Creationism in Schools Is All The Rage

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It seems to be taken seriously as a school board candidate in the South these days you need to be a creationist. Although, some of these candidates get an "A" for their stance on sex ed, some also get an "F" for NOT keeping public education secular. Bold added below by me for emphasis.

School board candidates address issues at forum
By Kimberly C. Moore
Staff writer

Published: Sunday, August 1, 2010 at 10:53 p.m.

Eight of the 12 Alachua County School Board candidates who attended Sunday night's forum at Oak Hammock retirement community, along with stand-ins for two candidates who couldn't be there, agreed on one thing: age-appropriate sex education in schools is a must.

"One in four seniors in high school - girls - has an STD," said April Griffin, who is running for the District 1 seat. "Two hundred girls in Alachua County schools had a baby last year. A lot of parents don't want to teach them or don't know how to teach them."

Beyond that, it was an ideological free-for-all for the candidates running for the three open seats on the school board. About 100 people packed into a conference room, most of them residents in the retirement community, to listen as candidates addressed issues like the budget, creationism, sex education and merit pay for teachers.

Moderators pointed out that state funding for Alachua County schools has dropped 28 percent since the 2007-08 school year - including cuts of $17 million last year - and wanted to know what candidates would do to ensure increased funding levels.

"Florida has never, ever been kind to children in funding education," said Carol Oyenarte, who is running for the District 5 seat and helped in the effort to get a one mill increase in school funding from Alachua County taxpayers. "We're 49th in the nation. Part of that is that we just don't value education. Our community believes in education for our children. We have to keep persevering."

Many of the candidates said they would develop relationships with local lawmakers and urge them to fight for funding in the state capital.
Some of the candidates thought creationism has a place in public school education, with others saying it should be taught in a class that discusses theories or philosophies of all world religions. Some, though, said it belongs in church or at home.
"I am absolutely opposed to teaching creationism as science in our schools," said Rick Nesbit, who is running for the District 1 seat. "I would absolutely safeguard the separation of church and state."

You can read the remainder of the article here.

Atheists of Florida Stop Graduation Prayer

The Atheists of Florida successfully negotiated with Alonso High School and the Hillsborough County School District to prevent a prayer from being said at the graduation ceremony scheduled to take place on June 3rd.

The Atheists of Florida were contacted when a parent learned that Alonso High School principal Louis Diaz had rejected her appeal to remove the prayer from her son’s graduation ceremony. On Thursday May 20th, an Atheists of Florida attorney met with school officials and Principal Diaz and it was agreed that even though the word invocation would remain on the program there would be no religious message and a non-religious poem would be read instead.

The parents (who wish to remain anonymous) appreciated the quick work of the Atheists of Florida stating, “we are now looking forward to our son’s upcoming graduation ceremony.”   John Keiffer, president of the Atheists of Florida, was equally pleased with the outcome saying, “I commend Mr. Diaz and school officials for acting promptly and professionally to acknowledge the civil rights of our community.”

Read more here.

Of Rainbow's, Tuxedo's and Gays

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The ACLU has been tracking stories of discrimination of gay public school students. It bothers me to no end that stories like this are all to frequent. But, it does not surprise me that both of these stories take place in the south - no offense to my southern atheist friends. Will these people ever learn!

What Were They Thinking?!?
Banning Tuxedos and Rainbows

Earlier this month, the ACLU heard of a story about a young woman—a straight A student, goalie on the soccer team and a trumpet player—who was denied a photo in her school yearbook because she was wearing a tuxedo.
School officials told Ceara Sturgis, an openly gay senior at Wesson Attendance Center in Wesson, MS, that her photo would not appear in the yearbook because in it she is wearing a tuxedo, not the traditional drape worn by other female students. Assistant Superintendent Robert Holloway informed Ceara's mother that there was no policy in the student handbook requiring females to wear drapes.
 
>>Learn more about the case in Mississippi.

This reminds us of another ridiculous case in Florida where school officials tried to limit the self expression of students by banning rainbows—any kind of rainbow—including Reading Rainbow, the Apple logo and Pink Floyd t-shirts.

Thankfully, the case in Florida ended in a victory for First Amendment rights.

Check out the video to see the school board fight the insidious “Reading Rainbow” logo.

The ACLU is fighting for the First Amendment rights of students throughout the country. Trying to remove photos of women in tuxedos and rainbows at schools makes us really wonder: What were they thinking?!?