Freedom of opinion

Folks

Here's something that arrested my attention while surfing the net.

I need to tell you that I don't have any vested interest here.

I'm just trying to put the scenario in front of you for a judicious review and appreciation..

Let me tell you that the question for me is not creationism or evolution but the treatment of it by the professor in the classroom which makes me ask if the professor has the leverage in a like situation to profess his personal ideas deviating from the curriculum...

Creationist College Prof Will Not Return to Classroom

An adjunct community college professor had a bit of a problem when it came time to teach evolution, according to certain sources:

Student Bryan Jaden Walker wrote on his blog, ... that the professor "glossed over the scientific explanation very quickly (less than 20 seconds), then explained Creationism for about five minutes (5,000-year-old Earth, no evolution, etc)."

"Evolution was not taught at all in his class," it is said. "When he hit that unit, instead of discussing it himself he had a single slide that had both creationism and evolution. When I spoke up and asked him about it, he claimed there was no evidence for either, but they are just different world views."

Walker complained to the Oklahoma City Community College Director of Science, Sonya Williams, and was put off by her (shall we presume that Sonya Williams is a creationist too?).

Apparently, there was an internal investigation with no real outcome.

"We checked it out and admonished the professor to please follow curriculum protocols," OCCC spokesperson, Jordan said. "We give latitude. You're allowed to teach however you want, but you do have to teach what's on the syllabus, and that seems like what happened."

The Professor claims that Walker's claims are inaccurate, even though it appears that other students have complained previously too. In any event, Talkington essentially confesses to being a creationist who is teaching creationism:

"I simply acknowledged that there are other schools of thought. I did not teach creationism. I did not promote one view over another. I did not mention God or Christianity. I stayed within the bounds of what the college allows."

Oops. "I did not promote one view over the other"???

He did not promote Science over Creationism in a science class???

And this was OK with Sonya Williams and the rest of them?

Sorry, but 'NO'.

Talkington claims that he is being repressed.

This particular college have earned an "F" rating in the past from theFordham Foundation and the National Center for Science Education for their lousy treatment of science.

NOTE: Apparently the original newspaper article on which this blog post was based (silly me, relying on a newspaper for information) was very flawed.

But maybe the slack jawed yahoos who live in Oklahoma like this. There is some evidence:

Talkington, who is not teaching anywhere right now and doesn't know if he will return to the classroom, said he thinks the case was blown out of proportions.

He said many students loved his class, pointing to students who rated him positively on websites such as RateMyProfessors.com.

Several on the site commented that Talkington was the best professor they'd had.

Talkington wouldn't comment on his views.

"People are looking to debate this issue anyway," he said. "I want to stay out of that debate."

He enjoyed his tenure at OCCC, he said.

"I enjoyed what I did and enjoyed my interaction with the students. I'm disappointed that one student took it to that level of animosity."

This is what captured my attention...

Any questions or comments on this are welcome...

Enjoy the rest of your week-end.

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil