Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence

Somehow years ago I got a free subscription to Edutopia magazine. It was started by George Lucas and was supposed to showcase the latest techniques (visual or otherwise) in education. I no longer get the magazine but one of the last issues they sent me had a guest editorial by Norman Lear. It made me angry at the time and this is my response. If you want to read the actual article he wrote you’ll have to go to here. Read his words then read mine. Maybe I’ve over-reacted. You be the judge.

From early 2006

Dear Norman Lear,

I may not qualify as an educator by most standards, I (used to) teach only part-time at a small college in southwest Missouri but feel I must respond to your article “Declaration of Independence” in the recent Edutopia magazine.
You start out benign and humble enough. I will not question your artistic abilities. You will go down as one of the pioneers of 20th century television.
Your shows made us think. You hit us square in the face with our own stereotypes. You (for good or not) forced us to confront things that were becoming a part of our everyday lives; abortion (Maude), racism and bigotry (All in the Family & the Jeffersons) and the problems faced by a single mom (One Day at a Time) and may have, if my decades old memory serves me right, presented us with the first openly gay character in prime-time television.
I admit to enjoying many of these programs. Until I read your short bio I didn’t know you had anything to do with Fried Green Tomatoes. All anyone in our family has to do is say “Towanda” and we immediately identify wherever we are with the Kathy Bates character. We even named one of our oversized sheep by the same name – Towanda, not Kathy.
But before I idolize you let me also remember and put in perspective your other life; founder and patriarch of People for the American Way; apart from the ACLU, one of the more active liberal (There. I used the word.) organizations working against many conservative (I used the other word.) causes.
I imagine I part company with many educators reading this magazine at this point (if not already).
My purpose in writing this lengthy introduction for a simple letter to the editor is to respond to a few of your statements.
You rightly assert that the media, of which you once played a very large part, is now assailing our children. The Edutopia editorial page even admits that some parents park their children in front of such stellar educational tools as Grand Theft Auto. I’m sure that you would decry this tactic and in the same breath PAW would defend to the death the right of GTA’s producers to be as vile and violent as they possibly can and that any attempts by the same parents to restrict this first amendment right are woefully ill-informed.
But I digress. My point here has to do with independent thinking, as you put it. You are obviously not a proponent of intelligent design and I confess I’m not exactly sure of everything lumped under that particular title. But why, if you are such a proponent of independent thinking, are you so adamant (as are many others) or afraid that any teaching or even consideration of an alternative to the theory of evolution will cause our student populace to somehow fall even more behind than they already are in terms of educational achievement?
If we trust our students to somehow make informed decisions (Do I want to buy and play Grand Theft Auto?) shouldn’t we expose them to the choices (Oops, another loaded word.) out there?
If you and so many others are convinced that evolution is a fact and not theory (and no matter where you sit on its validity, you still have to admit it IS a theory) why then are you afraid of anything that might be taught under the label of intelligent design or creationism? I’ll be one of many Americans to admit that based on what I know, accepting any or all of the tenets of biblical teaching about the creation of the universe requires a leap of faith. It is one I have taken. And according to a recent CBS News poll, 51% of Americans reject the theory of evolution. That doesn’t mean they have taken the same leap of faith. I don’t expect you to either. But for an educator to include other theories in their scientific instruction does not mean we are mixing religion and education in an inappropriate manner. Well I guess the Supreme Court did say that in 1987. Sorry ‘bout that.
You state that the Religious Right wants science teachers to teach creationism as scientific fact. Most Christians I know would not teach it as fact but take it back to that matter of faith. In a country where God (at least for now) is on our money, our pledge (at least for now) and our calendar (OK I realize if you are still a practicing Jew, yours does not) acknowledges an integral part of religious faith and history (that little A.D. thing) is it so wrong to accept that some elements of that faith are a part of our past, present and future?
I’m not sure I’d want just any teacher trying to approach a subject like ID or creationism if they couldn’t at least teach it with an open mind. I imagine proponents of evolutionary theory would not want me to be responsible for teaching a middle school science class where evolution was taught.
I think most parents of faith simply want some respect for their beliefs and just as they may choose (or not) to allow their children to play Grand Theft Auto, they’d like some say in some of the components of their children’s education. Folks always say if you don’t like what is going on in the schools, run for the local school board, get involved in the PTA etc. but as soon as someone disagrees with the current status quo they are labeled as some sort of fanatic trying to cram religion down every student’s throat. But it seems perfectly OK for educators to make the choices that may include teaching subjects or theories that are anathema to the religious practices of those same parents.
I’m not here to convince you or anyone that my beliefs are right and that the world must fall in line or else. Our country is much too diverse to assume that one size fits all. But if you truly believe in the power of independent thinking, then you have nothing to fear from the faithful few who merely want their voice to be heard and their opinions to be part of the discussion.