Not just science, but civics…
NOTE: This post was originally published on December 18, 2006, on an old version of this site.
The New York Times published an article today reporting that a Kearney, NJ high school student has criticized his history teacher for proselytizing evangelical Christianity. David Paszkiewicz has been accused of telling his 11th-grade public school class “that evolution and the Big Bang were not scientific, that dinosaurs were aboard Noah’s ark, and that only Christians had a place in heaven.” Sixteen-year-old student Matthew LaClair was uncomfortable with these statements and brought the teacher’s actions to the attention of the administration.
Perhaps somewhat surprising is the amount of support for the teacher, who has clearly violated the First Amendment, and the amount of criticism for the complaining student. Another student and member of Mr. Paszkiewicz’s youth group, Greice Coelho, criticized Matthew LaClair, erroneously claiming that he is “ignoring the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gives every citizen the freedom of religion.”
This comment tidily demonstrates a warning Judge John Jones made in the December 13 panel discussion, in which he observed that many Americans are deficient in their civics education. He said the Dover case revealed that many people don’t understand their rights, and when they don’t understand them, they are much more likely to lose them.