Tuesday, January 17, 2006

 

Deer, Meet Headlights

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The following is a statement that Sharon Lemburg, the teacher at the El Tejon Unified School District in Lebec, California, sent to the local weekly newspaper, The Mountain Enterprise, in "defense" of her course "Philosophy of Design":

"In all thy ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."

The idea of this class was not created on the spur of the moment. I believe that this is the class that the Lord wanted me to teach.

And despite all odds, I am teaching the class.

Some will look at this and say, "well, she has another motive ... such as to preach the Gospel." But you know that was not my intention.

My motives were honest and sincere, in that all I desired was to present an educational experience to give the students an opportunity to hear and study about the philosophers of design, to be able to critically analyze them and to learn to examine the opinions or philosopies (sic) and to weigh them . . . to ask who made the statement, what is their bias, what is their philosophy, what evidence do they bring?

Each student in my class will have the opportunity to hear and study philosophies concerning the origin of life.

These ideas represent atheistic, agnostic, liberal and Christian views. We are looking at the ways these views have shaped and changed our world views, and I am challenging these students to know what they think and what those thoughts are based on.

To know it because they believe it, not because someone else says ‘it is so,’ but to become critical thinkers who can express their own beliefs.

--Sharon Lemburg,
Philosophy of Design instructor
January 8, 2006
I thought the assumption that there are liberals and then there are Christians most telling, as was the comparison between atheism / agnosticism and Christianity instead of "theism." One wonders if Spinoza's god would get much shrift from Ms. Lemburg . . . assuming she has ever heard of Spinoza.
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Fortunately, the school board has come to its senses (if the report from the Associated Baptist Press is correct) and settled the case with Americans United for Separation of Church and State, thus saving Ms. Lemburg from becoming the Left Coast's version of William Buckingham.
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According to the report, the school board has released the following statement:
No school over which the school district has authority, including the high school, shall offer, presently or in the future, the course entitled 'Philosophy of Design' or 'Philosophy of Intelligent Design' or any other course that promotes or endorses creationism, creation science, or intelligent design.
As I have noted before, there are probably constitutional ways to teach ID in public schools. Presumably, the "promotes or endorses" is intended in the sense the courts have used those terms in prior Establishment cases and leaves open the possibility of a truly neutral course being offered. But given Ms. Lemburg's attempt to single-handedly prove the plaintiff's' case, it was no doubt wise of the board to scuttle her course before more damage was done.
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Comments:
Your post title nails it. It's painfully clear from her letter that she really has no concept of intellectual rigor or open inquiry. I actually feel a little sorry for her.

On the other hand, I bet she's an excellent special ed teacher.
 
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