Helping Students Think About Creation

In the ongoing struggle to free students from hearing only about evolution as the explanation for life's origin, we must think about ways to creatively and legitimately expose students to the weaknesses of the theory and alternatives to it.

Creation and Social Studies

Believe it or not, the California Department of Education has made the academic case that exposing students to creationists' ideas is legitimate for public schools to do. The 2016 California Science Framework states: "Discussions of divine creation, ultimate purposes, or ultimate causes (the why) are appropriate to the history-social science and English-language arts curricula." (p.XIII)

This means that the topic of creation can be taught in two classes in California and the case can be made for its academic legitimacy in other states as well. In a social studies class, the Creation story itself could be read and discussed when learning about ancient civilizations, Hebrew culture, and Middle Eastern history. 

It is equally valid to read and discuss the Creation story while studying the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. America's founding fathers believed that "all men are created equal" and "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights." 

In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln stated: "Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." 

Dr. King based his famous speech on the understanding that a Creator made men equal: "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'" 

Our nation's view of life's origin has been central to our liberty! It is legitimate to teach about it and to expose students to more recent understandings of scientists who hold to ideas of creation. A teacher could teach a few of the main points about creationism and give the students some tough questions to ask their biology teacher! 

Intelligent Design & Environmental Lessons

There are legitimate and appropriate ways to expose students to a Christian worldview without teaching them directly about creationism. For example, in teaching about weather and clouds, a teacher can point out the difference between random chance (clouds looking like animals) and intelligent design (sky writing); or when studying rock formations or geography, a teacher could, again, point out the difference between random chance and intelligent design by contrasting cliffs that look like faces and the faces on Mt. Rushmore. As Percival Davis and Dean Kenyon point out in their textbook, Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins: 

"Whenever we recognize a sequence as meaningful symbols, we assume it is the handiwork of some intelligent cause. We make the assumption even if we cannot decipher the symbols, as when an archaeologist discovers some ancient inscription on stone. If science is based upon experience, then science tells us the message encoded in DNA must have originated from an intelligent cause." 

Creation and Mathematics

A math teacher can help students think about the improbability of evolution when teaching about exponents. Without ever going into a refutation of evolution, nor ever mentioning the Bible, God, or creationism, the teacher can simply use the improbability of evolution as one example of a very large number expressed in exponents. 

Francis Crick, the scientist who was a co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, once wrote: "If a particular amino acid sequence was selected by chance, how rare an event would this be? 

"This is an easy exercise in combinatorials. Suppose the chain is about two hundred amino acids long; this is, if anything, rather less than the average length of proteins of all types. Since we have just twenty possibilities at each place, the number of possibilities is twenty multiplied by itself some two hundred times. This is conveniently written 20200 and is approximately equal to 10260, that is, a one followed by 260 zeros. 

"...Moreover, we have only considered a polypeptide chain of rather modest length. Had we considered longer ones as well, the figure would have been even more immense.... The great majority of sequences can never have been synthesized at all, at any time." 

(Life Itself: Its Origin and Nature (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1981) p. 51-2; As quoted by Henry M. Morris, That Their Words May Be Used Against Them, (Institute for Creation Research, 1997) p. 52) 

This simple illustration may stick with students through all their biology teacher's lectures on the "certainty" of evolution. 

Fishing For Evolution

Warren Nord, in his book, Religion and American Education, points out that when it comes to teaching about evolution, science classes today are like a fisherman who only uses a net with a three-inch mesh, and concludes that there are no fish smaller than three inches since he's never caught any. 

Nord remarks that the "net" science uses doesn't catch everything there is to explain life, yet only what is caught in the "three-inch net" of science is considered real. For example, science requires natural explanations of events; it has no room for miracles or God. 

Teachers can remind students that science, by definition, cannot explain all that is real or important. 

Becoming An Influencer

It is important that Christians at every level within the public schools have more confidence to be people of influence in their spheres of activity. Throughout the public school system there are Christian educators, administrators, school board members, and parents – millions of people! As they begin influencing people around them, they can create an environment that allows the academic freedom to explore alternatives to evolution. 

Creating Academic Freedom

There are 97,000 public schools in America and I believe there are not only Christians in every school, but there are Christians in every classroom. Imagine their impact as they gain greater confidence that voicing Christian perspectives on academic subjects is culturally relevant, academically legitimate, legally permitted, and morally imperative! 

Rather than looking at schools as battlefields (since nothing much grows on a battlefield), it would be more productive to look at them as gardens – places where God has put each of us to appropriately and lawfully plant seeds of truth in the lives of those within our immediate sphere of activity. Your garden may involve a small number of people – maybe between four and eight. It may include teachers, parents, administrators, school board members, and students. 

To begin gardening in your school, visit our home page and sign up to receive our free E-Newsletter. This will provide you with encouraging stories of others who are gardening, plus informative articles and gardening ideas you can easily use to bring a Christian influence to your school. 

Encouraging A Moral Conscience in Students

In 1787, at the age of 81, Benjamin Franklin made this astute observation about freedom and moral character: "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." 

Franklin recognized that political freedom is directly tied to a people's ability to govern their moral behavior. The less well behaved, the greater the need for rule-makers and rule-enforcers. Personal morality leads to social morality. Without personal virtue, all the laws in the world can only dictate punishment, they cannot empower a person to right conduct. 

Every educator wants students to act virtuously. Virtuous behavior goes beyond merely proper behavior. A student can conform to rules of conduct out of fear of punishment rather than from a sense of right and wrong. Acting virtuously arises from a moral conscience which prompts the actions. Certainly, conduct and character formation are intertwined, and expecting good behavior contributes to the formation of character. But, without virtuous character, students merely submit to rules until they are not being watched. Thus, as Franklin would say, "they have more need of masters" to oversee their conduct. 

However, the topic of forming a moral conscience in public school students is troublesome for some educators because it sits so close to religious beliefs. The dictionary defines conscience as "the faculty of recognizing the difference between right and wrong with regard to one's conduct coupled with a sense that one should act accordingly." It is the word "should" that causes problems for some educators, because it begs the question, "Why should a person conduct himself virtuously?" This is where religious faith comes into play for many people. They answer the "why" by stating that God expects them to be virtuous. As Rabbi Harold Kushner writes: 

"The psalmist loves the law. . . because he is happier living in a world where people feel addressed and summoned by God. It is law that keeps us from returning to the jungle, to a situation where the strongest take what they want." 

Laying down rules is certainly a simple way to point students to right conduct. But Kushner makes the point that, for people of faith, behind the law is God. This answers the question of why they should conduct themselves morally. Of course, this gets sticky for public school educators who cannot teach that students should act virtuously because God requires it. 

It is interesting, however, that the vast majority of students today consider religion to be an important part of their lives. The Josephson Institute of Ethics surveyed over 20,000 middle school and high school students regarding their ethics. In answer to the question, "how important to you is your religion?" three out of four (76%) middle school students and better than six out of ten (63.2%) high school students indicated religion to be "essential" or "very important" to them. Only 9.3 percent and 14.8 percent, respectively, indicated religion was "unimportant" to their personal lives. Nearly the same percentages were found in answer to the question, "how important is living up to your religious standards?" 

With this in mind, there is a way for public schools to help students form a moral conscience directly from their religious faith, and at the same time not violate any First Amendment prohibitions concerning church-state relations. Public schools can encourage students to act on their already-existing moral conscience derived from their religious faith. A school need not endorse a religion in order to encourage students to act on the religious principles they, at least, say they desire to practice. 

How, then, can a school encourage the fostering of a moral conscience formed by religion without actually endorsing or establishing that religion? A school can inform students of their religious rights on campus and encourage them to exercise their rights. The issue, then, is one of rights, not religion. 

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Too many school administrators prefer a "don't-ask-don't-tell" approach to the subject of religious rights on campus. The attitude is, "don't ask me about your rights, and I won't tell you what they are." However, this reluctance to be pro-active about explaining students' religious rights is unnecessary, especially in light of the U.S. Department of Education's document on religious expression in public schools. 

Originally published in 1998, the document is prefaced by a statement from President Clinton: 

"...Schools do more than train children's minds. They also help to nurture their souls by reinforcing the values they learn at home and in their communities. I believe that one of the best ways we can help our schools do this is by supporting students' rights to voluntarily practice their religious beliefs, including prayer in schools..." 

Secretary Richard Riley then introduces the guidance with a letter to American educators. In it he writes: 

"The great advantage of the presidential guidance, however, is that they allow school districts to avoid contentious disputes by developing a common understanding among students, teachers, parents and the broader community that the First Amendment does in fact provide ample room for religious expression by students while at the same time maintaining freedom from government-sponsored religion." 

The guidance were updated and reissued in 2003 by Secretary Rod Paige.  (While this document is from 2003, it is still available on the Department's website and considered current by Department officials.) Similar to Richard Riley, Paige did not intend the guidance to simply sit on a school administrator's shelf, only to be used when needed. Instead, he urged school officials to take the initiative in informing students of their rights on campus. He wrote: 

"I encourage you to distribute this guidance widely in your community and to discuss its contents and importance with school administrators, teachers, parents, and students." 

With such resounding support, a school principal can confidently have teachers explain to students their religious rights at the beginning of the school year. This may, at first, sound like a radical idea. After all, that would involve actually explaining to students things like their right to pray, to talk about their faith with classmates, to express their faith in class assignments, to wear clothing with religious symbols, and to read their religious scriptures at school. Just the thought of having every teacher in a school do this is enough to cause some administrators to reach for the antacid. 

But just imagine the impact this could have on the moral climate of the school. As we have already seen, the majority of students at every grade level consider their faith to be important. If the school makes a point of, in essence, saying, "We welcome you to live your faith on campus," the climate will be more inclusive for students of faith. Such action will remind all students that a person's development is more than just education of the brain, it is also the nurturing of the heart. 

Currently, we may be sending the wrong signal to students. Because public schools are too often viewed as religion-free zones, we may be subtly implying to students that religion (and the conduct it motivates) is not all that important to one's development. On the other hand, by openly affirming students' religious rights, schools will be inviting students to conduct themselves by the dictates of their religious beliefs. Such action by schools certainly cannot hurt, and it may encourage students to live by the moral conscience their religion has cultivated in them. 

Inviting Lawsuits? 

Some may fear that being this up front about religion will invite the ACLU to bring a law suit. But, how can any organization dedicated to promoting civil liberties be opposed to telling people what their civil liberties are? The school officials who have teachers explain students' religious rights at the beginning of the school year will not be establishing religion, they will be promoting students' rights. They will be acting on what both Secretary Riley and Secretary Paige recommend they do.

Can't this be done by drafting a memo to parents or including it in the student handbook? Does a school have to verbalize the students' rights? I believe the impact of actually talking about it, of actually telling students their rights is what will have a positive affect on the school climate. 

Developing a moral conscience in children and young people is a multifaceted and lengthy process. It involves many inputs in a student's life, and schools cannot be expected to be the only molder of character. Neither do schools need to be silent regarding one of the most powerful molders of character -- religion. Moral conscience will be better supported when the adults, the authority figures, in schools say to students of all grades that religion is a welcome aspect of peoples' lives, and that it is welcome to be expressed on campus. 

Suggested Actions for School Officials

1. Obtain a copy of the U.S. Department of Education's "Religious Expression in Public Schools: A Statement of Principles".  While this document is from 2003, it is still available on the Department's website and considered current by Department officials.

2. Conduct a meeting with teachers in each building to review and discuss the guidance. Explain the need to inform students of their religious rights and how those rights should be explained by each teacher. 

3. Create copies of the guidance to hand out to students and send home to parents. 

© Gateways to Better Education

By The Book/Understanding the Proper Process for Removing a Book

Understanding the Proper Process for Removing a Book from School Use

Can a school remove objectionable library books without running afoul of the First Amendment? The answer is a decided "yes," says Bryan Brown, a staff attorney for the American Family Association's Center for Law and Policy. Brown cautions that any removal of a book should only be attempted according to guidelines deduced from the U.S. Supreme Court's Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico, 457 US, 853 (1982). Brown offers three points that administrators and school board members should keep in mind: 

1. Fashion a policy

If the school board has no policy regarding guidelines for book challenges, one must be drafted. A review of any challenged book should be in accordance with guidelines drafted in advance of the challenge. 

The policy should create a review committee comprised of parents and educators appointed by the board. Committee members should serve by designation of the school board, not by election, because the courts prefer that a committee be removed from politics and partisan pressure. Parents can ask to be considered for serving on such a committee. 

2. Review legitimate complaints

Once such policies are in place, any parent or educator can recommend that a book be reviewed. Books in question should be truly offensive and patently unsuitable. 

Once a book is challenged as being unsuitable, the school board must refer the book to the review committee. The review committee must then read and research the book, taking into account, at a minimum, the following: the book's educational suitability, good taste, relevance and age-appropriateness. Any and all published reviews, especially by professional associations, should be discussed and considered. Alternatives to removal, such as restricted access, should be considered. 

3. Document your reasoning

The committee should decide, by majority vote, whether to retain the book in the library or have it removed. If the vote is for removal, then the majority should put their reasons in writing. Acceptable reasons include their finding that the book is "pervasively vulgar" or "educationally unsuitable." 

Unacceptable reasons would be that the book is "un-American," religiously intolerable, or that its removal is a bid to prescribe an orthodoxy in "politics, nationalism, religion or other matters of opinion." 

The school board must then review the committee's recommendation. Like the committee, the school board should document the reasons supporting its action. If challenged, the courts will review the entire process, ensuring that the removal was undertaken through "established, regular and facially unbiased procedures for the review of controversial materials." 

Brown cites an example of parents in Medford, Wisconsin, who challenged the book Iceman, written by Chris Lynch and endorsed as a "Best Book" for young adults (sixth through eighth graders) by the American Library Association. Medford parents raised concerns that the book was in the local junior high library. 

Iceman is the fictional tale of a prone-to-violence, 14-year-old hockey player who has an unhealthy obsession with death. The book is laced with four-letter words, blasphemous slang, and repeated interviews with a creepy mortician who claims to "pimp for the dead folks I got." 

The school board voted to remove the book from the library. By following well-planned guidelines, your district will have more success in reviewing and, if necessary, removing inappropriate books. 

© 2000 - 2016, Gateways to Better Education 

Resurrect Easter in Your School

You can help get the Easter story told to your child's class this year. How? By presenting the non-threatening Holiday Restoration Card from Gateways to Better Education to your child's teacher. You also may want to ask the teacher if you can share what Easter means to your family, and even read scripture. 

Diane Borja, a parent, wrote: "The effectiveness of the Easter cards multiplied like bunnies!" She shared the card with her prayer group, and every mom purchased a card to give to their child's teacher. 

"I bought extra cards," Diane explained, "and mailed them to teacher friends in other school districts. My friends were elated and enthusiastically shared the information with fellow teachers." "Thanks to your Easter card," Diane added, "I did a Passover/Easter presentation (complete with a homemade tomb and figures) in my son's second grade class. I had the privilege of explaining the historical meaning of the holiday in a fifth grade class as well." 

The eight-page Easter card tells the humorous story of an encounter between the Easter Bunny and a teacher. The bunny explains that the true message of Easter is about new life in Jesus. The teacher raises all the objections commonly heard from public school educators, but in this story, the smart little bunny is very familiar with U.S. court cases. He helps the teacher understand that teaching about Jesus at Easter is legally permitted. The card also includes legal documentation, Constitutionally-sound lesson plan ideas, and more! 

EASTER RESOURCES:

Order the EASTER CARD, Bunny goes to School, to give to your teacher.

Download our Easter Lesson Plan for Public Schools by CLICKING HERE.

Similar in appearance to a middle school textbook, it adapts Luke 22-24 into a textbook-style lesson with pictures, vocabulary, culture facts, and discussion questions.

We would love to hear how you helped restore Easter in your school. Tell us your story here.

Holiday Restoration Campaign

What will happen if our nation forgets the messages portrayed in our holidays? Many of our children are learning only the secular side of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. They never understand that these traditional holidays teach important lessons about Christianity. 

The problem goes beyond how Christianity is treated during the holidays. Even the mention of God is now suppressed in many classrooms. Both teachers and students are uncertain about their rights of religious expression. Many feel that the law forbids any discussion of God or even praying privately over their lunch. 

The Holiday Restoration Campaign is designed to help correct misinformation and restore accurate teaching of the religious nature of these traditional American holidays. 

Join us in restoring the real reasons for the seasons for public school children. 

An Easy Way to Proclaim the Truth

Gateways to Better Education has published unique materials that open the eyes of educators regarding what the law actually says they can do in the classroom to commemorate religious holidays. The information is packaged in non-threatening holiday cards for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. 

Each 8-page card uses a lighthearted story to show the teacher that teaching about the holidays is legal, and that it is good education for the children. Each card also contains different legal documentation and lesson plan ideas for the teacher to use. By the end of the school year, the teacher will have a better understanding of religious expression and accommodation in public schools. 

Our goal is for every Christian parent to give the cards to their children's teachers. We have found that by the end of the last Christian holiday of the school year (Easter), many of the hearts and minds of educators have opened to the idea of teaching the truth behind each holiday.

Three Powerful Elements Combined in Each Card

Persuasion: Each card is designed to convince educators that teaching about the holiday is a good thing to do.

Documentation: Legal quotes and documentation assure educators that teaching about the holidays is legal.

Action: Each card contains lesson plan ideas to show educators how to teach about the holiday.

How the Campaign Works

The goal of our campaign is to have as many Christian parents as possible give cards to their children's teachers. Also, more and more teachers are purchasing the cards for themselves and for other educators. They find the legal documentation and lesson plan ideas very helpful and reassuring. 

Some of the benefits include:

• More Christian parents will make personal contacts with teachers and administrators.

• Parents, by reading the cards themselves, will learn what the law states about the rights of religious expression in the classroom.

• Teachers and administrators will see the size of the religious community by the sheer number of cards they receive.

• More children than ever before will learn the truth about the religious nature of the holidays.

• Schools will become more open to religious expression and accommodation.

Here's How to Get Started

Parents can purchase our holiday card for their children's teachers and later follow up with them to ask what they thought about the card. Teachers can purchase cards to share with like-minded colleagues. Click HERE to shop.

Teacher-Reacher Packets are also available for parents. They make it easy for you to have a year-long outreach to your child's teacher. The packet contains a set of three holiday cards (1 Thanksgiving, 1 Christmas, 1 Easter), two note cards, a parent-teacher conference checklist to improve communication, and a prayer sheet for recording school-related prayer requests. Quantity discount prices are available. 

To learn how to promote the Holiday Restoration Campaign in your church, call Gateways toll free at (800) 929-1163, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time). Gateways has promotional materials available and can offer advice and support.

What Others Are Saying

"The Holiday Restoration Campaign gives teachers and administrators the encouragement and documentation they need to support religious expression and accommodation in their schools. I'd love to see this happen in every school district in America!"
Josh McDowell,
Campus Crusade for Christ

"I've examined these cards carefully and, clearly, they do not violate any constitutional rule or regulation whatsoever."
Judge William Lawless,
Former Dean of Notre Dame Law School

"The cards had a tremendous impact. They just made our Christmas at school!"
Judy Johnson,
A mom from Novi, Michigan

Other holiday resources: Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter.