Heads-up: Anti-evolution heads south to Highlands County

The Tampa Tribune (Highlands Today) reports that Highlands County school board members need to learn their science. This is the first county that’s not in north Florida to have this discussion. They haven’t done a resolution yet, but they want to:

SEBRING — Four of five members of the School Board of Highlands County oppose the proposed change in the state’s science standards that would present evolution as fact to students.

Norris, who is also a Lutheran minister, has stated that evolution should not be taught as fact and that students should be able to discuss creationism in class.

School Board Vice Chairman Andy Tuck said Thursday, “as a person of faith, I strongly oppose any study of evolution as fact at all. I’m purely in favor of it staying a theory and only a theory.

“I won’t support any evolution being taught as fact at all in any of our schools.”

About Brandon Haught

Communications Director for Florida Citizens for Science.
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8 Responses to Heads-up: Anti-evolution heads south to Highlands County

  1. Spirula says:

    as a person of faith, I strongly oppose any study of evolution as fact at all.

    If parents generate a lawsuit claiming that religion is being used as a criteria for what is taught in the public classroom, they sure won’t have a hard time finding ample evidence.

  2. JLO says:

    I didn’t want to register just to leave a comment on the TBO site, but the article is (as usual) slanted. Whether intentionally or not is anyone’s guess.

    Right off the bat:

    … the proposed change in the state’s science standards that would present evolution as fact to students.

    Wrong!

    The standards would present the theory of evolution as a scientific theory. Since it is not a fact but rather a scientific theory supported by many facts from many disciplines, that is exactly how it will be presented.

    Here’s another:

    … evolution should not be taught as fact and that students should be able to discuss creationism in class.

    Misleading!

    They are already able to discuss whatever they want in class, that doesn’t mean they get to decide what gets taught as science. There are times and places in any school to discuss science, religion, philosophy, sex, drugs, crime, politics … whatever a student wants to talk about there will be someone there to discuss it with them. But in biology class they should talk about biology.

    And then there’s this:

    … as a person of faith, I strongly oppose any study of evolution as fact at all. I’m purely in favor of it staying a theory and only a theory.

    And how did he come to know it as a theory?
    Answer: because that’s how it’s taught.

    I just don’t see how these people can be so stupid. It’s not religion itself. I know a lot of smart people of faith. It seems to be a combination of religion and self-congratulatory, stubborn, literalist, us-vs-them bs attitude.

    I am sick of it. (But at the same time I can’t get enough of it, which is why I keep coming back to this forum!)

  3. S.Scott says:

    I don’t know where to post this, but since this is the newest I’m soooo disgusted!! We ALL know that all of the students in Florida are Christian, right?? ……….NOT!
    Take a look! …

    http://www.news4jax.com/news/15133424/detail.html

  4. S.Scott says:

    I feel awful for that poor girl.

  5. Spirula says:

    all of the students in Florida are Christian

    Well they sure as hell better be! Don’t you remember? This is a Christian nation! Not a Christian? Well, then you’re not a True American!

    (Yeah, so what if it was established by all those nancy-boy deists like Jefferson, Franklin, Madison et. al., who went out of their way to make it clear that government and religion must not be intertwined (1st amendment, no religious test for office).) James Kennedy and Pat Robberson says it is a Christian nation and that’s good enough for me.)

    Sheesh! What was that girl thinking! That should could be a member of a different religions and be treated with respect?! Ha! He (the ass-wipe teacher) showed her the meaning of respect in a Christian nation!

    Next thing you know you’ll be telling us that if the world stopped spinning we really wouldn’t fall off.

  6. ABO says:

    S.Scott

    Hi, I couldn’t find anything in this article which indicated this teacher could be a Christian. Was that information somewhere else? This teacher might just be not fully developed from his common ape like ancestors.

    This girl should be able to take the garbage if she really has faith in what she believes. Christians put up with this junk all the time. Check out Spirula’s post .

    Now getting back on track, if I’m not mistaken Highlands County is the home of this stupid First Church of Evolution. http://www.fcefaith.org What do you think about that? Are these nuts being discriminated against because their religion is being portrayed as science when they say it’s a faith. Does the 1st amendment apply to all churches or just the ones Spirula doesn’t like?

  7. Noodlicious says:

    “Next thing you know you’ll be telling us that if the world stopped spinning we really wouldn’t fall off.”

    Of course we won’t fall off! His Noodly Appendages will hold us on! Sheesh!

  8. Noodlicious says:

    ABO

    “if I’m not mistaken Highlands County is the home of this stupid First Church of Evolution. http://www.fcefaith.org What do you think about that?
    Correlating the Institute’s F through A point grading system in relation to the averaged murder rates within the continental United States, according to the FBI’s uniform crime reports, the grades look like this.”

    State Science Grade Annual murders per 100,000

    F 4.466
    D 4.514
    C 5.087
    B 5.983
    A 6.283

    I think they got that upside down there since the USA has the lowest acceptance of evolutionary theory in the world but also the highest levels of violent crime in the western world.

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