ACLU battles Ohio school district on covering creationism, conservative topics and Agenda 21, Glenn Beck blamed
The American Civil Liberties Union is battling an Ohio school district’s “controversial issues policy” that would mandate classroom discussions about creationism and other conservative issues. Think Progress reported on the story completely blaming Glenn Beck and calling it conspiracy theories:
Glenn Beck and his fictional Agenda 21 novel blamed for Ohio school district’s desire to include conservative issues in lessons
Ohio School District May Add Glenn Beck Conspiracy Theories To Curriculum
Springboro Community City School District’s new curriculum requires that “[a]ll sides of the issue should be given to the students in a dispassionate manner” to help them think critically and learn to “identify important issues.” The “controversial issues” include:
“…religion when not used in a historical or factual context, sex education, legalization of drugs, evolution/creation, pro-life/abortion, contraception/abstinence, conservatism/liberalism, politics, gun rights, global warming and climate change, UN Agenda 21 and sustainable development, and any other topic on which opposing points of view have been promulgated by responsible opinion and/or likely to arouse both support and opposition in the community.”
“The role of the teacher in the presentation of assigned issues is vitally important,” the policy states. “All sides of the issue should be given to the students in a dispassionate manner. The goal is for the students to be taught to think clearly on all matters of importance, and to make decisions in the light of all the material that has been presented or can be researched on the issues.”
Beck co-wrote a fictional book titled Agenda 21: A Thriller, but Think Progress is giving the radio host a lot more credit.
Teachers would have to provide equal weight to widely-accepted scientific theories like evolution and right-wing conspiracies advanced by Glenn Beck. Under the policy, students could not learn about sustainable development without also assessing the impact of U.N. Agenda 21, a series of non-binding U.N. recommendations for ensuring that economic growth does not undermine the environment, which conservatives believe will destroy American sovereignty and freedom. The Agenda was developed at a summit in Brazil in 1992 with support from President George H.W. Bush. – Think Progress
The ACLU criticized the district for adding evolution to the “controversial issues” list, noting that the policy “appears to explicitly permit the teaching of creationism.” “It has been firmly established that this practice is unconstitutional, in violation of the Establishment Clause,” ACLU legal director James L. Hardiman explained in a letter.
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Here in TN, they have taken steps though new legislation to allow creationism back into the classroom. This law turns the clock back nearly 100 years here in the seemingly unprogressive South and is simply embarrassing. There is no argument against the Theory of Evolution other than that of religious doctrine. The Monkey Law only opens the door for fanatic Christianity to creep its way back into our classrooms. You can see my visual response as a Tennessean to this absurd law on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2012/04/pulpit-in-classroom-biblical-agenda-in.html with some evolutionary art and a little bit of simple logic.
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