From: kachun@spot.Colorado.EDU (Ka Chun Yu)
Subject: Re: Hilarious Christian Propaganda...
Summary: Religion in School Lesson
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 08:09:49 GMT

The article about God and molecules appeared on page 1A (front page) of
the December 10, 1992 issue of the Denver Post.  It's by a Post writer,
so I don't know if it ever got onto the AP wire.  Here it is.

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		RELIGION IN SCHOOL LESSON?
		Parent `shocked' by God reference

 		By Mark Stevens
		Denver Post Education Writer

As part of their lesson at Denver Public Schools' Mitchell Montessori,
some students are taught that molecules obey God's instructions.

Students, for instance, are told molecules in solid matter have been
decreed by God to bond tightly together.  The molecules respond to the
decree by saying, "I hear your word, Lord, and I obey."

The lesson is contained in a story called "God With No Hands" and taught
to 6-, 7- and 8-year-olds.

It was described to a Mitchell parent during a parent-teacher conference
last week.  The parent, who asked not to be identified, said she was shown
an illustration of angels carrying molecules of gas toward heaven.

"I was completely shocked by this," said the parent, a professional
engineer.  The story refers to God and says, "`He set up all the rules
for the Earth. . . .'  I was stunned."

A DPS policy approved in 1959 states that "administrators and teachers
shall neither teach nor present sectarian or denominational beliefs,
reserving the right and responsibility for such instruction to the home
and the church."

The curriculum has been taught at Mitchell since 1984, but two school
board members and district Superintendent Evie Dennis said they were
unaware of it until recently.

Through a spokeswoman, Dennis said she planned an investigation.

School Board president Dorothy Gotlieb said the issue "requires us to be
concerned."  And board member Lynn Coleman, who has a daughter at Mitchell,
said she heard the presentation for the first time last week, too.

"I'm very concerned with the religious overtones," Coleman said, "and it
flies in the face of policy."

Mitchell Principal Martha Urioste defended the method yesterday.  She said
the story of a universe created and managed by God is used as an allegory
to spark interest in learning that there are a variety of beliefs about the
cosmos.

Urioste said not all teachers use the story in the same fashion and not
all make references to a God.  The story is taught to Montessori teachers
during their training and teachers may use it as they see fit.

"Using the word God is not the issue," Urioste said.  "We're not teaching
religion.  This is not about religion. . . .  What we're hoping that
children and their creative imaginations will do is research to find out
there are many versions and many beliefs."

Urioste said the story has been taught since 1984, when DPS began using
the Montessori philosophy to launch Mitchell as a magnet school.  Magnets
emphasize a particular style of teaching or curriculum to draw students
from around the district as part of a desegregation plan.

Montessori education stresses self-confidence and "hands-on" learning.
Mitchell's Montessori program began with first-graders but now has 490
students from ages 3 through 12.

The school has a long waiting list for enrollment.

The "God With No Hands" story was developed by Maria Montessori in 1935,
Urioste said, and is a "minute portion" of the curriculum.

"If this is just a small part as they insist," said the Mitchell parent,
"then this should be dropped."

The parent said it is unnecessary to inject myths into an area of science
where there is little disagreement -- the question of why different kinds
of matter exist in different forms.  Besides teaching religion in the
classroom, she said, it is patronizing to assume students can't understand
what scientists long ago concluded.  "You don't need to invoke the veneer
of mythology."

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-- 
*Ka Chun Yu               * Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy       *
*kachun@spot.colorado.edu * Astrophysical, Planetary, and Atmospheric Sciences*
*         --or--          * University of Colorado,  Boulder, CO 80309        *
*kachun@vela.colorado.edu * (303) 492-6857                                    *
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