Jason Spaceman
Posts: 163
Joined: Nov. 2005
|
And by 'Genesis in the classroom' they don't mean Phil Collins coming to school to teach the kids
| Quote | Last Updated: Thursday, May 3, 2007 | 3:03 PM MT
CBC News
An education professor at the University of Calgary is concerned that religion is being taught in a handful of Alberta public schools.
Cochrane's Mitford Middle School will launch a Christian program this fall. Christian beliefs, including instruction on creationism in science class, will be taught to 50 or so elementary aged students as part of a two-year pilot project.
But Darren Lund, who teaches in the university's education faculty, said religion doesn't belong in a publicly funded school system.
"I certainly think parents have the choice to opt out of an inclusive public system, but they should pay for that schooling themselves," he said.
"If they want their children to be in an exclusive, religious school, segregated by religion, then I think that's where parents have to put up the money for that."
Dividing children by religion limits the diversity and inclusion in the public school system, he added.
Creationism in science class
Many of the program's students will be children who had been home schooled.
Bill Bell, Mitford's principal, said Christian beliefs will be woven through every subject in the new Christian program. Creationism will be taught in science class, he added. "The first teaching will be from a Christian point of view and then there will be an acknowledgement that there is another theory."
Kathy Telfer, a spokeswoman with Alberta Education, said creationism can play a role in Alberta classrooms. "It can be explored and discussed, but we need to focus around our curriculum." |
Read it here.
|
