The E Word

Here's the testimony I prepared, but didn't give, at the State Board of Education public testimony on November 19th.  There were 80 some people testifying, and after I heard about 15, I realized mine would be redundant.

Thank you, Chairman McLeroy and members. 

My name is Sharon Sparlin.

I am here as a concerned citizen,

and a science theatre playwright, here in Austin.

We need our children to be fully functional in the foundational concepts of science.

I believe that means we need the science classroom to be a sanctuary,

A place to go and find the answers to testable questions about natural phenomena. 

That is the strength of the science class.

I believe we also need the sanctuary of a place of worship,

to go and ask the questions those classroom answers bring to us.

What does that answer mean to me?  To my family?  To our world?

How do I live with that answer?

That is the strength of the place of worship.

We should find a way to keep both of these places separate, strong sanctuaries. 

And I believe that will enlarge us, not limit us.

The words in the high school science standards for #3a

should stand as the teacher writing teams originally wrote them in the September draft. 

The words are strong. 

These words respect the sanctuary of science class.

And they respect the sanctuary of the place of worship.

Thank you for your time.