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Hernando Today

Evolution Lesson Raises Questions

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By LINNEA BROWN

Hernando Today

Published: September 30, 2008

SPRING HILL - Spring Hill resident Anita Koper thought she'd heard it all - until last week, when her 12-year-old daughter came home from school at Explorer K-8 and started asking her about "revolution."

"She said her science teacher told the class that in some religions, if you are bad, you come back in another life as a dog, cow or pig," Koper said.

She said she soon realized her daughter was asking about evolution, not revolution, and that her sixth-grade science teacher had mentioned the theory of reincarnation.

"He also told the class that if you are any religion, you can just go to a Catholic church and they will let you in if you give them money," Koper said. "I am Catholic and this teacher should get his facts straight before he starts talking about religion. Unless he's a theologian, he shouldn't be preaching about this."

But school officials - who dispute the second claim by the student as false - said the teacher was simply sticking to state-mandated science curriculum, which requires evolution to be taught.

Explorer's principal, Dominick Ferello, said the teacher stuck to the textbook lesson about creation, then went on to explain that there are other beliefs, as well.

"He told students there are other (beliefs), and everyone chooses what to believe," Ferello said. "He mentioned the others, then told them to talk to their parents for anything further when the kids started asking questions."

"The teacher told them, 'Everyone has a belief system and your parents will help you decide what to believe,'" he added, and said the teacher did nothing wrong.

Ferello suggested that perhaps some of the teacher's statements were misunderstood or taken out of context by the student - particularly the bit about Catholicism.

"The teacher never said that," he said. "He mentioned that many people are Catholic and it's a fairly wealthy religion, but that's it."

The teacher, David Liptak, said the question about reincarnation came from a student during an open forum discussion, and that he answered the question and moved on.

"I try not to dwell on any one theory," he said. "I will answer questions, but I will never teach anything other than what the state requires."

But that makes no difference to Koper, who has now spoken to Ferello and the teacher about the issue.

"How much could my daughter have misunderstood? And if she misunderstood one point, how many other children are coming home with these crazy ideas?" she said. "I wouldn't have touched this material with a 10-foot pole unless I was well-versed in it."

Liptak said that, by law, he is not allowed to go into any more detail.

The new science standards, approved by the Florida Board of Education in February, state that evolution - a gradual change in a species over time - must be taught in schools as the "fundamental concept underlying all of biology" and one that it is "supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence."

It requires the use of "the theory of" in front of the word, and does not allow teachers to teach other ideas about how life developed on Earth.

Ferello said the standards are as follows: Students will know that the variation in each species is due to the exchange and interaction of genetic information as it is passed down from parent to offspring, and students will know that the fossil record will provide evidence that changes in the kinds of plants and animals in the environment have been occurring over time.

Since the approval of the new standards, school districts across the state have had to redo science lesson plans and state officials are in the process of revising the science section of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

However, Liptak said the new standards are only slightly different from standards in past years, and that he has never had problems before.

Ferello also said he is one of his best teachers, and earns glowing reviews from both parents and students.
Koper said she has an appointment to speak to Superintendent Wayne Alexander on Thursday about the issue, but does not have high hopes about the outcome.

"With the way this has been handled so far, my expectations are not very high, at this point," she said.

Reporter Linnea Brown can be reached at 352-544-5289 or lbrown@hernandotoday.com.

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