…and this is a 
Turnabout, fair play, all that
Category: Creationism
Posted on: March 20, 2007 9:25 AM, by PZ Myers
We're so accustomed to hearing about good Christian parents complaining about the material their kids are taught in science class, and lobbying school boards to ban the eeevilution word from the school, that it's rather nice to see an example of the shoe on the other foot. A school in Sisters, Oregon (I know that place! Nice little town in the Cascades, east of Eugene) fired a teacher for peddling creationist bunkum.
During his eight days as a part-time high school biology teacher, Kris Helphinstine included Biblical references in material he provided to students and gave a PowerPoint presentation that made links between evolution, Nazi Germany and Planned Parenthood.
That was enough for the Sisters School Board, which fired the teacher Monday night for deviating from the curriculum on the theory of evolution.
"I think his performance was not just a little bit over the line," board member Jeff Smith said. "It was a severe contradiction of what we trust teachers to do in our classrooms."
Helphinstine, 27, said in a phone interview with The Bulletin newspaper of Bend that he included the supplemental material to teach students about bias in sources, and his only agenda was to teach critical thinking.
"Critical thinking is vital to scientific inquiry," said Helphinstine, who has a master's degree in science from Oregon State. "My whole purpose was to give accurate information and to get them thinking."
Helphinstine said he did not teach the idea that God created the world. "I never taught creationism," he said. "I know what it is, and I went out of my way not to teach it."
The bad news is that teachers have more than enough crap to deal with, and having one camp yelling, "Don't teach this!" and another yelling "Don't teach that!" can end up with the teachers just throwing up their hands and giving up on teaching any of it, which is the common state of affairs right now. On the other hand, I'm impressed with the Sisters School Board—they came right out and are supporting good science teaching. That's important, that administrators are getting the message that creationism is not an appropriate subject for a science class.
As for Helphinstine…who does he think he's kidding? That "links between evolution, Nazi Germany and Planned Parenthood" nonsense is straight out of creationism 101; the Discovery Institute and old-school "scientific" creationism have been pushing that silly idea for years. It's a dead giveaway that Helphinstine is steeped in that creationist strategy of ignoring the evidence and doing nothing but sow doubt, especially where there is none.
Comments
I love the smell of frying bacon in the morning.
I wonder who provided him with that "supplemental" material?
Posted by: Graculus | March 20, 2007 9:48 AM
Well, I must say that excerpt does not provide much information. It is possible that that the teacher was not lying, and that his lesson plan was something along these lines:
"The idea that Evolution is the cause of Nazism and has anything to do with Planned Parenthood Encouraging everyone to abort five times a week in bunk, and this is why:..."
The words of the parent do make this unlikely, so... yeah, hang that creationist child-mind-rapist to dry!
Posted by: valhar2000 | March 20, 2007 9:55 AM
Kin ah git me mah fundy burnin' gear now, Paw?
Louis
P.S. This is the one objection, and it is a minor one in a way, I have to "comparative religion" classes. They are GREAT if one has a good teacher. This incident exposes the lie behind the "equal time" and "teach the controversy" guffery we get. Like "equal time" "comparative religion" will be used by unscrupulous proselytisers to push their exciting best invisible chum stories. Anyone not know that already? Didn't think so! ;-)
Posted by: louis | March 20, 2007 9:58 AM
A master's degree. . . in SCIENCE!
He's clearly skilled in the discipline of wearing a white lab coat in the vicinity of bubbling Erlenmeyer flasks, humming van de Graaf generators and those spherical plasma balls with the curvy purple lightning they sell in novelty gift shops.
According to Oregon State's website,
Posted by: Blake Stacey | March 20, 2007 10:22 AM
It's too bad the Kearny High School didn't do the same thing.
That guy said there were dinosaurs on the Ark.
Posted by: Steve_C | March 20, 2007 10:28 AM
Countdown to whines about how this teacher is being persecuted in 3..2..1.....
Good for the school board. I like his (I can only imagine it being shrill and whiney...) defense of 'I never said creationism!' Yeah, and the Dover case clearly demonstrated just not saying the word doesn't make it ok.
Someone find out what religion that assclown is (like we have to guess), then check and see what their holy book says about lying....
Cheers.
Posted by: fastlane | March 20, 2007 10:39 AM
A masters in "science"??!!
"I'm all trained up with science learnin', I are smart! - heeyuck, heeyuck, heeyuck!!
Posted by: Alex | March 20, 2007 10:51 AM
I had the same reaction that Blake Stacey had... a Masters degree in Science?
However, my vision of his future has him catapulting his way to a Ph.D. in science, at which point he takes a three hour cruise with six other people and is stranded on a tropical island for a good couple of years worth of episodes.
Posted by: gordonsowner | March 20, 2007 10:54 AM
I love the pirate greeting in the Guardian story heading. They should have used an exclamation mark though. Ore!
Posted by: Randy | March 20, 2007 11:27 AM
"``How many minds did he pollute?'' Dan Harrison, the father of a student in Helphinstine's class, said at the meeting."
Love it! Thanks to Mr. Harrison for putting the issue straight-out.
Posted by: frank schmidt | March 20, 2007 11:39 AM
Hey, I've heard this line somewhere... "I have a Master's Degree... In SCIENCE!". Had to scratch my head a bit...
http://www.drscience.com/
So this guy's just a parody of a parody?
Posted by: MikeM | March 20, 2007 12:40 PM
Saint Helphinstine, the Disclaimery Institute appreciates your assistance. Saint Sternberg was getting tired.
Posted by: Great White Wonder | March 20, 2007 12:52 PM
I guess he missed the day where they covered ethics.
Posted by: Tukla in Iowa | March 20, 2007 12:53 PM
Very cool lava beds near Sisters. Very cool town when it comes to making sure their kids are educated, I see.
Posted by: QrazyQat | March 20, 2007 1:06 PM
I imagine his job interview went something like this:
"Got a teaching certificate?"
"Yup."
"Need a job?"
"Yup."
"Good. When can you start?"
When you can't afford to be choosy about the quality of the teachers you hire, this sort of thing is bound to happen.
Posted by: David Livesay | March 20, 2007 1:09 PM
Perhaps he studied from Professor Science.
(Yes, I'm going to stick with the "OM" thing until people tell me to shut up. How else am I supposed to show that I'm happy you like me? :-/ )
Posted by: Blake Stacey, OM | March 20, 2007 1:19 PM
It is possible that that the teacher was not lying, and that his lesson plan was something along these lines:
"The idea that Evolution is the cause of Nazism and has anything to do with Planned Parenthood Encouraging everyone to abort five times a week in bunk, and this is why:..."
I'd think that would be unlikely if this part of the story is correct:
When did he cover Darwin=Hitler? On the first day, or did wait til the third? Fourth day?
Posted by: dorkafork | March 20, 2007 1:30 PM
Posted by: ERV | March 20, 2007 1:43 PM
Now we just need it to start happening in the South and Midwest. I'm not exactly holding my breath.
Posted by: Stuart Coleman | March 20, 2007 1:56 PM
I'm sorry PZ, but the article doesn't give enough information to determine whether the teacher is telling the truth or not.
My Primary source of creationist literature and thought is this site.
I could easily imagine a class going like "Before we start teaching evolution, I want to say that there's a lot of crazy stuff out there. You need to be able to distinguish between logical arguments based on fact and reality, and arguments that are not. Let's go look at the following, which was recently argued on a major news organization. Does something being argued on a major news organization make it a reasonable argument?"
He was not necessarily fired for creationist bunkum. The article states that he was fired for 'deviating from the curriculum on evolution.' As far as the article is concerned he might have been fired for not portraying the creationist arguments in insufficiently favorable light.
Also, he might not have finished the lesson. Or students misinterpreted it, (deliberately to get him fired).
Posted by: archgoon | March 20, 2007 2:00 PM
I wouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions. In my high school biology class (in a private Catholic school), we were shown ID videos, but it wasn't because the teachers agreed with them. Rather, ID treated with the skepticism it deserved. This teacher might not have made the wisest of decisions, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's a creationist.
Posted by: miller | March 20, 2007 2:05 PM
"During his eight days as a part-time high school biology teacher, Kris Helphinstine included Biblical references in material he provided to students and gave a PowerPoint presentation that made links between evolution, Nazi Germany and Planned Parenthood."
Umm... hello. I think the school knew exactly what he did and fired him for it.
He was bringing in his own materials... and they were not pro evolution.
Posted by: Steve_C | March 20, 2007 2:13 PM
For more complete coverage....
www.nuggetnews.com
Posted by: Jim Cornelius | March 20, 2007 2:15 PM
Ease up on the Degree in Science bit. While this guy sounds like a tool, the Degree in Science idea is how colleges are trying to prep decent high school level science teachers. Normal requirements demand that you demonstrate proficiency in two disciplines. This used to mean two degrees. That is a whole lot of school just so you can have a job that starts at under $40K. The "Science" degree teaches you multi-discipline science and often is integrated with a credentialing program. The truth is a high school Physics teacher does not need to know the math beyond advanced Calculus that a degree would require. What they need to know are core concepts and how to teach the beauty of the scientific process.
Posted by: Vitis01 | March 20, 2007 2:19 PM
Pacific Lutheran University? He may have went to scholl there too.
http://www.nsci.plu.edu/~dhansen/oak7.html
Posted by: Steve_C | March 20, 2007 2:20 PM
BTW. I'm speaking from a California schools context...
Posted by: Vitis01 | March 20, 2007 2:21 PM
#20:
While I'd agree that the AP articles on the net don't provide a whole lot of information on this teacher's materials, I suspect that the likelihood of your explanation being the correct one is something on the order of the likelihood of a tornado in a junkyard building a fully functional 747.
Posted by: Rick @ shrimp and grits | March 20, 2007 2:27 PM
Ohhh, strike one, you're out.
Posted by: Rey Fox | March 20, 2007 2:27 PM
Have I understood this? Earning an M.S. degree without having to write a thesis? How does that differ from bying the title? (Is it cheaper?)
Posted by: David Marjanović | March 20, 2007 2:36 PM
PZ,
I see the point you're making: it's also reassuring it's not another article on "those silly athiests and their ridiculous demands", I'm not sure I'd characterize it as "turnabout is fairplay". I'm afraid that puts the evolution and religion on similar footing and sounds a lot like the arguments made by people who think it would be fair to just ban both from the classroom. I know that's not what you meant, I recognize I could sound like a "semantics troll", but I think most of the Discovery Institute would like nothing more than to characterize this as completely analagous to religious parents objecting to evolution.
Okay actually I have another point of disagreement. I'm not sure even sure the "tug of war" aspect of this is more discouraging to teachers than leaving at alone. If I were teaching high school biology and had to deal with an upset religious parent, I'd like to be able to point to case like this and say "look evolution is part of the curriculum and religion is not. I could lose my job for saying what you want me to say". I'd probably add "and I happen to agree that with the school board" to be more honest and not completely pass the buck but that first point goes along way towards implying that the lawsuit threats and religious conversion attempts are pointless.
Posted by: Ian | March 20, 2007 2:36 PM
That's not how some parents of students in the class see it. One parent, John Rahm, said his daughter reported that only "one day of 10" was devoted to the study of evolution, with the rest devoted to devoted to "Intelligent Design" materials.
"The test as well was 90-plus percent ID material," Rahm said.
When asked by The Nugget if he believes the Bible is the final authority when determining scientific fact, Helphinstine said that assumptions have been made about him that are not accurate. However, he acknowledged that he was not responding directly to the question.
The red flag went up last week when parents were asked questions by their puzzled students about information that was being discussed in their freshman biology class. Concern mounted when parents examined materials that Helphinstine was distributing to his students and they brought the matter to the attention of high school principal Bob Macauley.
According to Rahm the material was "conspicuously intelligent design type information or teaching. Actually if you took the material and Googled the crucial passages it takes you to a creationist Web site called Answers in Genesis (www.answersingenesis. org) that is run by Ken Ham. ... One of the lines in his (Ham's) mission statement for the Web site is any statement which contradicts the Bible is inherently false," Rahm said.
Ummm yeah. He's done.
Posted by: Steve_C | March 20, 2007 2:40 PM
To make it easier to find, here is the link to the Nugget News article. Rey Fox already provided the money quote. Also, the exam the guy gave was reported to be 90% ID. In other words, "teach the controversy" in action.
Posted by: W. Kevin Vicklund | March 20, 2007 2:43 PM
I'm not surprised that this has happened in Central Oregon; it has happened before at Central Oregon Community College when a faculty member was teaching creationist material (he left his Powerpoint lectures on the computer I inherited) to non-majors biology students.
Fortunately, students challenged him and he was given the boot after a very lengthy, ugly and drawn out process. It explains why, during my interview for the vacancy, the search committee asked me point blank if I would consider creationism as an appropriate topic in my classroom. I did find out quickly that there is a lot of creationists in Central Oregon though, so I've centered the non-majors curriculum around evolution from day one just so they understand it's a biological SCIENCE course.
Posted by: JDM | March 20, 2007 2:47 PM
Hitler was a vegetarian. "Teach the debate." Yeah, right... Cue the chorus line:
Springtime for Hitler & Darwin!
Posted by: Jonathan Vos Post | March 20, 2007 2:50 PM
The money quote, as far as I'm concerned:
Can't even give a straight answer to a simple question.
Have these people no shame, at long last? Have they no shame?
Posted by: Eamon Knight | March 20, 2007 2:56 PM
Direct link to Nugget Newspaper article by Tia Duerrmeyer (20 March 2007 8:22:00 AM).
I like the fact that the students were puzzled and brought attention to the problem. Good for them. Kids these days, y'know, bringing tape recorders into class and tattling on their teachers. . . of such things is freedom made. Like it or not, it's the Transparent Society.
Vitis01:
I think the idea is fine. The relevant point here is that because we're given only this blanket term, we can't tell what the bloke's background actually is. According to OSU's website, it looks like he had to take Communication in Science & Industry, Research Ethics, Accounting and Finance for Business Decision Making, Marketing and Management, Innovation Management, and a "Professional Seminar Series". OK, that doesn't actually say very much about the science Helphinstine is supposed to know. Did he follow the "Applied Biotechnology" track, or did he focus on Environmental Sciences, Applied Systematics (botany), or Applied Physics?
Helphinstine has, apparently, fallen into believing that Answers in Genesis offers "good scientific fact." I'd like to know which subjects he studied, so I can get a sense of the message he missed. Was it simply that the "Applied Physics" curriculum never mentioned evolution, or did he doublethink his way through botany? Right now, I can only be irked at the AP reporter for not giving details and leaving us with only the blanket assertion, "a master's in science."
Side note: the local newspaper to which I linked above calls Helphinstine a "probationary, part-time teacher". I'm not sure whether this means he'd been placed on double-super-secret probation due to some earlier infractions or, more likely, that he was recently hired and still being evaluated.
Posted by: Blake Stacey, OM | March 20, 2007 3:10 PM
Sounds like the standard tactic.
"I will not answer that question so as not to inciminate myself!"
Posted by: Steve_C | March 20, 2007 3:14 PM
Normally, a probationary teacher is a recent hire.
Bully for Sisters for doing this. It's an interesting town; my cousins grew up there. Mix of the usual rural rednecks, professionals, and back-to-the-land hippied. Very eclectic.
Posted by: Norsecats | March 20, 2007 3:18 PM
"I respectfully decline to answer that question on the grounds that it might perturb my Darwinian fitness..."
Posted by: Jonathan Vos Post | March 20, 2007 3:23 PM
Sadly, this guy does little for what I had thought was reasonable support for the Professional Science Master's degree - as vitis01 notes in comment 24 notes, many programs are devoted to getting science-literate folks their teaching certificates. Others, particularly those with a business slant, often just train people to be managers without having to get an MBA. Those are less highly regarded since it is thought that both the science and business training is too watered down. ScienceMasters.com provides an overview of the general aims and diversity of this degree program now offered at over 50 institutions. (Disclosure: I have no association with any PSM program.)
Posted by: Abel Pharmboy | March 20, 2007 5:11 PM
Ah, great. Thanks for the nugget news article. So much for the benefit of the doubt.
Posted by: archgoon | March 20, 2007 5:36 PM
In light of the previous comments, I guess you've jumped to the right conclusion this time, PZ.
Posted by: miller | March 20, 2007 5:52 PM
Did anyone read the comment by a Christopher Manigan to the Nugget article? He goes on a rant that the firing of this teacher demonstrates how "We have been stripped of our rights as citizens." He also goes on to say that the kids are "spoiled" because the kids' and their parents' concerns are just soooo much less important than the Iraqi War, etc.
I'm sure people are typing up replies to the bozo even as I post this up, but I'm not sure if they would make it past the editors. Well, I'll just wait and see.
As for me posting my own reply, I know that I would just degenerate into incoherency due to the incoherent nature of what I would be attempting to reply to.
Posted by: Monimonika | March 20, 2007 8:07 PM
I have a science degree from OSU, just like this guy. All I can say is that he must have had his creationist ideas sewed up pretty tight before he went to OSU. In my department* I never once met a professor or staff of any sort who would have allowed anything close to the codswallop that is ID. Perhaps he got the science degree merely to push his biblical nonsense? If this is the case, which it seems to be, I'm glad Sisters had the good sense to not stand for it.
*Oddly enough, my department was in the College of Agriculture, not the College of Science-long story, that I can tell if anyone cares.
Norsecats: Yes, the small town that I grew up in also fits your description perfectly. I sometimes wonder at how hippies and rednecks could live together like that.
Posted by: Terra | March 20, 2007 8:41 PM
I wouldn't call Sisters a "nice" little town. It's pretty much a Wilde Weste theme park, inhabited by the two disparate groups of rich yuppies and old-fashioned Oregon rednecks, both groups I like to stay well away from. When people say this mix includes "hippies," they usually mean just another variety of rich yuppy. OTOH, sounds like the rich yuppies have their foot firmly on the neck of the school district, to the ultimate benefit of the children of both groups.
Posted by: Older | March 20, 2007 9:50 PM
I seem to have missed a joke reading though the comments - is it not standard in the US for a degree to be called Master of Science? Here in Australia and New Zealand, that's almost universal. My own degree is a Master of Science (which I happened to do in Biology) - would this not scan in America? Please excuse my ignorance.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor | March 20, 2007 10:23 PM
In the U.S., different institutions award either a master of arts or a master of science degree. The point is that this guy majored in "science" rather than "biology" or "physics."
Posted by: bad Jim | March 20, 2007 11:36 PM
In the US you can earn an MS in a particular area. For example, I have an MS in education - a "Master of Sciences in Education." (That title seems odd to me, since education is not what I would call a science, but it falls into the category of "social science," so there you go.)
I think the joke is that Helphinstine has an MS in science - a "Master of Sciences in Science" - rather than an MS in some particular field of study.
It immediately reminded me of Spider-Man 2, when Dr. Octopus explains that he met his wife while she was studying literature and he was studying "advanced science." My suspended disbelief plummeted helplessly to the earth on that line.
Posted by: David McGinnis | March 21, 2007 11:15 AM
Vitis01: Here one can earn degrees such as the "master of teaching mathematics" and "master of science education". Why not use one of those? Moreover, the curriculum someone dug up sounds very scattered.
David McGinnis: One of the things that seems to be more common in the US is less degree variation. For example, CMU at the undergraduate level has BAs and BSs. Period. At McGill, in Canada, there are also BEngs, BComs, BA&Sc-s, BEds and probably others.
Posted by: Keith Douglas | March 21, 2007 4:31 PM
In non-research-oriented graduate programs (clinical, other professional), you can sometimes choose between a thesis and carrying out a final project (sometimes called a capstone project) which is relevant to your planned career.
Posted by: RavenT | March 21, 2007 4:51 PM