School board limits viewing of An Inconvenient Truth

[Bob Allen]

Federal Way is a city just south of Seattle in a more conservative part of Puget Sound. The school board there, acting on a complaint from a fundamentalist parent, has restricted showing Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" because "it's too controversial". The complaining parent, who believes the world is 14,000 years old, felt that the material in the movie does not quite match Biblical predictions of the future, even though both the movie (hard science) and the Bible (you fill in the adjective) suggest that "end times" will be very hot.

I think the school board should be embarrassed to have caved in to a protest like this. If we are to give our kids the tools to deal with the problems of the 21st century, we need to get their parents out of the 14th.
Bob

p.s. why 14,000 years? Bishop Ussher calculated 6,000 years for the age of the earth.

[Walker1]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob Allen @ Jan 11 2007, 02:33 PM) [snapback]374254[/snapback]</div>

Federal Way is a city just south of Seattle in a more conservative part of Puget Sound. The school board there, acting on a complaint from a fundamentalist parent, has restricted showing Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" because "it's too controversial". The complaining parent, who believes the world is 14,000 years old, felt that the material in the movie does not quite match Biblical predictions of the future, even though both the movie (hard science) and the Bible (you fill in the adjective) suggest that "end times" will be very hot.

I think the school board should be embarrassed to have caved in to a protest like this. If we are to give our kids the tools to deal with the problems of the 21st century, we need to get their parents out of the 14th.
Bob

p.s. why 14,000 years? Bishop Ussher calculated 6,000 years for the age of the earth.
[/b]

Here in FL our local school board almost always caves in to idiotic parents that don't need to know anything except the word "sue." The board & principals always cave in. I have 1st hand exp. with many of the above mentioned types. It makes me wonder how our public education system can ever get the job of educating our children done when parents meddle in things they know little or nothing about.

[bigdaddy]

My neighbor says that the Canadian ice shelf that was reported to break off last week was "a sign of the end times," as is the warm weather. I guess this is how it is all being reconciled in some folks' minds. Don't need a future when "end times" suffice.

[Oxo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Walker1 @ Jan 11 2007, 02:39 PM) [snapback]374260[/snapback]</div>

Here in FL our local school board almost always caves in to idiotic parents that don't need to know anything except the word "sue." The board & principals always cave in. I have 1st hand exp. with many of the above mentioned types. It makes me wonder how our public education system can ever get the job of educating our children done when parents meddle in things they know little or nothing about.
[/b]

It seems odd that in a democracy a very small minority (the complainant) can get something changed. But why don't the people of the opposing view, who are presumably the vast majority, insist that the wishes of the small minority is ignored?
To sue successfully the case has to go before a court, so if the majority's case is a good one why not let the complainant go ahead and sue?

[livelychick]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Jan 11 2007, 02:49 PM) [snapback]374269[/snapback]</div>

It seems odd that in a democracy a very small minority (the complainant) can get something changed. But why don't the people of the opposing view, who are presumably the vast majority, insist that the wishes of the small minority is ignored?
To sue successfully the case has to go before a court, so if the majority's case is a good one why not let the complainant go ahead and sue?
[/b]

Cost. Plain and simple. It costs too much money to pay lawyers to take the case to court. And, if you don't have a good lawyer (read: more money), you may very well lose even if you are in the "right." A good lawyer here in the States can do some incredible things (read: manipulate).

Our judicial system, while one branch of our government, is really not based on majority and minority. "Majority rules and minority rights" has been a mantra, though. In this case, I'm sure that the complainant said that his rights were being violated. The majority opinion of the people has no bearing on court cases. The majority opinion of the Supreme Court does.

[hyo silver]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob Allen @ Jan 11 2007, 03:33 PM) [snapback]374254[/snapback]</div>

...If we are to give our kids the tools to deal with the problems of the 21st century, we need to get their parents out of the 14th...
[/b]

I heartily agree. I've dealt with such people as a member of a Parent's Advisory Committee, and they were politely but firmly shown the door.

[Godiva]

I'm the school librarian. I not only signed up under my own name to receive a free copy for the library, I also signed up all of our science teachers, plus some other teachers that I know would use it for research paper assignments.

I hope we'll get about 20 copies.

The school board could certainly try to stifle it, but I will make it available. They can attempt to fire me. But I have NO money to buy any books, let alone DVDs. They don't want me to have this movie, they can give me money to BUY something they consider more "appropriate".

But that isn't going to happen. We're a large district. I imagine the board would go "go ahead and sue. we have lawyers on retainer."

[JackDodge]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob Allen @ Jan 11 2007, 02:33 PM) [snapback]374254[/snapback]</div>

Federal Way is a city just south of Seattle in a more conservative part of Puget Sound. The school board there, acting on a complaint from a fundamentalist parent, has restricted showing Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" because "it's too controversial". The complaining parent, who believes the world is 14,000 years old, felt that the material in the movie does not quite match Biblical predictions of the future, even though both the movie (hard science) and the Bible (you fill in the adjective) suggest that "end times" will be very hot.

I think the school board should be embarrassed to have caved in to a protest like this. If we are to give our kids the tools to deal with the problems of the 21st century, we need to get their parents out of the 14th.
Bob

p.s. why 14,000 years? Bishop Ussher calculated 6,000 years for the age of the earth.
[/b]

It'll just make the kids want to see it without their goofy parents knowing about it. The religious nuts think that they can just filter out the rest of the world and make it go away. Too bad for the religious nuts that the rest of the world won't go away.

[dbermanmd]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob Allen @ Jan 11 2007, 02:33 PM) [snapback]374254[/snapback]</div>

Federal Way is a city just south of Seattle in a more conservative part of Puget Sound. The school board there, acting on a complaint from a fundamentalist parent, has restricted showing Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" because "it's too controversial". The complaining parent, who believes the world is 14,000 years old, felt that the material in the movie does not quite match Biblical predictions of the future, even though both the movie (hard science) and the Bible (you fill in the adjective) suggest that "end times" will be very hot.

I think the school board should be embarrassed to have caved in to a protest like this. If we are to give our kids the tools to deal with the problems of the 21st century, we need to get their parents out of the 14th.
Bob

p.s. why 14,000 years? Bishop Ussher calculated 6,000 years for the age of the earth.
[/b]

I think they want to filter fact from fiction
I wonder, do they have the movie: "AlGore invents the Internet"

[MegansPrius]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Jan 11 2007, 05:18 PM) [snapback]374337[/snapback]</div>

I think they want to filter fact from fiction
I wonder, do they have the movie: "AlGore invents the Internet"
[/b]

Gore never claimed to have invented the internet. He claimed to taken initiative in sponsoring legislation that led to the Internet. And those who did invent it back him up on this claim.

Gore receives Webby award for contributions to the Internet.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-05-...ore-webby_x.htm

"He is indeed due some thanks and consideration for his early contributions," said Vint Cerf, undisputedly one of the Internet's key inventors