Presentation for Public School Boards

by David A. Prentice, M.Ed., M.A.S.T.

Below is a presentation aimed at public school boards showing how including creation in the public school classroom can be done following U.S. Supreme Court guidelines. As the Court ruled in Aguillard v. Edwards (482 U.S. 578, 107 S.Ct. 2573, No. 85-1513, 1987):

“We do not imply that a legislature could never require that scientific critiques of prevailing scientific theories be taught. Indeed, the Court acknowledged in Stone that its decision forbidding the posting of the Ten Commandments did not mean that no use could ever be made of the Ten Commandments, or that the Ten Commandments played an exclusively religious role in the history of Western Civilization. In a similar way, teaching a variety of scientific theories about the origins of humankind might be validly done with the clear secular intent of enhancing the effectiveness of science instruction. “

This presentation shows how including the strengths and weaknesses of both creation and evolution in science classes will stimulate students’ curiosity and thereby enhance science instruction. It shows how the controversy can be presented with minimal reference to religion.

The presentation was given before a Louisiana public school board. It would be appropriate to any such body. CLICK HERE to download 45 page presentation in pdf format CLICK HERE to download Powerpoint (64 slides) to go with school board presentation. (Right-click on the link, then select “save link as” to save to your local storage.

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Addenda to be used with public school textbooks

The following materials are intended for public school use. They present the scientific creation position so teachers do not have to teach on material in which they have little or no background. Level consistent with high school students’ background.

Creation Science Textbook Addendum for GENERAL SCIENCE by Watkins, Emiliani, Chiaverina, Harper, LaHart (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989) used in Louisiana and possibly other states. Written by Charles Voss, Ph.D.

Creation Science Textbook Addendum for MODERN BIOLOGY by Albert Towle (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1989), used in Louisiana public schools, possibly also other states. Written by Charles Voss, Ph.D.

ORIGIN OF LIFE. The files below are intended as a stand-alone supplement to high school biology textbooks dealing with the origin of life. Though written from a creation perspective, the material is purely scientific in its approach. It makes no mention of God, the Bible, or any religious concepts. The word “creation” is not even mentioned. It is suitable for use in a public school science class. A Critical Approach to Studying the Origin of Life is a detailed critique of the most common evolutionary scenario for the origin of life, known as the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis. Includes: 1. Teacher guide. 2. Fill-in-the-blank student handout. 3. Suggestions for student research. Click here to download VISUALS KEYED TO THE LESSON. (Right-click on the link and choose the “save link as” option.) This material is copyrighted but free of charge. You may reproduce it provided that: (1) It is used for educational purposes only; (2) No commercial use may be made of it; and (3) The lesson must be reproduced in its entirety. Please send comments and suggestions to the author, David A. Prentice, M.Ed., M.A.S.T. Email: prentice@instruction.com . Visuals may contain clipart from one or more of the following: IMSI, Corel, Media Graphics Intl., Serif, NASA.