SOS Romania - theory of evolution removed from curricula - please support our campaign to bring it back in schools
Remus Cernea
the theory of evolution and philosophical approaches on religion in
Romanian public schools, by sending us an email at
freedomof...@gmail.com no later than Monday, 24 March 2008.
The whole letter is below and the link to the open letter is here
(if the link doesn't work, please go to www.humanism.ro and then
English and you will find the details on this issue):
http://www.humanism.ro/articles.php?page=62&article=223
My best wishes,
Remus Cernea
Executive director
The Solidarity for Freedom of Conscience
www.humanism.ro
freedomof...@gmail.com
+4.0727.583.594
Open Letter to The Romanian Ministry of Education, Research, and Youth
Put the theory of evolution and philosophical approaches to religion
back in biology and philosophy curricula in Romanian public schools!
Mr. Minister Cristian Adomnitei,
The elimination from public school curricula of one of the most
important and influential scientific theories and of critical
philosophical perspectives on religion constitutes a grave threat to
the students' right to information and education. It is a sufficient
reason to remove Romania from the map of countries with a respectable,
modern and competitive system of secondary education.
In the old biology curricula, valid until the 2006-07 academic year,
information on the theory of evolution represented about 15 percent of
the informational volume for the 11th and 12th forms (depending on the
type of high school). The curricula contained, under the "History of
Life" section, themes such as: General presentation of classical and
modern theories concerning the origins and evolution of life, Outline
of primitive organisms, Proofs of evolution (paleontology, comparative
anatomy, comparative embryology, comparative biochemistry), The
evolution of man, Mechanisms of speciation (selection, determining
factors and types of selection, intra- and inter-specific speciation).
The old philosophy curriculum, under the chapter "God", offered young
men and women the opportunity to study both religiously-inspired
philosophical views (such as those of Pascal or Thomas Aquinas), as
well as critical perspectives on religion, among which those
formulated by philosophers such as Voltaire, Epicurus, Nietzsche, or
Camus.
There is no reasonable explanation for the decision of Romanian
authorities through Order no. 5959 of 12.22.2006 (Appendix 2), signed
by former minister of education and research Mihail Hărdău, to
eliminate this information from the relevant curricula. The statement
by the Minister of Education to the effect that the theory of
evolution is nevertheless studied "implicitly" is a nonsense and put
your institution in a delicate position. In light of Romania's
obligations as a member of the European Union and of the Council of
Europe, the fact that you have failed to act in order to rectify this
situation, despite the request of the Solidarity for Freedom of
Conscience on 9 October 2007, only worsens your position.
Ironicaly, over the past months, an ample public debate on the
educational reform in this country and on the new bills on education
has been underway. But to violate the students' right to information
and education in the manner outlined above effectively voids any
principled discourse on reform in Romanian education.
During the mandatory 10 years of school students are often
familiarized, during confessional religion classes, exclusively with
the literal Biblical conception of the world, according to which God
created the world in 7 days, woman was created out of one of Adam's
ribs, and so on. In religion textbooks, the theory of evolution is
presented as an error of modern science. According to one recent study
commissioned by the government, only 14 percent of Romanian students
regard evolutionism as a correct theory.
The mission of a modern education system is to offer children
unfettered access to knowledge rather than to indoctrinate them
religiously or politically. Resolution no. 1580/2007 on "The dangers
of creationism in education" of the Council of Europe, to which
Romania is a party, provides among others that:
15. The teaching of all phenomena concerning evolution as a
fundamental scientific theory is therefore crucial to the future of
our societies and our democracies. For that reason it must occupy a
central position in the curriculums, and especially in the science
syllabuses, as long as, like any other theory, it is able to stand up
to thorough scientific scrutiny (...)
19. The Parliamentary Assembly therefore urges the member states, and
especially their education authorities to:
19.5. promote the teaching of evolution as a fundamental scientific
theory in the school curriculums."
In order to meet these standards, we respectfully ask you to:
1. Immediately reintroduce, during the current
academic year, the theory of evolution in the high school biology
curricula.
2. Immediately reintroduce, during the current
academic year, in high school philosophy curricula, the topic "God" as
represented in the old curricula, which familiarized young Romanians
with both religious perspectives and viewpoints critical of the
latter.
3. In order to restore the informational balance,
in view of the confessional nature of religion classes, to introduce
starting with the 2008-09 academic year, in both primary and secondary
education, accessible presentations of the theory of evolution.
PS: On 26 February 2008 we have announced during a press conference
held at the National Museum of National History, within an exhibition
of dinosaur fossils, the start of an ample civic campaign on the issue
of the teaching of evolution in public schools. We shall request the
support of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the University
of Bucharest and of other prestigious international universities and
research institutes, of the Romanian Academy and other scientific
academies abroad, of Romanian and European political parties, public
personalities in the country and abroad, important NGO's, of Romanian
and foreign press. Last but not least, we will ask for the support of
students and their parents, teachers, and the Romanian scientific
community.
You are invited to sign this open letter, as a private individual or
as an authorized representative of an institution or an NGO, by
sending us an email at freedomof...@gmail.com no later than
Monday, 24 March 2008.
Please make the media aware of this letter. The more written on it in
the international press, the easier it will be to put pressure on
Romanian authorities.
You may also send the letter above and your signature on the address
of the Ministry of Education, by email (at
informar...@medu.edu.ro ), fax (at +4.021.315.50.99), or
registered mail (at Ministerul Educatiei, Cercetării si Tineretului,
Str. Gen. Berthelot 28-30 Sector 1, 010168, Bucuresti, Romania).
Should you choose this option, please confirm your signature at
freedomof...@gmail.com no later than Monday, 24 March 2008.
Should the authorities fail to make the requested decision within an
acceptable time frame, we will organize a public protest on 26 March
2006 and forward all signatures of support to the Ministry.
Remus Cernea
Executive director
The Solidarity for Freedom of Conscience
www.humanism.ro
freedomof...@gmail.com
+4.0727.583.594
Details on this issue:
Romania removes theory of evolution from school curriculum
http://www.thediplomat.ro/reports_1207.php
Resolution 1580 (2007) - The dangers of creationism in education
http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/AdoptedText/ta07/ERES1580.htm
Romanian authorities in severe violation of the rights to freedom of
conscience, thought and religion
http://www.humanism.ro/articles.php?page=62&article=199
Open letter to Gore Vidal
http://www.humanism.ro/articles.php?page=62&article=222
axlq
Remus Cernea <freedomof...@gmail.com> wrote:
>You are invited to sign the open letter bellow to support teaching of
>the theory of evolution and philosophical approaches on religion in
>Romanian public schools, by sending us an email at
Petitions don't work against policymakers entrenched in their
religious dogma. There are only 2 remedies: (a) Let the chips fall
where they may, and when Romanian students are recognized worldwide
as educationally deficient, corrections will be made; (b) someone
higher up in government, or a court, reverses the decision - and
those folks aren't swayed by petitions, either.
-A