Post by Cody Shea on Dec 20, 2005 22:59:40 GMT -5
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – Only a few weeks after his landmark speech at an AFL-CIO rally in Tennessee, Senator Cody Shea (D-NC) returned to his home state to make a similar appearance at the annual meeting of the collected southern affiliates of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The senator met with teachers from all across the south and discussed at length about the President’s new budget and his proposed amendment that would increase labor spending.
"Bottom line, the future of our great nation rests with the children. If these children are not given the education they need, that they deserve, then we all fail. What the President needed to be reminded of was that merely throwing money at the education system is not entirely the answer."
"A strong, vibrant, and respected Teachers’ Union is as much a boon to education as federal funding, if not more. The education system has long suffered being undercut financially by Republican fat cats in the past without entirely imploding, and the reason for that are the unions."
Over the course of the evening the senator fielded numerous questions ranging from the current state of partisan politics to the role of teachers in the War on Terror.
"You are our first line of defense against the greatest enemy our country has ever known; ignorance. By replacing fear and suspicion with knowledge and critical thinking, you will do more for protecting our nation than a lifetime’s worth of defense spending."
However, despite all the other topics discussed, the seemingly most important was the ongoing debate on the teaching of evolution vs. intelligent design in schools.
"What I feel is going on is a grave misconception. The far-right wing has tried to label anyone who does not support the teaching of intelligent design as an atheist with an anti-Christian agenda. It’s a shameful lie that I want to dispel right now. There is a place for the teaching of creationism, it’s called the church. That is where I go, as well as many others, to receive the information that meshes with my religious beliefs. My children were taught creation in a school as well, it’s called Sunday school. That is where such a deeply emotional and personal matter as one’s religious faith needs to be kept, in the place of worship."
"The school, the science classroom, is a place for the teaching of accepted, tested, and supported scientific fact. I would have no problem with intelligent design if it had undergone even a miniscule amount of scientific examination. It hasn’t. There are no peer reviewed and researched studies done that substantiate the claim of intelligent design. The entire concept is nothing more than a public relations campaign put on by a right-wing lobbying group."
The views of Senator Shea on the issue seemed to resonate with those in attendance, as many in attendance said they would support the campaigns in their home states of other Democrats.
"Bottom line, the future of our great nation rests with the children. If these children are not given the education they need, that they deserve, then we all fail. What the President needed to be reminded of was that merely throwing money at the education system is not entirely the answer."
"A strong, vibrant, and respected Teachers’ Union is as much a boon to education as federal funding, if not more. The education system has long suffered being undercut financially by Republican fat cats in the past without entirely imploding, and the reason for that are the unions."
Over the course of the evening the senator fielded numerous questions ranging from the current state of partisan politics to the role of teachers in the War on Terror.
"You are our first line of defense against the greatest enemy our country has ever known; ignorance. By replacing fear and suspicion with knowledge and critical thinking, you will do more for protecting our nation than a lifetime’s worth of defense spending."
However, despite all the other topics discussed, the seemingly most important was the ongoing debate on the teaching of evolution vs. intelligent design in schools.
"What I feel is going on is a grave misconception. The far-right wing has tried to label anyone who does not support the teaching of intelligent design as an atheist with an anti-Christian agenda. It’s a shameful lie that I want to dispel right now. There is a place for the teaching of creationism, it’s called the church. That is where I go, as well as many others, to receive the information that meshes with my religious beliefs. My children were taught creation in a school as well, it’s called Sunday school. That is where such a deeply emotional and personal matter as one’s religious faith needs to be kept, in the place of worship."
"The school, the science classroom, is a place for the teaching of accepted, tested, and supported scientific fact. I would have no problem with intelligent design if it had undergone even a miniscule amount of scientific examination. It hasn’t. There are no peer reviewed and researched studies done that substantiate the claim of intelligent design. The entire concept is nothing more than a public relations campaign put on by a right-wing lobbying group."
The views of Senator Shea on the issue seemed to resonate with those in attendance, as many in attendance said they would support the campaigns in their home states of other Democrats.