Sanity Published in Edmond, Oklahoma

The Edmond Sun--Monkeys on the loose in Pennsylvania: "A statement should be read in all mathematics classrooms that the concept of pi (the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter) may be a conspiracy by agents of Satan to pollute the minds of young students. The vast majority of mathematicians and scientists claim that its numerical value is approximately 3.1416. In that statement the students should be referred to I Kings 7:23 in the Holy Bible where it clearly states that the correct value for that ratio is exactly 3.0. In that way the students would be exposed to an alternate view of a highly controversial subject. In geography class when the lesson plan calls for the teacher to explain that the earth is round, the students should be referred to Isaiah 11:12 and Revelation 7:1 where the earth is described as a four-cornered object. The students would then be aware of an alternate view of the earth as a flat-sided square or perhaps a tetrahedron. The Flat Earth Society would welcome the recognition. In civics class when democracy and capitalism are discussed the students should be referred to Acts 2:44-45 where it is made clear that all true believers should live in a state of communism. Copies of Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto could be passed out to ensure exposure to this alternate belief system. … The tongue lodged in my cheek is developing a cramp, so I will now remove it. The above list of practices and alternate ideas that are not presented in public schools could go on to infinity. They are not presented for at least three reasons: (1) in some cases it would clearly be teaching religion, (2) practical observations and experience have trumped earlier understandings of how the world works, and (3) it would simply be a waste of valuable time. And yet, the school board in Dover, Pa., is asking its science teachers to violate all three reasons for avoiding certain concepts. The school board is currently being sued by a coalition of teachers and concerned parents over its requirement that Intelligent Design be presented in science classes as an alternative to the Theory of Evolution. Part of that presentation would include referral to an Intelligent Design textbook entitled 'Of Pandas and People' that has not been peer reviewed by scientists."