News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
[I think I'll get this book for my niece and nephew.
Evolution is an essential subject and the earlier kids learn
about it, the better.--DC]
May 12, 2005 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune
Kids' Book on Evolution Stirs Censor****p Debate in Monticello
by Jill Bur***
With its lavish illustrations of colorful, cuddly critters,
"Our Family Tree" looks like the kind of book kids keep by
their bedside to read again and again.
But when its St. Paul author, Lisa Westberg Peters, planned
to talk about the book in classroom appearances today and
Friday at a Monticello, Minn., elementary school, educators
got cold feet.
"Our Family Tree" focuses on evolution, the scientific
explanation for human origins that some believe contradicts
biblical teachings. Peters' appearances, which were to focus
on helping kids learn how to write, were canceled.
"It's a cute book. There's nothing wrong with it. We just
don't need that kind of debate," said Brad Sanderson,
principal at Pinewood Elementary.
Monticello's assistant superintendent, Jim Johnson, said
school officials made a reasonable request of Peters to talk
about writing but leave the discussion about evolution to
teachers. When she refused, the visit was scuttled.
Across the country, there has been increasing opposition to
teaching evolution. Peters said officials at two other
Minnesota school districts have asked her not to talk about
the book in visits over the past year.
The author believes that she is being censored -- something
the schools deny.
"Once you start censoring, it's a slippery slope. Are
geology and physics next? You have to stop it right away,"
said Peters, who won a Minnesota Book Award for "Our Family
Tree," published in 2003.
In Kansas, the State Board of Education is expected to
require that teachers tell students that evolution is
controversial. Bills have been introduced in Georgia and
Alabama to allow educators to question evolution in the
classroom and offer alternatives.
Last year, the Grantsburg, Wis., school district drew
widespread attention when a new policy urged teachers to
explore alternative theories to evolution.
Peters' book and her school visits have caught the attention
of people on both sides of the evolution issue, as well as
those concerned about academic freedom.
"I think the school can decide it is not going to introduce
second- and third-graders to the origins story and say we .
.. . should not be teaching origins at this age. I think that
is an appropriate policy," said John Calvert, managing
director of the Intelligent Design Network. The Kansas
nonprofit has been active nationally in getting schools to
implement curriculum changes that challenge evolution.
Susan Spath, public information director for the National
Center for Science Education in Oakland, Calif., said she
was troubled that Minnesota school officials appeared to
fear even talking about evolution.
"This is a signal that school administrators may not be
backing up good science teachers, that good science teachers
may not be teaching evolution, teaching it correctly, or
allowing religious beliefs to be substituted in the
classroom for fear of controversy," Spath said. "This is a
sign that should concern any parent who cares about good
education."
The American Library Association and the Minnesota Coalition
Against Censor****p also have expressed concerns over the
cancellation of Peters' school visits.
A 53-year-old mother and former journalist, Peters is the
author of numerous children's titles and is typically paid
between $1,000 and $1,500 for school appearances, which she
has made around the state for years. Her books -- including
"We're Rabbits!" and "Cold Little Duck, Duck, Duck" -- are
featured as she talks kids through the writing process and
serves up examples from her own work.
"Our Family Tree" was inspired by the geology of the western
United States and the works of Stephen Jay Gould, a
well-known Harvard University paleontologist. Peters gently
walks kids through how one-celled organisms morphed through
the eons into more complex creatures, including humans. She
could easily leave "Our Family Tree" out of her
presentations; it's not a huge part of her material. But she
said that would imply she's ashamed of it.
There's also a broader concern. "This is about open
discussion in public schools. Censor****p is wrong. It's OK
in a repressive society, but that's not what we have,"
Peters said.
In addition to Monticello, Peters said Emmet D. Williams
Elementary in Shoreview and Rutherford Elementary in
Stillwater also have tried to prevent discussion of her book.
Rutherford teacher Mary Ellison and the school's principal
declined to return phone calls. Kay Smith, the Shoreview
school's principal, said educators asked Peters not to talk
about the evolution book because they didn't have time to
review it with students before she arrived -- something
Peters disputed.
The Shoreview school staff relented and allowed Peters to do
her full presentation. "It was a beautiful job. Students and
staff were very appreciative," Smith said. "At no point did
anybody feel she was pu****ng the agenda of evolution."
Mary Ann Nelson, assistant commissioner for the Minnesota
Department of Education, said it's up to local schools to
set policy for outside speakers.
Nelson said that state science educational standards provide
for students to learn more about evolution as they grow
older, and that the standards allow for teachers to provide
background on the limitations of scientific theories. She
declined to comment specifically about Peters, saying she
didn't have enough information.
Robert Zink, a University of Minnesota professor of ecology,
evolution and behavior, said Peters' experience should send
a chill through parents and anyone who cares about the free
exchange of ideas.
"This is a form of censor****p," Zink said. "I understand the
schools' perspective. It's easier to avoid hot-button topics
than confront them head-on, but they have no more basis
backing away from this than someone who would come in and
discuss the laws of physics.
"As the parent who has children in elementary school,
[Peters] is exactly the type of person I would want to be
there."
--
Dan Clore
My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587154838/thedanclorenecro/
Lord We˙rdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
-- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"
|
