused. She was then transferred, mid-year, to a different position in the district. She was told that the incident "remains a source of tension and distraction within the school system, and it has diminished your credibility at North Johnston Middle School." The new position was a remedial language arts position, which Hensley contends is a "make-work position" and not suitable for her in light of a congenital hearing problem.

In 2007, Hensley filed a complaint in the Johnson County Superior Court, subsequently removed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, alleging that the district's actions violated her rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, the North Carolina Constitution, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Americans With Disabilities Act. On December 23, 2010, the court dismissed (PDF) all of Hensley's claims except for her Americans With Disabilities Act claim.

There is presently no indication in the court documents whether Hensley is going to continue with the case or not. Selected documents from the case, Hensley v. Johnston County Board of Education, are available on NCSE's website.
http://ncse.com/creationism/legal/hensley-v-boe

Revised on January 4, 2011, to use the correct term for the court's December 23, 2010, order: it was a dismissal, not a summary judgment.

So, the teacher was being forced to sign a letter of apology.

Hensley was eventually asked by the school district to sign a letter of apology; regarding it as containing false statements as originally drafted, she refused.

WOW! That reminds me of how Galileo was forced to sign a confession recanting his convictions that the earth and all the planets revolve around the sun.

Galileo has been dead for almost 400 years, yet, apparently, he's still on trial, because even today, in the good ol' USA, we have a SCIENCE teacher who's being forced to sign a letter of apology for teaching SCIENCE!

Like, what's wrong with this picture???

Yeah! Both Galileo and Charles Darwin must be whirling dervishly in their graves!

And here is some more.
http://ncse.com/creationism/legal/hensley-v-boe

Pamela Hensley v. Johnston County Board of Education
December 30th, 2010

In 2004, Pamela Hensley was teaching evolution in her 8th grade science class in a small community several miles outside of Selma, North Carolina, when a "lively" discussion ensued with her students. Parents of one of the students wrote a letter to the Principal charging that Ms. Hensley was rude to their daughter and gave her a poor grade in retaliation for her religious views. The parents wrote that it was their intention "to rid our school system of" Ms. Hensley who forces "her 'Alternative Live [sic] Views' on children who have proven they don't subscribe to the same beliefs as her."

After investigating, the Principal admonished Ms. Hensley for telling students that the Bible is not to be read literally, but allowed her to continue her teaching assignments.

In October of 2005, the same father met with the School Board and some weeks later Ms. Hensley was transferred to a remedial language arts position at a different school about 10 miles away. Hensley filed a grievance with the School Board shortly thereafter and filed a "Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial" with the County Superior Court in May 2007. The case was subsequently moved to the Federal District Court.

On 23 December 2010, the court dismissed all of Ms. Hensley's complaints except for one claiming insufficient accommodation under the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act], although she was denied punitive damages with that claim.

WOW! We must really be careful what we say!

After investigating, the Principal admonished Ms. Hensley for telling students that the Bible is not to be read literally, but allowed her to continue her teaching assignments.

Well, I for one don't believe that everything in the Bible must be interpreted literally. But now, it's almost considered a crime to express that view.

So now, science teachers must apologize for teaching science!

HELLO!

WHAT IN THE FLYING HELL IS A SCIENCE TEACHER SUPPOSE TO TEACH???

IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, I DO BELIEVE THAT A SCIENCE TEACHER IS SUPPOSE TO TEACH SCIENCE!

LIKE, DUH!!!

HELLO! HELLO! HELL-FUCKIN' LO-HO!!!

DUH!!! when i wuz in hi skool, my teecher was reel smart! he wuz the skool's football coach, so he avoided teechin' science by settin' up a movie projector and lettin' us all wach cartoons while he went out coachin' his football teem! dat's how he avoided any kontroversy! DUH! yeah! he was real smart! DUH!!! HUH! HUH! HUH! dat's why i grew up to be a moron! DUH!

WOW! I can't believe I actually typed that shit above. That almost fried some of my brain cells!

Yeah! A letter of apology typed up by a science teacher under duress.

----------------------------------------
Dear members of the school board:

Please accept my apology for teaching science in a science class. From now on, I will only teach Creationism, how to play Charades, and how to fold paper footballs.
----------------------------------------

OK! That did it!

I'm feeling sick, and I gotta to up-chuck now!

Excuse me, but did I just get off the wrong train in the wrong town?

[i_like_1981]

Last month a North Carolina federal judge threw out a case brought by an eighth grade teacher who says her constitutional rights were violated when her school tried to force her to write a letter of apology for teaching evolution in science class.

Now this is just absolutely stupid. I'm sorry, but the evolution theory IS the scientific theory behind the progression of humans, and although people are entitled to believe, and teach their beliefs in the creationist theory, that should be kept to Religious Education (RE) lessons. I take it you're familiar with this subject over in America. I myself choose to believe in the Evolution theory, but that's because, in my opinion, it has more credibility and gives a more logical explanation backed up with evidence. I do have to agree with you on quite a lot of this issue, Fat Man - seems to me like people are trying to do harm to your educational system over in America, and try and force their beliefs into subjects in which they do not belong. I've said it before and I'll say it again - Creationism should stay in RE classes. Evolution should remain in Science classes. Why is that so hard to stick with nowadays? We have some right idiots running the world today.

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[recovering_fan]

...although people are entitled to believe, and teach their beliefs in the creationist theory, that should be kept to Religious Education (RE) lessons. I take it you're familiar with this subject over in America.

Actually, we don't have the sort of RE in America where everyone is taught about the many religions of the world. We learn something about religious practices in Social Studies classes within the context of world cultures, but we don't learn the details on the tenets of the various world faiths. There is no release valve for Christian fervour in American public schools. Of course, many Catholic schools do a decent job of teaching Catholic dogma.

[i_like_1981]

In RE over here in Britain you don't just learn about religion either. You learn about ethics, human rights, moral conflicts and decisions - for example, you debate on such topics as euthanasia and what justifies war. It isn't all a matter of learning about religion and world faiths. Although unsurprisingly, that comprises rather a lot of its curriculum. Like I say, science and religious studies don't mix. Science revolves around the materialistic ways in which things are done, and RE revolves around beliefs and debates on what is deemed right or wrong. They should be kept separate. People are entitled to believe what they wish, but beliefs do not have any place in a Science class.

Best regards,
i_like_1981