Teacher burns cross on student's arm

[bsmooth]

Is there another link/source that the rest of us aren't privy too?

Where else but TDMMC could "accused of preaching his Christian beliefs" become "teaching creationism" and conducting "mass"? 

Fresh from the link itself.

Other findings show that Freshwater taught that carbon dating was unreliable to argue against evolution.

He is a proud christian who is teaching against evolution. That could be taken as he is trying to open the door for creationism under its shiny new packaging " Intellegent Design".
Also quoting a song in jest from a very silly movie is not what I would really call persecuting christians.
RTW- wether you use a device to burn an image into the flesh of a child or a cigarette, iron, etc., it can still be looked upon as a form of abuse. You must get parents permission for everything in schools nowadays to avoid litigation, so I somehow doubt kids giving their okay for this is kosher.
I think this is ultimately a teacher who made a bonehead decision, and it has some minor religious undertones that is allowing people on both sides to run with it and blow it out of purportion. Take out the religious overtones and just look at it as a teacher branding his students as part of a lab, and he looks like a tool who should probably lose his job, as there were/are others ways to demonstrate how this device works.

[simeon]

He's a science teacher teaching creationism. He is NOT one of the schools best teachers.

Why do you say that ? Evolution is not pure science, as a matter of fact its part of the atheist agenda, but that religion or lack of one is ok to teach. While many scientist do believe in creation in the science form, this is a subject that has great arguments on both sides.

QFT...Especially since this is a PUBLIC school.

But it is ok when a public school in California can force kids to read the kuron, take on a Musleum name and force them to wage their own jihad, where was the aclu on that one ?

don't worry that is ok in public schools though.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/000412.php

[TonyB0D]

Why do you say that ? Evolution is not pure science, as a matter of fact its part of the atheist agenda, but that religion or lack of one is ok to teach. While many scientist do believe in creation in the science form, this is a subject that has great arguments on both sides.

evolution IS science.  the things that darwin predicted back before there was even electricity are being proven with every scientific advancement we make (such as genetics).  evolution has been both observed in nature and in science labs.  there is no rational, cohesive argument for intelligent design (aka creationism).

and to call evolution the "atheists agenda" is just ludicrous and false.  intelligent design is a religious agenda because the only people that believe in intelligent design are religious people.   evolution is believed by all religious and non-religions.

[run_to_win]

Other findings show that Freshwater taught that carbon dating was unreliable to argue against evolution.

So?  He's not the only person who doubts carbon dating.     

He is a proud christian who is teaching against evolution.

Teaching against, or providing another possibility?   

That could be taken as he is trying to open the door for creationism under its shiny new packaging " Intellegent Design".

Sure it could be, much like a teacher gaining the trust of his students could be taken as him grooming them to be victims of pedophilia.  (link). 

wether you use a device to burn an image into the flesh of a child or a cigarette, iron, etc., it can still be looked upon as a form of abuse.

I'm sure that anything "you" disagree with can be considered a form of abuse.  Apparently this was not painful like a cigarette or iron.  It's unlikely the kids would submit to torture.  It left the temporarily physically "scarred" - like a temporary tatoo.

Had he chose any non-religious shape then this wouldn't be news.

I think this is ultimately a teacher who made a bonehead decision, and it has some minor religious undertones that is allowing people on both sides to run with it and blow it out of purportion. Take out the religious overtones and just look at it as a teacher branding his students as part of a lab, and he looks like a tool who should probably lose his job, as there were/are others ways to demonstrate how this device works.

Speaking of people running with it and blowing it out of proportion....

First it was implications/comparisons to pediphilia.  Now it's branding?  Brands are permanent.  Writing on them with a permanent marker seems to be a more appropriate analogy.

[run_to_win]

People make evolution sound as simple and provable as gravity.  It's the best scentific theory we have at this time but there are still a lot of questions.

(I know, I know ... Gravity is not simple.  An apple falling from a tree ... simple.  Explaining why and how the apple fell ..... nail that and there's a Nobel Prize with your name on it. )     

[Sunstroke]

God created evolution

Done and done...

[simeon]

God created evolution

Done and done...

Disagree, theres no suchthing as evolution.
let's get this back on subject.
Everyone agree's what this guy did was wrong, therefore should lose his job.

[Thundergod]

Cuz humans look like VERY teeny people when ejaculated, and just grow inside the egg in a woman's womb. Looks like a 9 month evolution to me. Why not a gene pool?

[simeon]

Cuz humans look like VERY teeny people when ejaculated, and just grow inside the egg in a woman's womb. Looks like a 9 month evolution to me. Why not a gene pool?

Huh ? You are saying birth of a child is evolution in process ?

[bsmooth]

So?  He's not the only person who doubts carbon dating.     

Teaching against, or providing another possibility?   

Sure it could be, much like a teacher gaining the trust of his students could be taken as him grooming them to be victims of pedophilia.  (link). 

I'm sure that anything "you" disagree with can be considered a form of abuse.  Apparently this was not painful like a cigarette or iron.  It's unlikely the kids would submit to torture.  It left the temporarily physically "scarred" - like a temporary tatoo.

Had he chose any non-religious shape then this wouldn't be news.

Speaking of people running with it and blowing it out of proportion....

First it was implications/comparisons to pediphilia.  Now it's branding?  Brands are permanent.  Writing on them with a permanent marker seems to be a more appropriate analogy.

Had he chose a much more intelligent way to demonstrate this piece of lab equipment, as I am sure this is not the optimal way to show how it works in labs around the world, then it would not have been an issue at all, but you seem to ignore this so you can have a way to fly your anti liberal flag.
I find it supremely hypocritical that you engaged in 6+ pages ripping apart the teaching profession and the wages teachers get paid, especially when they are not held accountable for their actions, yet when a teacher who obviously screwed up, yet seems to share your religious views, you are all over how wrong it is, and it is the liber persecution of a god fearing christian teacher.

[TonyB0D]

Disagree, theres no suchthing as evolution.

what are you smoking?  there is plenty of proof that evolution has happened....darwin's finches and lactose intolerance in humans for example.

Cuz humans look like VERY teeny people when ejaculated, and just grow inside the egg in a woman's womb. Looks like a 9 month evolution to me. Why not a gene pool?

most people are mistaken in their definition of evolution.  evolution does not describe the course of individual life itself, but rather refers to the process over millions of years.  evolution says small changes (such as gene mutations) take place over the course of generations.  it describes how organisms adapt to their environment and develop new ways to cope with change.  if you take groups of the same species and put them in completely different environments, over hundreds of generations they will take completely different paths in their developments, so much so that they could evolve into different species.

[Dave Gray]

People make evolution sound as simple and provable as gravity.  It's the best scentific theory we have at this time but there are still a lot of questions.

There are questions about how evolution fits together, but not whether or not it exists and is in place.

All of the evidence we have is confirming what we already know.  There is no scientific debate on whether or not evolution exists.  Not believing in it is lunacy.

Simeon has already made crazy (and false) anti-scientific statements on here before, regarding why bees can't fly, so I'm guessing that his resources aren't that reliable.  Seriously, there is no debate on the subject.

It's the same thing that happened with cigarettes causing cancer.  All scientific data pointed to it, but there were a few fringe scientists who were either uncredited, unable to reproduce their results to peer review, or were on the tobacco payroll. 

Evolution is.  Period.

[TonyB0D]

yeah, evolution is pretty much law/fact at this point, and it only gets stronger as science advances.


the people who argue the hardest against evolution are the people who misunderstand what evolution is all about.  it doesn't answer the question HOW or WHERE life came from, but it nails the process and paths it has taken to get to this point.

[fyo]

Why do you say that ? Evolution is not pure science, as a matter of fact its part of the atheist agenda, but that religion or lack of one is ok to teach. While many scientist do believe in creation in the science form, this is a subject that has great arguments on both sides.

Sigh... no, there are NOT great arguments on both sides. There is, however, a very small number of people confined almost completely to a single country (the US) who are, apparently, completely nuts and try to push an agenda of "Intelligent Design". The rest of the world relies on science. Even the Vatican accepts evolution "in general" (they won't clarify their exact position - and the Vatican certainly isn't unified in its stance).

Many other, if not all, of the other major religions have no problem with evolution.

Trying to argue that "evolution as a science" is part of an "atheist agenda" is either ignorant or malicious.

[JoblessJayFiedler]

yeah, evolution is pretty much law/fact at this point, and it only gets stronger as science advances.

Although I agreed with you on most points, you should not make a category mistake and classify evolution within the same grounds as "laws/facts". Evolution, being a scientific theory, is the best explanation for a particular phenomenon, but could still be proven wrong. Never will a scientist state a theory as a definite truth because it could still potentially be falsified. Science is always changing and is never satisfied with a single answer and is always in a constant process in search for a better explanation.

To address the ORIGINAL POST, if the instructor actually taught religion in school, he should be fired. Based on our bylaws, it is illegal for religion to be taught in publicly funded educational institutions with the exception of high schools in Kansas. In no way is the argument for intelligent design a science. For anything to be considered a science, it must be fallible, parsimonious, and falsifiable. Intelligent design does not include any of the 3 components mentioned previously.