Holyoke teachers union president Gus Morales says creationism discussion a concern
HOLYOKE -- Inclusion of creationism in a school project here is inappropriate and a concern but not a surprise, teachers union president Agustin Morales said Monday (April 27).
Morales said teachers have told him they feel it is inappropriate that a project at a school here is including discussions about the faith-based belief of creationism in the instruction about evolution.
Some people have said that the separation of church and state is asserted in the U.S. Constitution and that any favoring of one faith over another in a public institution like a school is unfair to those of other faiths who have equal stake in such institutions.
Morales said public schools are supposed to be fair and open to everyone.
"Public schools have to be open to people of all religions, all sexual orientations, all backgrounds," Morales said.
Morales, known as "Gus," was asked about the Dean Technical High School project as he attended a hearing held by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education at the War Memorial at 310 Appleton St.
Creationism is the belief that the universe and living beings came about through acts of divine creation as related in the Bible that supporters say stands as the highest authority.
Evolution is the theory that humans evolved over millions of years from earlier life forms that supporters say is science-based and thus offers empirical proof. They say that's in contrast with what they consider to be the mainly faith-based concept of creationism.
The hearing was part of the state decision process that could result -- possibly as soon as Tuesday (April 28) -- in the seizure of the public schools here because of chronically poor student academic performance despite years of warnings.
The interview with Morales was brief, but he said discussion about creationism being included in a lesson plan on evolution and the inappropriatness of that was a good fit given the topic of the state hearing and the school where the creationism discussion was taking place.
Dean since July 2011 has been under a kind of state control. The school is run by a private manager, Project GRAD USA of Texas, as ordered by the state based on years of students' poor academic performances.
Morales said putting an outside manager in charge of a public school, let alone placing the entire school system in receivership, is inappropriate and such decisions breed inappropriate steps as seen in the concerns some have raised about including creationism in the Dean project.
He is unsurprised that teachers have told The Republican and MassLive.com they are reluctant to discuss objections they have about the creationism discussions happening at Dean for fear of reprisal, he said.
"It's a paradigm of fear," said Morales, president of the Holyoke Teachers Association.
Principal Barry Bacom disputed that teachers at Dean work in an atmosphere of fear of speaking out about something like the evolution project.
"I don't believe I've ever given anyone basis to think that," Bacom said.
He is willing to discuss such concerns with Morales, he said.
Bacom approved the Evolution Project, which began Monday, he said. Dean is the city's vocational school at 1045 Main St.
The goal is to spur critical thinking and debate among students in the teaching of evolution. The project will involve students researching the theories and then taking on roles -- as School Committee members, people in the community and journalists -- in arguing the points in the long-standing creationism vs. evolution controversy, he said.
"Nobody's actually teaching 'intelligent design' or teaching creationism," Bacom said.
But the debate about how humans came into being is branded into the national consciousness and that means it is important for students to learn about, he said.
Intelligent design is similar to creationism, but considered by some to have important differences. Some hold that while creationism defends a literal reading of the Book of Genesis in the Bible, "intelligent design is agnostic regarding the source of design and has no commitment to defending Genesis, the Bible or any other sacred text,"according to the Discovery Institute of Seattle, Washington.
According to merriam-webster.com, intelligent design is the theory that matter, the various forms of life, and the world were created by a designing intelligence.
Bacom, who was hired as Dean principal by Project GRAD USA, said the Evolution Project was a collaboration involving himself and Dean staff.
"I'm not asking them to do anything they're uncomfortable with," Bacom said.
Teachers contacting the media or criticizing the project might not understand it, he said.
What follows is the "Evolution Project Summary" provided by Barry Bacom, principal of Dean Technical High School:
Evolution Project Summary
The primary focus of the project is that the Language Arts and History classes are supporting 10th grade students' readiness for the Biology MCAS. Students will play the role of School Committee Members, community members, and journalists in a Mock School CommitteeHearing for the district on whether or not the concept of "intelligent design" should be included along with the teaching of The Scientific Theory of Evolution in the science classroom. This exploration will create a need to know for Holyoke teachers union president Gus Morales says creationism discussion a concern | masslive.com: