Re: OT More pens (was Re: Phoneme winnowing continues)

From: "David Starner" <dvdeug@...>
Subject: Re: OT More pens (was Re: Phoneme winnowing continues)


> On Mon, Jun 09, 2003 at 11:51:40PM -0400, Robert B Wilson wrote:
> > well, at the school i went to, it'd be extremely difficult for anyone to
> > get past kindergarten without being able to read...  too bad the rest of
> > the country can't figure out that schools should be teaching stuff that
> > really matters instead of trying to get kids to believe in evolution...
>
> Scientists would consider biology something that really matters, and
> evolution the fundament of that subject. In any case, I hardly see
> how a subject that doesn't seriously come until high school has any
> effect on people learning to read, which is done at an earlier level.
>
> > i
> > thought the supreme court did the whole judicial legislation thingy and
> > made it illegal to promote any religion (or even pray or have religious
> > writings in your possession) in a public school...
>
> Actually, no one has said that you can't pray or promote your religion or
> have religious writings in school; merely that the school can't do so.
And that's what he's getting at.  I can't speak for all schools, but the one
I went to was certainly anti-Asatru[1], though I doubt they'll get sued any
time soon over that one.  Those who believe that evolution is incorrect are
indeed being taught something that goes against their beliefs in school,
which I would consider against the rules as they stand.  Then again, if I
believed that 1+1 was actually 14, should school stop teaching this?
According to the rules, no.  Unless I believed this as part of my
"religion".  Then it'd be protected by the Constitution.

What constitutes "religious" material versus "factual" material I would
consider more on-topic here, being very much part of conculturing and
epistemiology, both being topics that we conlangers are often very
interested in.  (And that my entire conlanging work is connected very much
with this sort of distinction.)

But I'd agree with John that we shouldn't start debating the validity of
those distinctions generally, such as beliefs surrounding the theory of
evolution.  Keep in mind that some of the people on this list are probably
atheists, some agnostics, some theists of varying kinds, and so forth, being
from the "never really thought about it" stage to the radical or fanatic
stage. [2]


[1] The ancient Norse religion which [3] has some practicioners in the
world.

[2] Though most of you guys are all really good at being nice to each other,
so this is probably unnecessary.

[3] again / still, I really don't know if it survived at all to modern
times.  Then again, I could imagine that individual beliefs of it survived
in otherwise "Christian" areas, and that modern followers of Asatru have
sprung from these traditions.

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