THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 9, 1996 TAG: 9605070132
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 17 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Education
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
(NOTE: The following story originally was part of a Teenspeak package that was published recently in The Daily Break. Because of space limitations in The Daily Break that day, this story is presented to Norfolk readers in this issue of The Compass.)
Anybody who has been to Sunday School knows the story: In a span of six days, God created the sea and earth, the beasts of the field, and Adam and Eve.
A growing number of state legislators and school board members nationwide would like that story taught in public schools - alongside evolution and scientific explanations of the universe's origins, such as the ``Big Bang'' theory.
But at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, even some students who are Christians have concerns about teaching a religious view of life's beginnings in public school classrooms. Students interviewed about the issue said they opposed the mandatory teaching of religious ``creationism.''
``The question could be asked, who should teach it and who is capable of teaching it?'' said junior Osaze Murray, 17. ``Religion is all based on faith.''
Osaze said his English literature class discussed creationism while studying John Milton's poem ``Paradise Lost.'' In that context, classroom discussion of creationism is OK, he said.
``It gives you a taste of how religion affected literature in Britain at that time,'' Osaze said.
The students also voiced concerns about schools teaching beliefs that might offend non-Christians.
``If you have too much of one church coming in, some people are going to find that offensive, and pretty soon you've got all the churches in and that's why we have church schools,'' said senior Patrick Nichols, 19.
Nichols said religious beliefs should not be given equal weight to scientific theories in science classes, and he said introducing creationism into the curriculum might violate the U.S. Constitution's separation of church and state.
In the end, most of the students agreed that there should be a way for schools to expose students to such important universal questions - in a way in which all viewpoints are discussed openly.
``We were not here at the origin of the universe, so nobody knows how the universe came to be,'' said senior Vera Roberts, 18. ``I think Adam and Eve could have been apes and a year was 2,000 or 3,000 years back then. I don't think there's one correct answer to that question.''
These are couple of other comments made by the Booker T. Washington students when asked about the idea of creationism being taught in the public schools:
``Since we're already taught about the Big Bang and evolution, I think creationism should be taught in a comparative class, or as a philosophy class or in psychology,'' said junior Lekeya Selden, 16. ``Personally, I believe God created the earth, although there are scientific theories.''
``My main question is, what's the purpose of teaching creationism in high school?'' Murray said. ``Because even if you're an atheist, you've heard the story of the creation.'' ILLUSTRATION: Lekeya Selden
Osaze Murray
by CNB