Atheist Activist Protests Creationism In Science Class
LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. (CBS) -- Atheist activist Rob Sherman is expected to make public comments at the Libertyville High School board meeting Tuesday night, about a science teacher who had been teaching creationism.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Bernie Tafoya reports, Sherman is taking issue with biology and human genetics teacher Beau Schaefer.
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Officials at School District 128 have confirmed that Schaefer is, in fact, teaching creationist beliefs at the school, and the district says steps have been taken to ensure such practices do not continue, the Chicago Tribune reported.
But Sherman wants more than that. He is asking that Schaefer be fired, and he says parents in the district agree.
Sherman first took on the issue after the brother of a student at the school complained to him about the material Schaefer was teaching.
"Last night, my sister mentioned some typical arguments creationists use to discredit evolution i.e. 'carbon-dating doesn't work,' 'macroevolution doesn't exist,' and 'there are very few transition fossils.' After shooting them all down, I asked who had told her such incredible lies," read the letter, which was published on Sherman's Web site. "She said she learned them in biology class. Did I mention she attends Libertyville High School, a public school?"
Sherman also published a worksheet he says is from Schaefer's class, which instructed students to "explain why macroevolution is not testable or observable and thus not scientific," and asks how the "Cambrian explosion" – the relatively rapid appearance of most major phyla around 530 million years ago – and "irreducible complexity" support "intelligent design (creation.)"
Sherman is urging parents to attend a meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday night at the Vernon Hills High School Library, at 145 N. Lakeview Pkwy. in Vernon Hills.
At the meeting, the board is also expected to go into executive session and talk about the employment of an unidentified staff member, the Tribune reported. It is not known if that staff member is Schaefer.
Pioneer Press contributed to this report, via the Sun-Times Media Wire
