Latest Challenges to the Teaching of Evolution

They're one and the same - as far as I'm concerned!

Dunbar will not seek another term on SBOE
(By Kate Alexander, Austin American-Statesman, December 9, 2009)

Richmond Republican Cynthia Dunbar will not seek re-election next year to a second term on the State Board of Education, fellow board member David Bradley confirmed Wednesday

Dunbar, whose expansive district includes northern Travis County, wrote in an e-mail that she would provide a written statement on her plans later.

Dunbar has recently been teaching at the the Liberty University School of Law in Lynchburg, Va. That job and the commute has put great demands on her time, Bradley said.

“She will be missed,” Bradley said.

Dunbar has drawn a torrent of criticism for her staunch conservative views on education. In her book published last year entitled One Nation Under God, Dunbar calls public education a “subtly deceptive tool of perversion.”

Rebecca Osborne, an Austin educator, filed last week to run in the Republican primary for the seat.

Austin lawyer Brian Russell is also planning to run. He is a member of the State Republican Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Texas.

Eight seats on the 15-member State Board of Education are up next year. Among the sitting board members, Democrat Rick Agosto of San Antonio has also said he will not seek re-election next year.

Board Member Don McLeroy, the former chairman on the board, will be facing Thomas Ratliff, son of former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff, in the Republican primary.

“It’s going to be a referendum on the past two years. That’s why we’ve drawn all of these opponents,” McLeroy said. “I can’t wait.”

Teacher testifies that anti-evolution handouts did not promote religion
(By Dean Narciso, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH, December 11, 2009)

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- Classroom handouts questioning evolution were used as examples of faulty science, not to promote religion in the classroom, a Mount Vernon middle school teacher testified this morning in a hearing to determine if he should be fired.

The school board voted in 2008 that it intends to fire John Freshwater for teaching creationism and intelligent design, failing to remove religious materials from the classroom and burning crosses on students' arms.

He is entitled to a hearing before a referee, who will make a recommendation to the board. Freshwater is on leave from his teaching position at Mount Vernon Middle School.

The handouts, describing how species such as the woodpecker and giraffe could not have evolved, were used to demonstrate faulty analysis, bias and the wrongful application of the scientific method, Freshwater said.

"It's not good science," he said.

Parents of some of his students complained about the handouts, which they claimed that students were prohibited from taking home.

Freshwater testified that he was not trying to hide the material.

"I try to conserve paper. I would use them over and recycle them. If a kid's absent, I'd say 'What you need is right over there on the shelf.' "

Freshwater said he would continue his teaching methods today, claiming they work.

"I would hope other teachers would do the same thing," he said. "The method that I use is successful.

"It comes back to my (Ohio Achievement Test) scores. They're passing. It's working."

Asked during a break in the hearing if Freshwater's explanation is plausible, school district attorney David Millstone, said: "I can only laugh.

"There are students who have already testified that (the handout exercise) wasn't just for that purpose."

OHIO SCIENCE TEACHER HEARING UPDATE

Quote:

Teacher testifies that anti-evolution handouts did not promote religion
(By Dean Narciso, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH, December 11, 2009)

Freshwater testified that he was not trying to hide the material.

Defense rests in Freshwater hearing
(By Pamela Schehl, Mount Vernon News, December 12, 2009)

MOUNT VERNON " The defense rested its case to conclude Friday’s session of the contract termination hearing for suspended Mount Vernon middle school teacher John Freshwater.

Freshwater, who has been testifying for about 2 1/2 days, categorically denied all of the allegations brought against him by the board of education. He said, in effect, that the board’s decision to terminate his contract was based on incomplete, misleading, inaccurate and/or intentionally false information.

Referring frequently to Ohio Academic Content Standards for eighth-grade science and proper scientific method, Freshwater explained why he used certain materials mentioned in the investigative report " for example, a worksheet about the peppered moth. He said such materials were used to illustrate bias, and as examples of what was not good scientific method.

Freshwater said he did use the word “here” in classes when certain topics would arise in class.

“It’s to help students get a better understanding of abstract and concrete thinking,” he said.

He said some students would raise questions " about the age of the earth, for example " and “here” would be used to acknowledge the student’s query and move forward with the lesson. “Here” would indicate there was no eyewitness to the event, and that it is an abstract rather than a concrete scientific concept.

“Did you ever use the word ‘here’ to challenge what is in the textbook or to indicate that Biblical principles contradict the science?” asked Freshwater’s lawyer, Kelly Hamilton.

“Absolutely not,” replied Freshwater.

Hamilton also led Freshwater in a painstaking, comprehensive review of his performance evaluations dating from the 1990s. All were positive evaluations.

Alluding to some individuals’ alleged perception that Freshwater used his position as a teacher to promote particular religious beliefs and denigrate others, Hamilton asked a series of questions, including, “Do you have anything against Catholics?,” “Does having a Bible on your desk make you a Christian?” and “Did you ever refer to a higher being in science class?”

Freshwater replied “no” to all of those questions. He concluded his testimony by again saying the investigation by HR on Call was not complete and not neutral, and repeated his assertion that he “absolutely never taught creationism or intelligent design.”

In response to a question from Hamilton, Freshwater said one “can’t believe [a certain student] on anything.”

Freshwater also said he would have no problem returning to the classroom in Mount Vernon middle school and just picking up where he left off. He said he would not be a disgruntled employee in that situation.

“This hasn’t been easy for you or your family, has it?” asked Hamilton.

“No, it has not,” Freshwater said. “It has been hard on my family.”

It is expected that Freshwater’s cross-examination by school board attorney David Millstone will begin when the hearing resumes at 9 a.m. on Dec. 29.