December 22, 2006--Fanaticism LXXIX--We're Still In Kansas
Kansas, in this case, is right across the river in New Jersey.
In Kearny, to be specific, where in an 11th grade public school history class, an Accelerated Progress (AP) class no less, the teacher, David Paszkiewicz, told his students that the Big Bang and Evolution where not scientific fact; while on the other hand, he taught them it is a fact that dinosaurs were saved from the Flood by having been included on Noah's Ark.
I guess, “saved” until they became extinct some 60,000 years ago. Although that is probably also just a theory because wasn't the world created only 6,000 years ago?
But then again, where are the dinosaurs?
I'm all confused, but the principal of the school isn't--even though he "had a talk" with Mr. P about these and other comments captured on tape by a smart-alecky kid in his class, he still thinks "he's an excellent teacher." (See NY Times story linked below.)
He’s so excellent that, like all good teachers, when students struggle with difficult subject matter, he finds ways to present the material in a manner which assures that his charges learn their lessons. The other day, for example, he drove home the lesson about God and creation and related matters by telling his class that only Christians have places in Heaven reserved for them; and, again caught on tape, he said, “If you reject his [Christ’s] gift of salvation, then you know where you belong.”
And here he was not referring to detention. He was alluding to that other place of punishment--the eternal kind.
Matthew LaClair, the kid who did the taping and blew the whistle on Mr. P, it may surprise you to learn, is finding himself in big trouble. Kearny is after all is just a scant 8 miles from midtown Manhattan! But, nonetheless, check out the Website http://Kearnyontheweb.com to see what's going on there. You will find calls for his suspension from school! And, according to the Times, if you talk to kids on the sidewalk outside the school, most say, “I’m on the teacher’s side all the way.”
Far be it for them to screw up their chances of getting good letters of recommendation when they apply to college. Though does Bob Jones University even require them?
Then again it looks as if Matthew might have brought this wrath down upon himself—he had the audacity to ask Mr. P why a loving God would consign humans to hell. Though Matthew’s tapes show that he didn’t begin all the religion talk, other kids claim that he “baited” the teacher with religious questions.
Matthew—if you are having any problems with your letters of recommendation, drop me a note and it will be my pleasure to help you get out of Kearny as soon as possible.
In Kearny, to be specific, where in an 11th grade public school history class, an Accelerated Progress (AP) class no less, the teacher, David Paszkiewicz, told his students that the Big Bang and Evolution where not scientific fact; while on the other hand, he taught them it is a fact that dinosaurs were saved from the Flood by having been included on Noah's Ark.
I guess, “saved” until they became extinct some 60,000 years ago. Although that is probably also just a theory because wasn't the world created only 6,000 years ago?
But then again, where are the dinosaurs?
I'm all confused, but the principal of the school isn't--even though he "had a talk" with Mr. P about these and other comments captured on tape by a smart-alecky kid in his class, he still thinks "he's an excellent teacher." (See NY Times story linked below.)
He’s so excellent that, like all good teachers, when students struggle with difficult subject matter, he finds ways to present the material in a manner which assures that his charges learn their lessons. The other day, for example, he drove home the lesson about God and creation and related matters by telling his class that only Christians have places in Heaven reserved for them; and, again caught on tape, he said, “If you reject his [Christ’s] gift of salvation, then you know where you belong.”
And here he was not referring to detention. He was alluding to that other place of punishment--the eternal kind.
Matthew LaClair, the kid who did the taping and blew the whistle on Mr. P, it may surprise you to learn, is finding himself in big trouble. Kearny is after all is just a scant 8 miles from midtown Manhattan! But, nonetheless, check out the Website http://Kearnyontheweb.com to see what's going on there. You will find calls for his suspension from school! And, according to the Times, if you talk to kids on the sidewalk outside the school, most say, “I’m on the teacher’s side all the way.”
Far be it for them to screw up their chances of getting good letters of recommendation when they apply to college. Though does Bob Jones University even require them?
Then again it looks as if Matthew might have brought this wrath down upon himself—he had the audacity to ask Mr. P why a loving God would consign humans to hell. Though Matthew’s tapes show that he didn’t begin all the religion talk, other kids claim that he “baited” the teacher with religious questions.
Matthew—if you are having any problems with your letters of recommendation, drop me a note and it will be my pleasure to help you get out of Kearny as soon as possible.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
1:18 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home