No Fast Shuffle, No Copping-Out
Ted Corder has a right to be disappointed that he failed in his attempt to have scientific creationism taught in Post Falls public schools. But he’s wrong to complain Superintendent Richard Harris and the school board didn’t listen to his proposal.
They listened very carefully. Most other boards would have hidden behind the doctrine of church-state separation and dismissed the idea out of hand.
Post Falls school officials spent six months talking with creationism advocates and local pastors, gathering legal opinions, contacting school districts that have dealt with this controversy, and researching possible curriculum.
Ultimately, they ran up against the Idaho Constitution.
In a letter, the Idaho School Boards Association warned that “the district should not even consider attempting to see if scientific creationism can be taught without using religious doctrines” because it violates the state Constitution and could cause the district to lose public funds.
Harris could have hid behind that blunt statement, too. But he went the extra mile again by proposing a position statement that encourages respect for the diverse opinions in the community on the origins of the universe, solar system, Earth and life. The statement says:
“Proper teaching requires presentation of science as open-ended and without preset conclusions. No scientific theory should be represented to students as absolute and unchanging fact. Good science dictates that students be reminded of the tentative nature of conclusions resulting from scientific inquiry.”
It’s a good statement that should remind science teachers that they don’t have all the answers. That they shouldn’t attack and humiliate students who believe the universe was designed by an intelligent being. Most Americans do.
Corder and his supporters deserve credit for pushing this controversial issue onto center stage. Although some were embarrassed by the creationism fight, it triggered a lively debate that forced us to take a new look at evolution and revisit that age-old question: How did it all begin?
It also raised the question of whether this country has gone too far in expunging religion from its public institutions and discourse. There ought to be a place in public schools where students can express themselves about matters like the origins of life. Science, after all, offers many keys to unlocking the mysteries of the universe. But not all of them.