School board limits viewing of An Inconvenient Truth

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob Allen @ Jan 11 2007, 02:33 PM) [snapback]374254[/snapback]</div>

Here in FL our local school board almost always caves in to idiotic parents that don't need to know anything except the word "sue." The board & principals always cave in. I have 1st hand exp. with many of the above mentioned types. It makes me wonder how our public education system can ever get the job of educating our children done when parents meddle in things they know little or nothing about.

 

My neighbor says that the Canadian ice shelf that was reported to break off last week was "a sign of the end times," as is the warm weather. I guess this is how it is all being reconciled in some folks' minds. Don't need a future when "end times" suffice.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Walker1 @ Jan 11 2007, 02:39 PM) [snapback]374260[/snapback]</div>

It seems odd that in a democracy a very small minority (the complainant) can get something changed. But why don't the people of the opposing view, who are presumably the vast majority, insist that the wishes of the small minority is ignored?
To sue successfully the case has to go before a court, so if the majority's case is a good one why not let the complainant go ahead and sue?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Jan 11 2007, 02:49 PM) [snapback]374269[/snapback]</div>

Cost. Plain and simple. It costs too much money to pay lawyers to take the case to court. And, if you don't have a good lawyer (read: more money), you may very well lose even if you are in the "right." A good lawyer here in the States can do some incredible things (read: manipulate).

Our judicial system, while one branch of our government, is really not based on majority and minority. "Majority rules and minority rights" has been a mantra, though. In this case, I'm sure that the complainant said that his rights were being violated. The majority opinion of the people has no bearing on court cases. The majority opinion of the Supreme Court does.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob Allen @ Jan 11 2007, 03:33 PM) [snapback]374254[/snapback]</div>

I heartily agree. I've dealt with such people as a member of a Parent's Advisory Committee, and they were politely but firmly shown the door.

 

I'm the school librarian. I not only signed up under my own name to receive a free copy for the library, I also signed up all of our science teachers, plus some other teachers that I know would use it for research paper assignments.

I hope we'll get about 20 copies.

The school board could certainly try to stifle it, but I will make it available. They can attempt to fire me. But I have NO money to buy any books, let alone DVDs. They don't want me to have this movie, they can give me money to BUY something they consider more "appropriate".

But that isn't going to happen. We're a large district. I imagine the board would go "go ahead and sue. we have lawyers on retainer."

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob Allen @ Jan 11 2007, 02:33 PM) [snapback]374254[/snapback]</div>

It'll just make the kids want to see it without their goofy parents knowing about it. The religious nuts think that they can just filter out the rest of the world and make it go away. Too bad for the religious nuts that the rest of the world won't go away.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob Allen @ Jan 11 2007, 02:33 PM) [snapback]374254[/snapback]</div>

I think they want to filter fact from fiction :lol:
I wonder, do they have the movie: "AlGore invents the Internet" :lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Jan 11 2007, 05:18 PM) [snapback]374337[/snapback]</div>

Gore never claimed to have invented the internet. He claimed to taken initiative in sponsoring legislation that led to the Internet. And those who did invent it back him up on this claim.

Gore receives Webby award for contributions to the Internet.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-05-...ore-webby_x.htm

"He is indeed due some thanks and consideration for his early contributions," said Vint Cerf, undisputedly one of the Internet's key inventors

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Jan 11 2007, 05:18 PM) [snapback]374337[/snapback]</div>

Are you seriously suggesting science is fiction and belief is fact?

 

In my opinion, the idea of school is to get people to THINK FOR THEMSELVES, not enforce the point of view du jour.

Give 'em the information...have confidence in them...and LET THEM DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES. Encourage dialogue, and make sure it's clear that their personal worth IS NOT dependent on adopting a particular point of view.

This seems pretty reasonable to me.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob Allen @ Jan 11 2007, 02:33 PM) [snapback]374254[/snapback]</div>

14000 years would most likely be based on texts that are estimated to have been written some 10k to 13k years before Christ. They tell of destruction by a flood, tell of a god named Marduke, and a bunch of other stuff.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(amishlandprius @ Jan 12 2007, 06:55 PM) [snapback]374928[/snapback]</div>

Researchers found that to be a mis-translation. Actually, the god's name is Marmaduke .

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Jan 12 2007, 06:46 PM) [snapback]374923[/snapback]</div>

Congrats. That is what teachers (and librarians) do.

It's why we're painted flaming, pinko Liberals.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Jan 11 2007, 01:18 PM) [snapback]374337[/snapback]</div>

Wow! Someone needs to resreach more and stay away from Crichton and Miloy websites....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(F8L @ Jan 12 2007, 07:45 PM) [snapback]374955[/snapback]</div>

LOL! Research is for open minds seeking knowledge. It's for those that constantly re-evaluate.

Research is for pinko, liberal flip-floppers.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Jan 11 2007, 11:49 AM) [snapback]374269[/snapback]</div>

Well, in this case, the parents are preventing something from changing, maintaining the status quo. The school never showed the film, and was going to, so they stopped it. That's a little different than changing an established routine (although that does happen with the threat of lawsuits).

Usually what happens in these cases is that the parents are given the opportunity to have their children "opt out" of the thing they disagree with, and I think that would have been a reasonable compromise. The problem with Al Gore's film is that it can be seen as partisan, and is probably subject to more of this kind of exclusion than a film from the National Science Foundation featuring a prominent climatologist. Because politics is so polarized in this country, we "hate" the opposing party, and see all sorts of bad intent in anything the other party does. So from a partisan Republican perspective, Al Gore is the worst possible spokesperson for an environmental campaign. The invective and hatred you see here about our President is equaled on the right by invective and hatred for the last two Democrat candidates (because they are sliding into political obscurity, you don't see much about them here).

A case like this could easily end up costing the school millions of dollars if a conservative advocacy group supported the parents and fought with them through all the courts up to the Supreme Court. The school probably wouldn't get too much help from the liberal advocacy groups, because they are "the government" and are able to shoulder the burden. Lawsuits and threats of lawsuits cause all sorts of compromises that we would not normally make.

Tort reform would go a long way to stopping some of this, but its problematic because much of our system of checks and balances depends in part on the ability of a common citizen to sue the government. Not sure if British citizens can sue the government, but you can here.

Parents now have the right to home school, private school, or send their kids to public schools. If they don't like what's being taught, they should be able to vote with their feet, and send their kids to an alternate school with their share of the normal cost helping to pay for it. Then make the idea of suing over something like this illegal.