The Freshwater Case (ongoing)

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FOR PUBLICATIONUNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUITC.F., by and through his parents

TERESA FARNAN and BILL FARNAN,Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.CAPISTRANO UNIFIED SCHOOLDISTRICT; DR. JAMES CORBETT,

individually and in his officialcapacity as an employee of Capistrano

Unified School District, Defendants-Appellees,

andCALIFORNIA TEACHERS

ASSOCIATION/NEA; CAPISTRANOUNIFIED EDUCATION ASSOCIATION,

Intervenors-Appellees.

OPINIONFISHER, Circuit Judge:

The First Amendment provides that “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” U.S. Const. amend. I. The government runs afoul of the Establishment Clause through disparagement as well as endorsement of religion. See Catholic League for Religious & Civil Rights v. City & Cnty. of S.F.,624 F.3d 1043, 1060 (9th Cir. 2010) (en banc) (Silverman, J., concurring); id. at 1053-54 (Kleinfeld, J., dissenting); see also Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520, 532 (1993). In this case, a former public high school student alleges that his history teacher violated his rights under the Establish-ment Clause by making comments during class that were hostile to religion in general, and to Christianity in particular. Mindful that there has never been any prior reported case holding that a teacher violated the Constitution under comparable circumstances, we affirm the district court’s conclusion that the teacher is entitled to qualified immunity. Because it is readily apparent that the law was not clearly established at the time of the events in question, and because we may resolve the appeal on that basis alone, we decline to pass upon the constitutionality of the teacher’s challenged statements. See Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 129 S. Ct. 808, 815-18 (2009).

Filed August 19, 2011

In this case, a former public high school student alleges that his history teacher violated his rights under the Establishment Clause by making comments during class that were hostile to religion in general, and to Christianity in particular. Mindful that there has never been any prior reported case holding that a teacher violated the Constitution under comparable circumstances, we affirm the district court’s conclusion that the teacher is entitled to qualified immunity.

So many flare-ups…only the NCSE can keep up with them…

Some of My Goals Regarding Evolution Education

• Emphasize the nature of science and the value of methodological naturalism

“I think you should be more explicit here in Step Two”

Science - Not a Democracy!

From Neil deGrasse Tyson Presentation, TAM 2011

The Galileo Affair – the Original Call for “Equal Time”

Written as conversations between three main characters, with equal consideration given to Galileo’s helio-centric arguments and Pope Urban’s geocentric views. Sagredo, animpartial scholar, weighs the argumentsof Salviati, a Copernican scientist, …

and Simplicio, who espouses the view of the Church. Simplicio is depicted as a fool, and is eventually reduced to blind rage by the evidence supporting Copernican theory. The Pope was a little upset. Galileo is my hero.

From the NAS Framework (Chapter 10) …

Important Aspects of Science Curriculum … Considerations of the historical, social, cultural, and ethical

aspects of science and its applications, as well as of engineering and the technologies it develops, need a place in the natural science curriculum and classroom [32, 33]. The framework is designed to help students develop an understanding not only that the various disciplines of science and engineering are interrelated but also that they are human endeavors. As such, they may raise issues that are not solved by scientific and engineering methods alone.

For example, because decisions about the use of a particular technology raise issues of costs, risks, and benefits, the associated societal and environmental impacts require a broader discussion. Perspectives from history and the social and behavioral sciences can enlighten the consideration of such issues; indeed, many of them are addressable either in the context of a social studies course, a science course, or both. In either case, the importance of argument from evidence is critical.

Some of My Goals Regarding Evolution Education

• Emphasize the nature of science and the value of methodological naturalism

• Emphasize the explanatory power of evolutionary theory

Nothing in biology makes sense, except in the light of evolution

(Dobzhansky, 1973)1. Why do all organisms share DNA, RNA, ribosomes, and

the same genetic code for producing proteins?2. Why do many organisms possess physical features that

help them live in their particular environments?3. Why are beetles the most diverse group of organisms?4. Why do antibiotics gradually lose their effectiveness?5. Why have some species (ex. mammoths) gone extinct?6. Why do we have a tailbone?7. Why do native species often suffer when exotics are

introduced?8. Why does infanticide exist among lions and other

animals?9. Why are fossils of marine organisms found on mountain-

tops?10. Why are marsupials found mainly in Australia?

The DNA Fairy!

Based on what you know about survival

of the fittest, use deduction to predict

this toad’s environment