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Re: [Phys-l] The attack on science is political, not philosophical



This is certainly a good argument. Of course when the anti-evolutionists are in a majority should they be allowed to impose their will on the schools? The separation clause in the bill of rights might prevent this.

The problem is that the public including non-parents have not agreed on the goals of public educucation. So the opt out is often the only viable solution in idividual cases. But, I think it can be handled in such a way that the opt out is not available. If the evolutionary model is presented as just that, and that the students are not required to belive it, but only to know about it, then it should not really be an opt out. Similarly studying classical mythology, or comparative religion is learning about historical things and not requiring a change in belief. The opt out of special education should not be a problem. Parents can opt out of blood transfustions for religious reasons, except when the courts have determined this would be child abuse. Is opting out of special education child abuse? Actually in the past students have been placed in dull special ed classes when this was not justified. And still many schools wish to deny advanced classes to LD students who can handle them.

Parents may often want their children to be carbon copies of themselves, but most parents I know want children to be successful adults and to find their own way. We certainly must demand a level of behavior consistent with many social norms. So defecating on the sidewalk should not be tolerable when there are adequate lavatory facilities. But these norms certainly vary from one culture to another.

In previous times serial killers have been tolerated because they have been valuable to society in military positions. Some famous conquerers may have actually been a type of serial killer, and they were often celebrated by their people.

So in the end motivation is quite varied, and the solutions are not as clear as one would like. In college opt out is not a problem because the anti-evolutionst can take chemistry rather than astronomy or biology. Opting out of studying evolution in college biology is not tolerable.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX

John M. Clement
Houston, TX


I'm less concerned about motivations than what I perceive to be the purpose of public education. In my mind, it is to serve the society as a whole. It is paid for by the tax-payers. A student's parents are a VERY small subset of that society and therefore I have problems with parents being able to opt their children out of portions of that education. In many cases they can even opt their children out of special education that has been diagnosed as needed by the child. Parents, of course have the 'right' to opt out of public education altogether--private school, home schooling--but selective opt-outs should not, IMO, be part of the public system.