The E Word

Writer/Director's Notes

2009-04-26T10:09:00.004-05:00

What you see tonight took 41 years to create. It took a young girl raised in the high Episcopal church tradition, loving the lord Jesus mightily. It took her realizing she loved him so much, it was killing her. She was trying too hard to be perfect, as He demanded of her. She needed to walk away from Him. And she did. Beginning her journey anew, without Him. And she found the glory and abundance and diversity of life, and how to know it through Science.

It’s taken me almost 2 decades to not recoil from religion and the religious, but I knew that was the right place to be, so I worked at it. I’ve been reconciled now (with God, if not his followers), and am comfortable with the religious, and even nostalgic for the grand awe I felt, and the community my church engendered. When I saw how acrimonious the evolution debate was, I realized I was in a very good position to be a diplomat. I’ve been on both sides, if you will (if you must). I wanted to create an evening that showed people honestly struggling with their differences and trying to figure things out.

The original title of the show was G.O.D. Generation of Diversity: Suspend Your Disbelief.

(I like puns and wordplay, as you’ll soon discover.) Theatre and Religion both require suspension of disbelief. And both require it so that they can tell you a story. We humans need to tell stories; it is our stories that tell us how to act (or not act). Without stories as a framework for how to live our lives, we are lost. (I of course use “story” in the broadest sense possible – religion is story, science is story, governing documents are stories.)

I wanted to create a place of integration and reconciliation. A place to honor both religion and science in our lives. A place where no question is forbidden, and no question or answer is too scary – yet. So I went back to the place where “All you need to know, you learned in ….”. My historical research showed me we are using the exact same arguments against evolution that we did back when it was first proposed. So similar, in fact, that thanks to my sloppy notekeeping, I often couldn’t tell if the quote I’d pulled was from 150 years ago, or last year. This is still a new story. And this is a frightening story to many of us. So is the Christ story. The first words of that story are the angel telling us “Be not afraid. I’ve got a huge, scary story to tell you” (or something like that). I think every story, from Beowolf and Homer on down, should all begin with that: “Be not afraid. Rosy fingered dawn lifted her veil…” “Be not afraid. Once, in a galaxy far, far away…” “Be not afraid. It was the best of times…” “Be not afraid. When on board H.M.S. Beagle…” “Be not afraid. We the People, in order to form a more perfect union…”

What you see tonight is not perfect, and I revel in that. Tonight is a product of messy creation. A dozen human minds and hearts coming together and creating a story out of nothing, ex nil. I thank everyone that came in contact with this show – they breathed life into it out of the mud of my mind.

I revel in what it means to be human, and all the different ways we answer that question. I hope seeing this show makes you ask a question you never have before, and be not afraid asking it.

Creation Rocks

2009-04-14T08:25:00.010-05:00

Rehearsals are magic - we are like gods, creating a story out of thin air. As a director/playwright, my favorite moments are when actors take a line or a scene in a direction I never saw. And as director/playwright, believe me, I've seen these scene a number of different ways - mulled over how to play them again and again. So when we get it 'on it's feet' as we say, the actors seem to go through a worm hole and create a completely new dimension to the work. Creation rocks.

Here are the actors - Lynn Burnor, Kirk German and Omid Ghorashi (reaching for his new, tender seedling of an idea).

If I were god, I wouldn't have stopped at 6 days - It's so damn much fun!

2009-04-04T10:09:00.009-05:00

We moved into our glamorous warehouse this week, where we'll be until we move into the theater. It isn't air conditioned, and there was a full eighth of an inch of saw dust on the floor, which took me 3 hours to sweep 3 times and mop. I'm a firm believer that I shouldn't ask my actors to do anything I wouldn't do. So I didn't stop cleaning until I could roll around on that floor without gagging.

Speaking of actors - Here's Omid Ghorashi and Lynn Burnor taking a mug at the camera before leaving rehearsal. And Kirk German hard at work still writing down his blocking - he's a fanatic about that. And it's a good thing, since we have no stage manager right now to do it for him.

But really - it's ideal for us! We have the full size of the stage to work with, electricity to play the music, a table for props, water, etc. and height for the finches to fly. We can be there as late as we want and there's a bathroom (though to be safe, we need to stock our own TP). Kerry Seiffert at Blue Ocean Gallery has quite a gathering of artists and artisans (no courtisans spotted, so far) at his building! I'm so glad to have found this!

This past week, we were at the DAC (Dougherty Arts Center) and had a great week getting acquainted with each other and the characters.

First Rehearsal

2009-03-31T07:43:00.014-05:00

We all gathered at the DAC (Dougherty Arts Center) last night for the first time. The designers had all met before, but the actors hadn't been in the same room since auditions in late January. Eliot played us some music and showed us video.

I showed a pitiful drawing of the set. Kate, our stage manager introduced herself, and immediately started managing - she's amazing.

Adam, our composer, couldn't keep his hands off the very decrepit piano.

Once the designers left, the actors and I got down to business. First up - who the hell are these characters? We started with historical monologues.

Kirk paced the dark porch in the front of the building. After 7 minutes, they came back and we played.... And page 12 and 13 are now completely different. Ah, Collaboration! Oh, New Works, which cleave to nothing!

And when I came home, I worked with Fits to get a PR mailing out.

2009-03-29T09:02:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was busy!

I met with Sarah Saltwick, the Everything-Front-of-House-and-House-Itself woman.

She has helped me put together a very fun time for the audience on a very limited budget. I'm so grateful! If you come, you'll meet her at the box office - she's way cool! Here she is going over a draft of the program - it's modeled after a child's activity book. She created a great Mad Lib for the Origin of Species. I can't wait to try it myself!

Then I met with Renee Berthelette, the costumer. She got the actors together earlier this week, and had pictures waiting for me. Pretty much everything looks great - and she's way under budget still. Way to go! The costumes make these characters very accessible - down to earth.

Creative Worldview

2009-03-27T07:07:00.018-05:00

When you're writing a play, you're always writing. When you're directing a play, you're always directing. It becomes your worldview.

A friend of mine joked on Facebook yesterday that my life is one big conspiracy and everyone in my life has been hired as extras. My friends raged they weren't getting paid union standard. Little did he know, this Truman-esque vision is actually pretty accurate, only I'm the one that hired y'all. Everyone and everything is there for me to produce a show.

"If your problem is a nail, everything should look like a hammer."

Believe me, right now, all y'alls are lookin' like hammers.

I had dinner last night with a mighty group of hammers.

Genie Scott, from NCSE, sat on my left, then Chris Castillo Comer, former Director of Science for the TEA, then Steve Schafersman of TCS, then Josh Rosenau, Genie's partner in crime, then Paul Murray, who just started the blog poopchucker in response to an outburst during the press conference at yesterday's SBOE hearings, and finally the delightful Dick Neavel, who graciously hosts Steve every time he's in Austin.

We had a great time, and after-dinner conversation led to a 1am get-out-of-bed revelation for me. Really good ideas make me utter what Thomas Henry Huxley did when exposed to Darwin's idea: "How incredibly stupid

not to have thought of that." Ideas are out there, right in front of you.

When I got up at 1am to write my idea down, I also picked up Rumi, because he comments on this:

Any movement or sound is a profession of faith,

as the millstone grinding is explaining how it believes

in the river! No metaphor can say this,

but I can't stop pointing

to the beauty.

Every moment and place says

"Put this design in your carpet!"

Ideas, if you let them, flow into you. You don't have to jump in the river - you're in it already!

Just let yourself get wet. (Rumi would have said - Just say no to Shamwows - stick with Shams)

The ideas in art are not the genius of art. The genius of art is in knowing what ideas not to include. What not to weave into the particular carpet you're working on.

I am grateful for everyone I know, every movement and sound and moment and place, whether you make it into the final weave or not.

2009-03-25T13:07:00.002-05:00

?? - Says NAS sci def is too restrictive. Is FOR S&W/A&E.

Diana Walker - catholic like galileo. The board is charged with our future as a state, as a world leader. Critical thinking must be taught.

Both sides use the same phrases, and say critical thinking is important. Students asking Qs is important. But both have radically different intentions behind those phrases.

Dr. Whelan (sp)??, science phd, exxon, parent. Re: earth and space sci statement - facilitator on TEKS committee. 5 board amendments were addressed and revisions made in response.

TEKS as we revised them are rigorous. You should vote them in as we wrote them (revised).

Miller - I don't believe I have that revised TEKS.

Whelan - There are 10 members on the committee - no TEKS point is unanimous.

2009-03-25T12:51:00.004-05:00

Sally Wall (sp?), science teacher. The purpose of sci ed is to promote understanding, not beliefs.

Her own students get that. My job is not to fight cultural wars. My job is to do what I was trained to do: teach science. She is AGAINST S&W and FOR what the experts suggested.

Randy Linder (sp?) parent, UT molecular bio. Is AGAINST S&W and FOR expert suggestions.

The existing TEKS haven't adequately prepared our students. The existing TEKS need to be strengthened. The expert suggestions do that. Don't mess with it. ID is not discussed in bio class, not because there's fear of discussing other ideas, but because there's no sci evidence/research to discuss.

Mercer - why is it so important to take the one work weaknesses out.

Linder - There is a long history within the creationist movement of inserting lan with the intent of weakening teaching of evol and allowing other 'theories' to be taught in hs science class. From the political perspective, that word/phrase is trying to be used to include non-scientific ideas in science class. I think debating other theories in other kinds of classrooms is great - but not in sci class.

Miller - Do you feel the current langauge would impede teachers and students looking at all sides of the theory?

Linder - The current suggestion is great - I love being challenged, but on science issues.

Dunbar - You are the sci expert. I'm the wordsmith.

Politicians Decide What's Strong and What's Weak

2009-03-25T12:14:00.004-05:00

I'm here, once again, at the State Board of Education meeting. And once again, Kathy Miller at the Texas Freedom Network produced a top notch press conference. Now we're in testimony phase till 6:35pm.

Lee Wagstaff, science teacher, took a day off to say he's FOR the S&W language. Good science and practical technology has come from questioning established science. So he wants to keep the language, for all disciplines.

Cargill asks him how the new TEKS will affect how he teaches theory and hypothesis. He said he wants to preserve teh S&S language.

?? Asked him about the argument that teachers don't have time to teach the S&W of every theory. Is that true? And how does this affect hs students? Can they understand all this?

Wagstaff - Students bring up questions that are important to them. The kids are genuinely interested in it. They get at each other and they ask my opinion.

Debbie Wisling (sp?), middle school teacher, focuses on an organized middle school science TEKS, but wants more content focus for each grade level. She feels we sprinkle the grass, but we never water the roots. No topic goes in depth at the middle school level. She sees kids losing interest in science because of this. She advocates each grade level having content focus that doesn't repeat over the 6-8th grade years, and that allows topics to go more in depth.

She implores the board not let evol overshadow the consideration of more comprehensive issues.

Patricia ??, retired teacher, is FOR S&W. It works. She does not believe it's a religious issue - it's about good science. We must differentiate between theory fact and law. Don't limit students' quest for knowledge. There will be questions from students. As a Christian I believe what the bible says, but that does not conflict with my understanding and commitment of teaching evolution. Don't take the language out; the teachers need it for protection.

Hmm... I'm not understanding that - "protection"? What does she mean by that?

The board members keep saying it's not about religion. I wonder how that makes the religious people here feel? Like the person who shouted out many times "Fear God not man" during the press conference. I wonder if that man is as angry at the board member right now as scientists are.

Julie Berwald (sp?), ocean scientist, textbook editor. Publishers will be influenced by your decisions. Textbooks chosen must cover all the TEKS. She is AGAINST S&W. She does not want to write stuff for textbooks that is not scientific, that are not scientific facts.

Dunbar asks which publisher? McGraw-Hill. Without S&W, I feel I would not need to include alternative theories to evol. With just the A&E language, would you feel an onus to present evidence that supports and doesn't support? No. So without S&W, it wouldn't be clear what to include in the book.

?? Teacher. It scares me to imagine no S&W language. It would effect how I teach. I need to include the W in any theory I cover. Critical thought is of utmost importance.

I agree with what she says. I'd be totally behind her IF I didn't know what creationists were saying, and why they wanted the S&W language in, and the changes to textbooks they will insist on.

Cargill - Most new discoveries come from looking at weaknesses of things.

?? agrees.

I do, too. Except... McLeroy suggests bringing supernatural explanations in.

?? - Has S&W language ever made you or other teachers feel pressured to teach ID?

No.

2009-03-16T07:42:00.005-05:00

Fire is a lovely thing. I'm a fire sign, so I should think so. I got thrown out of my first bars by playing with the table candles. I prized my butane lighter in middle school, when a special few of us were allowed to carry one because we were working with macrame. Dorks with lighters. I eventually used the lighter for what it was intended for. But that wasn't until my 30's, and I'm over it already. I'm jonesing for a fire - Texas is in an Extraordinary (not just Severe, mind you) drought. So no fires. I've taken to gazing at my gas stove top. Not very satisfying.

So it was with relish that I tried out the fire trick for my show. You might have seen it last week on the Colbert Report. It's a flaming book trick. And here's what it looks like!

Happy Accidents

2009-03-09T08:31:00.007-05:00

For the last two months, and for the coming month as well, every single Sunday I have had 4 to 9 hour meetings with Eliot, the sound and projection designer. It's a lot of work for one designer to do both things, but as we move closer to integrating the two, the benefits are clear - If we're working on sound, we can always quickly ask the projectionist a question, and vice versa.

As anyone will know who's worked with me, I'm a perfectionist and control freak. I know exactly what I want the audience to experience. But I also know my brain does not contain the entire universe. The ideas, and even the miscommunications, that arise from the designers enriches the play in ways I never would have taken it. So I've learned to like happy accidents, and simply go with what's been found. A couple times El's brought me stuff that in no way did I want - but when I saw it, I went - oh my god, it's perfect! If we use that music, it would take the scene in a different direction than where I thought it would go - and it would better get us in the head of Charlie and what he's feeling.

These meetings are rehearsals in that sense - I'm playing the scene in my mind with different music, different projections, and seeing how it goes - and discovering beauty I trust we can bring to life when we add the actors. I'm even discovering scenes that we could really (god forbid) do without, if necessary.

Finch puppet math

2009-02-28T18:42:00.010-06:00

Here she is!!!!

"Do the math" You hear it all the time.

The reason people have to say it, is that it's usually scary if you actually do the math.

"Numbers don't lie" You hear that all the time, too. And it's true.

Here are the finch numbers:

12 shows and 3 tech rehearsals, making 4 finches each night (one is an extra, in case one pops)

and 4 sets of 3 finches for rehearsals yields 100 finches! Yep, during the course of 2 months, we'll make an entire flock of finches!

What does it take to make 100 finches, you ask?

700 ft of 3/4" tape

17 ft of 1/2" double stick tape

2 tape dispensers (it's a 2 person job, and we have to make them fast)

1 package construction paper

100 ft black upholstry thread

1 pair scissors for cutting the thread and...

350 yards of string

1/4 yard of white material for the beaks, cut with

1 pr pinking sheers

16 3/16" dowels painted black with

1 quart cheap flat black paint and foam brushes

oh yeah,

and 150 body balloons (extras, because some WILL pop while being made)

150 head balloons (ditto extras)

500 wing balloons (ditto extras, long clown balloons, 4 for each finch)

2009-02-25T20:50:00.002-06:00

There's something truly downheartening - even embarrassing- about sending a letter asking people to donate their hard-earned dollars the same week the Dow plummets to the level it was at back in 1997 when I started paying attention.

That was also the year I produced my first show - an adaptation of Beowulf. It was produced in the 'great hall' of a downtown park, and out in the park itself. One magical, Narnia-like scene had the entire audience in the space between/under 3 massive pine trees, and the actors in the trees, 20 feet up. Pretty damn cool.

Those were the days of $2,000 shows.

Today, the Dow is at the same level, and the show is 8 times more expensive! Ouch!

But this show is also 8 times - no - 800 times more important than Beowulf. I hope those who care about this issue, and can afford to help it come to fruition, will do so. Even if it hurts a little.

Finches!

2009-02-21T09:07:00.010-06:00

I met with Connor Hopkins of Trouble Puppet Theatre last night at his workshop in the Salvage Vanguard Theatre space. He's been working on puppets since early January. We bought a faulty tank of helium, and spent a month figuring that out. The balloons wouldn't float. They just dropped straight to the ground. I watched as Connor sucked from the tank and talked like Betty Boop. Yep. Helium alright. Then why didn't the balloons float?

I had bought brown balloons, because the finches are dull creatures and from the earth, so I thought maybe all that dye makes them heavier than, say, white or yellow balloons. And indeed, the lighter colored balloons that came with the tank did float - but just barely. A string on them pulled them down.

Then it occurred to me that it was only 25 degrees. Maybe when it warms up to 70 or so, the helium will fully inflate and work. Seventy came and went. No luck.

Connor then thought - clown balloons - maybe they'd do better. I bought clown balloons. They did a tad, but just a tad, better. They hung in mid air. Cool effect, but not what I was going for.

Connor finally decided it had to be the tank. I'd bought it at a party place, trying to save money. Ha! I went to Air Action - a true industrial tank place. They let me know that party tanks do, indeed, do a lesser percentage of helium, especially since prices have skyrocketed in the past few years. Grrrr.... The friendly guy allowed me to blow up one of my brown balloons from one of their tanks. Sure enough - it was eagerly straining to meet their ceiling.

So I bought a tank, and here are the results: Finches 1.0

An Evening with Michael Dowd

2009-02-17T09:41:00.005-06:00

I had a wonderful evening last night at the home of Frances Osborn, of the Wildflower Unitarian Universalist Church in south Austin. She knits, and has looms all over her house - you have to shimmy past a 6 foot long one to get to the bathroom. The silk yarn on it right now is smoother than buttah. And she was creating a sleeve next to me last night, as we listened to Michael Dowd, which is why I was in her home to begin with. (By the way, she also served unsweetened tea - a treat for me, here in sweet-tea-Texas. Thanks, Frances!)

But on to Dowd. (Of course, I didn't get a picture - I still don't think about these things until I get home. Besides, it's much more interesting to talk with someone, than to take their picture.)

Dowd is a proponent of "evolutionary theology". While I don't agree entirely with this philosophy, I do agree that his efforts are valuable. He reaches out to religious people - people hungry to know more, people feeling discord with science and religion and wanting integrity, and even people hungry to fight him on anything evolutionary, no matter what his message.

I like his word 'integrity'. There's a moral value associated with the word which speaks of wholeness and peace, but I also like that it suggests integration. Many militant athiests don't want to even allow for this path. But I think at this time in our very young understanding of the universe, evolution and psychology, we must allow for it. It's a valuable path at this time, and I'm glad he and Connie Barlow, his wife, are on it, and bringing others along with them.

Read his stuff here.

Sponsors, Diplomats - Lend me your wallets.

2009-02-14T15:03:00.002-06:00

The time has come to ask for sponsorships - people who care enough about what I'm doing with this project, that they'll part with their hard earned dollars in order to help me make it happen. ... In this economy? Yeah... I know... it's the other E word. But my E word needs a bi-partisan stimulus package of it's own - I'm trying to stimulate a little evolutionary diplomacy!

The direct mail portion looks like this at the moment. Hopefully, it'll get people motivated to help fund this!

2009-02-08T20:57:00.009-06:00

There's science... and then there's fun. Darwin himself collected this plant!

I went to Darwin Day at the Texas Memorial Museum on the UT campus with Sarah Saltwick today. We got in touch with several of our inner kindergarteners.

There was stained glass beetle making, pasta art, digging in the sand box for fossils, looking at a real live rattler, looking at a long dead rattler in a jar of alchohol, more beetles, looking at diatoms under a microscope, face painting, and lots of dinosaur fossils.

We went to get ideas for our own pre-show entertainment - we hope to create lots of fun, hands on things to do.

On the way out, we ran into the photo 'booth'. Here I am as Mr. Darwin himself. Sarah is the tortoise, and a young friend is the blue footed booby.

Then we caught sight of the youngest darwinian at one month old.

2009-02-05T08:18:00.008-06:00

The thing I like best about this show is it really lets you get in touch with your inner kindergartener. Adam Sultan, Eliot Haynes and I sat down for our first meeting about Adam's contribution - original arrangements for both instruments and a cappella 3 part harmony. The idea is to have all the music the actors interact with have the same kidsy feel to it. I took Orff instruments (percussion - zylophones, cow bells, triangles, drums, add piano, throw in kazoo and animal noises) as the starting point. Adam's top of the line animal noise maker is seen in the photo.

But it's also serious work as well. Which things fall in Adam's style? Which pieces need choreography, so need to be done first (so I have time to choreograph them). Which music acts as ambient mood, and what's the mood of the scene... that we haven't even started rehearsing yet? The teacher "appears" only as a disembodied voice - what, exactly, does that sound like? And on and on... It gets tiring.

2009-02-04T07:09:00.003-06:00

Here's an interesting tidbit: Carra is a high school English teacher. She accompanied the geeks among her students to an academic decathelon last week. It was held at a public San Antonio high school. Once everyone was gathered, a student got up and prayed for the gathering "in the name of Jesus". Now, Carra works at a school with conservative base. She had conservative students with her. And even they looked up at her, while their heads were bowed, and said "This is illegal, isn't it?"

What happened next? The prayer ended and they started the live multiple choice quiz in.... wait for it... evolutionary biology. The kids did great. Most were very knowledgeable. Ah... Texas oxymorons. (And no, I'm not name-calling.)

As for our own oxymoron - after all this great thinking about

how to entertain the audience, at the end of the evening, we were all really just interested in Sarah's cool purse. You can't take the girl out of the theatre artist... or scientist.

2009-02-04T06:55:00.004-06:00

Last night, Carra Martinez and Sarah Saltwick stopped by for tea and cake (no kidding) and some brainstorming. We started with the premise "You have 12 full time staff and $12,000. Now go."

What were we going to do with all those resources? Give the audience of The E Word the time of their lives! See, plays don't have to be just about what happens on stage after the curtain speech. There's that half an hour of waiting for that curtain speech once you've arrived. There's the wait in the bathroom line at intermission. There's the wait after the play to say congrats while the actors get out of costume. We set out to banish The Wait. After all, kindergarteners have very short attention spans.

We cooked up an entire gourmet stew of fun things to experience.... People would come away from this night freshly inspired. Perhaps we'd create a new Newton, a new Nobel Laureate, a new international diplomat, and send him to the Middle East. Alas... we only have one volunteer (Sarah) and about $200.

2009-02-03T08:14:00.006-06:00

The designers are in the room!

Last Sunday, the design team for The E Word met for the first time. We listened to some of the music - from Barney to Woodstock! From left to right - Adam Sultan is arranging and composing original music. He even has an animal sound keyboard! K. Eliot Haynes showed us some of the projections we'll use - bright, colorful and from a kid's perspective. Renee Berthelette presented her costume design sketches - the lastest in kid's spring fashion! Stephen Pruitt is just taking it all in at this point - lighting is always the last design to happen. And Connor Hopkins is at work on the challenge of the finch balloon puppets.

2009-01-25T07:26:00.001-06:00

Conan O'Brien, 1/22/09

Epitomizes my embarrassment at being a Texan this week:

"Everyone's excited about these new times. In a recent interview, Larry King said that he was thrilled to see the first African American become president. King says it's almost as exciting as the time he saw the first fish evolve into a lizard... Speaking of evolution, this week, members of the Texas public school board are debating just how evolution should be treated in science class. For instance, should they call it 'the theory of evolution' or should they call it 'the lie that makes god cry'?

I vote for 'the school board that makes god cry'.

2009-01-21T11:31:00.004-06:00

C. Steven McDaniel

member of a sci based industry in Tx

We cannot allow creationism in the science classroom.

We urge the SBOE not include any language that allows/supports creationism or any alternative to evolution.

Cyndi Crews

concerned parent and citizens

The S&W should be examined and understood by students.

69% of americans agree with me.

I want the integrity of sci to stand. Evol should be taught, but the weaknesses must not be deliberately removed.

Paul Lively

Houston, military, parent of 3 children

Removing s&w would squelch info, and only include the info of a single view.

Textbooks must have all info about all theories in there.

S Dunbar How do you feel this will impact academic freedom.

Paul Several teachers he knows were told not to talk about evol weaknesses.

Teachers he know are afraid to discuss it, even when students ask those questions.

Paul is accusing sci experts of being frauds.

We need textbooks that include more information about frauds.

Peter Johnston

history major, legal professional, parent

I want my children to develop critical thinking skills.

Students should be given info on both sides of the issues.

Kuhn enters the conversation!!

He takes a lot of time to explain Kuhn's theory.

B Dunbar Genie Scott says sci consensus should govern. Is that the standard we should use?

Peter I think there are other factors that need to be taken into consideration. History of sci shows those in power resist change.

John Heffner

high school math teacher

What's wrong with telling the truth?

S&W sounds healthy to me. Truth is the most valuable ingredient in education.

Sci is all about questions - not believing just cos the teacher tells you.

B Cargill Your wife is a sci teacher - elementary. Does she support s&w? What was her classroom experience.

John Evol doesn't come up in elementary class. She's an advocate of truth.

B Agosto You said you're a creationist, but you don't want creationist taught in schools.

John We aren't campaigning for equal time, but we are campaigning for the truth.

B So all we're talking about is that one word - weaknesses.

Iad?? Trotter

tx a&m chem engineering

All scientists know every major sci discovery since Einstein has made it more difficult for evol theory to be believed.

To eliminate lively discussions of any sci topic is a sci stopper.

Ryan Valentine

TFN

Honor the workgroups and the standards they produced.

Keeping weaknesses means the board will try to get textbooks that include bad sci.

2009-01-21T11:02:00.003-06:00

Sherry Taft Master of Ed

Speaking on the adolescent brain (I'm an educational psychologist), specifically students transitioning from middle to high school. Teaching students the ability to think abstractly, directly influences their success. Students need to wrestle with both sides of an argument/ a theory. We need to create a generation that can question and decide for themselves their own personal opinion.

Eugenie Scott!!

NCSE

The current a&e language is superior, expressing correctly how science happens.

S&w is inaccurate, and singled out evol theory.

B Could you give us an example of pseudo sci?

Genie The info that is presented by ICR and other creationist organizations doesn't support sci as it's understood by scientists.

Weaknesses aren't how sci is done.

Def of bio evol - living things have common anscestors. the actual structure of tree of life. the process of evol - how important is n.s. vs other processes.

Mercer and Genie got into detailed junk.

B What happens if we do vote s&w back in.

Genie It would be unfortunate. This is about what goes into textbooks 2 years from now. From the editors I've spoken to, they will produce a textbook for Texas, but they won't put that silly stuff in the books for the rest of the nation.

B How do you respond to the academic freedom argument?

Genie I can't see how the presence or not of s&w language will stop students from asking questions.

B Do you see a different meaning for s&w, like Hennenhoefer mentioned, since 1997.

Genie Yes. It's become a slogan to try to bring creationism into the sci class. S&W is a way of attacking evol, and supporting creationism.

B Do any other states use s&w?

Genie Minnesota has it. West Virginia tried to get it in.

B Mercer You agree that s&w hasn't been a problem in the last 20 years?

Genie Yes, cuz it hasn't gotten into the textbooks.

2009-01-21T10:43:00.003-06:00

We should use 'critique' instead of 'evaluate'.

We need to not limit thinking. How many conformists are nobel prize winners?

In my college sci classrooms, I teach my students to question ideas and appearances.

Our greatest thinkers were considered wackos.

I urge you to keep language that makes good sci happen in this state.

We should keep s&w.

B Is pseudo sci a prob with your students?

?? Pseudo is a claim that is made when philosophy enters into the discussion of sci.

Cory Cunningham

Public hs senior

I intend to defend the rights of every student given us by the constitution.

It's the board's duty to make sure both s&w are taught and considered.

B When did critical thinking start in your educational process?

Cory Students are asked to think critically at every level.

B So you would come to a sci class already with the ability to critically analyze?

Cory Absolutely.

Eric Hennenhoefer

This is a PR issue for business in Texas.

The political games we're playing with will burn us all

SS !!

Eric S&W is a toxic term. If we put it in our standards, we invite litigation disaster. Mktg is powerful.

He blames the 2 dems on the board for not putting a 7th expert on the expert panel, purposely keeping it 3pro and 3anti, thereby perpetuating the even-handed controversy.

S&W has been rebranded since you adopted it 20 years ago. It has been co-opted by ID'ers since 1997, and should be taken out.

B So in your opinion a&e language would be less toxic?

Eric I don't have an opinion on a&e, just definitely not s&w.

2009-01-21T09:57:00.005-06:00

Art Dickerson wants to retain s&w language. He has a sci degree.

Until the theory of evol is conclusively proved by the scientific method, we must retain the s&w language.

B Do you not agree with me that what we don't know is what makes sci fun and exciting?

Art I think exploration of any type is what makes sci fun. I think it's damaging when we take one aspect of a theory and extrapolate that the whole theory is true.

Art agrees with Mercer that we need a definition of evol. Mercer again pointed out that Art, like others, think micro evol occurs, but macro - a primate as our ancestors - doesn't.

Art thinks darwinism is the greatest hoax foisted on mankind. Piltdown man is an example of that.

Arturo De Lozanne UT sci prof

Like Obama said, we need to restore science to it's rightful place.

Some of you say the proposed standards deny academic freedom or the ability of students to ask questions. The standards expose critical thinking, and describe the diff between hypotheses and theories. This is much more accurate than s&w. Sci love to discuss info that may support or not a theory. They do not address pseudo sci. And that is what some people have been discussing today.

B Do you think 'analyze and eval' is good sci language, and still allow discussions in the classroom.

Art Yes. Nowhere in the standards is there anywhere saying students should not ask Qs.

B An earlier speaker said there's no foundation for macro evol.

Art It would take an hour or two to explain that those are not valid criticisms of evol. We have the experts at UT who could do that just down the block. If you give me the time, I'd be happy to explain.

B Please expound upon pseudo sci. And your view of s&w vs. a&e.

Art S&w sounds reasonable, but it has been used to block the adoption of good textbooks, and to introduce textbooks that aren't scientific. A&e is a more modern view of sci than s&w. It's more in line with how sci is done.

SS This is the approach Darwin used when he said 'the current view' 'the standard view' 'the old view' instead of 'the stupid view' 'the wrong view'. It's good, non-confrontational language.

Art Students who don't have a solid edu in evol fall behind in admissions.

SS Is this true?

B You said you're concerned about possible lawsuits if we keep s&w. But there have been no lawsuits in the past 20 years with that language.

SS Good point.

B All the board wants our children to have a good understanding of evol. We differ on how far that understanding hsould go. Plesae give a specific example of pseudo sci.

Art The book in the hall says DNA sequence analysis can't determine ancestors. The book mis-understands some of the facts.

B Mercer If a student understands micro and macro evol, but doesn't agree with it, would that make them an unqualified candidate?

ARt Admissions aren't looking at people's beliefs. They are looking for a solid understanding of the evol process. If they don't have this, they won't be able to intregrate their understanding of bio processes. Their understanding is revealed in their GRE scores. Having doubts about how evol happens leads them to not understand how evol happens.

SS Very interesting statement. Is it true?

Art Evol starts once there's life. Origin of life is a separate issue/theory in sci. There is not one overarching theory for origin of life. There is one overarching theory for evol (already existing living organisms).

B So evol wasn't developed to explain the origin of life.

Art Correct.

10 minute break now

2009-01-21T09:43:00.004-06:00

Angela Weissgarber

parent of texas students

She is dismayed their bio teacher said they'd take no questions at all during the evol unit. This disregards the TEKS standard to discuss the s&w. This created animosity with the teacher. And this was not done for other units. Students should be able to ask questions about evol without fear of recrimination.

SS I agree!!

Weiss The s&w of all sci theories should continue to be a part of the curriculum.

B asked if they brought it to the attention of the teachers or administrators.

No - she feared grade retribution for her children.

B - perhaps it's an issue just with your school system, since s&w have been in the TEKS for the past 20 years.

B - Dunbar - How do you think the atmosphere in the classroom would change if s&w were eliminated.

Weiss It would make no difference in our system. I think more districts will become like ours- more kids will not be able to ask questions about evol. Our teachers should be taught that can address both s&w of theories.

B Mercer - She hit on his real fear - If you daughter believed in the weaknesses of evol, will that make her daughter a lesser doctor?

B Did you look at the textbook your children are using, and see if s&w are addressed in there?

Weiss was unsure.

B I called Ben Stein to see if he could come to Austin, but we couldn't afford him.

B I'm wondering why Weiss hasn't addressed the teacher directly.

Weiss She's an excellent teacher, a really good teacher. But she didn't cover the s&w in the TEKS.

B Then I wouldn't call her an excellent teacher.

SS So... her daughter wasn't taught the weaknesses of evol, but UT accepted her anyway. So she must have gotten a good education to go for that pre-med degree!

2009-01-21T09:09:00.007-06:00

Loresa Loftin is concerned that there's not enough space science in the standards in the elementary level. The planets and solar system aren't mentioned. Students need to develop an understanding of the universe. She said some 5th graders think the moon shrinks when it's waning, and that man has walked on the sun and Mars.

Board thinks it was supposed to have been moved from 3rd to 4th grade. Loftin doesn't believe that happened. They left it undetermined...

Helen Holdsworth, Tx Wildlife Assoc

We need to foster a basic literacy of natural resources, to face the problems we create every day. We need to create a legacy of stewardship and conservation, with science based education, so the children today can be knowledgeable leaders tomorrow.

Lorna Shepherd

2ndary sci coor for middle school sci

Vertically aligning the standards is very difficult, especially when there are 'danglers' - standards that don't obviously tie in with other disciplines.

Simple machines are gone from the standards. Bring them back.

There is also concern across the state with equipment cost.

B adds the cost and knowledge to maintain that equipment as well.

Royal Smith

phd north texas psych

Sees the conflict as dogmatic censorship (the sci) vs. intelligent questioning (the rel)

He quotes Darwin that we should explore evidence against macro evol.

He quotes Einstein "one must not conceal any part of what one recognizes to be true".

Mercer clarifies micro evol as small changes we see happening all around us every day. Everyone agrees with that.

Macro evol is about the tree of life, common anscestors, and primates as our ancestors - the transformation of species. Not everyone agrees with that.

Smith "90% of the genes in chimps are human, but I dont' think that would get you child support from Texas" Truly funny!

Teaching strengths and weaknesses will generate good thinking and questioning. It will generate those hypothesis that will contribute to good scientific investigation.

He does not think teaching 'analyze and evaluate' is the same as teaching 'strengths and weaknesses'. He thinks dogmatic evolutionists will not allow questioning of those who do not believe in evolution.

B Do you consider the gaps (missing transitional fossils) to be a weakness in evol?

Smith To me there is no evidence in the fossil record of transmutation of species.

B Sci see missing fossil transitions as incompleteness and uncertainty but not a weakness of the theory.

2009-01-21T08:46:00.006-06:00

I started the day of testimony off at the SBOE meeting this morning on a positive note. I commended the board members and the workgroups they put in place on creating the high school science TEKS standards. I watched the workgroups create the TEKS standards, and they did great! And I told the board they should be proud of their workgroups, they should be proud of these standards, and they should adopt them as-is.

Kevin Fisher, one of the people in the biology workgroup, then stepped up to testify, and continued the positive approach.

Then several people representing teachers, and another workgroup member testified. The board has been asking really good questions, and not allowing the E word to take over the more broad concern of the standards in general.

Chris Mittal

A private high school student says his friends are taught evol as fact, and he wonders why questioning is not welcome. A board member asked if he feels this in any way doesn't prepare him for college/life. He said he wants to be able, and thinks he's ready to/capable

B How does talking about evol as fact shake your faith?

CM It disappointed me that questioning wasn't allowed, when I thought questioning was the basis of sci learning. Chris said he had witnessed teachers discussing how to shake students' faith. The B was rightly concerned about that.

Chris Marshall - earth sci teacher

Talks about the concern that the length of the standards. He assured the B that they cut what they could, and are sure they can teach the whole thing in one year.

He was on the workgroup as well, and is also proud of the standards.

I'm glad so many of the workgroup members are here; I wanted to tell them how much I enjoyed watching them work back in December, but I wasn't allowed to speak with them. I'm glad they got to hear my testimony sing their praises.

2009-01-07T06:36:00.008-06:00

Recently, much hubbub has been made of the bus ad campaign in Britain by the British Humanist Association saying "There's probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

On one side, Richard Dawkins complains about the word 'probably' being in there. On another side, people see it as a healthy expression of free speech - just like when Christians use busses to quote John 14:6 - to say that Christ is the only way to pray. "No man comes to the father except through me". On yet another side, Christians think it's not just illegal but a sin.

My particular beef with it is that it lumps everyone who holds religious views into the category of people who hold them, worry about it, and don't enjoy their life. Religion is only like that for some people. From a strict marketing framework, it targets only a small segment of their targeted religious audience (while angering the rest.)

But I prefer the American Humanist Association version below. Marketing-wise, it targets the entire targeted religious audience, instead of just a segment. and it's a humorus approach, so it doesn't anger as much. It's got a feel-good child-like mood to it.

2009-01-04T07:44:00.012-06:00

Audition notices are going out this week. I already have 2 people signed up. I feel like god - creating something out of nothing. Or at least like I'm pregnant - it's 4 months on and I'm showing now - no way to hide it. Only 5 months to go - gulp!

And I got a fancy dry-erase board to help with everything. Red is marketing/PR, orange is production team, brown is costumes, green is auditions and rehearsals. Whew! This keeps me sane, as long as I don't look at the big picture - that tends to overwhelm me.

And I'm already amassing props.

I saw a big, bright fun ball in the window at the Low Brow Emporium - and they happened to have 3 - just what I needed.

And the cart itself is from Linen's 'N Things going out of business sale. The economy helped me in this small, small way.

2008-12-30T07:14:00.002-06:00

For Good Self Control, Try Getting Religious About it.

2 University of Miami Psychologists find practicing religion is good for your self control.

The NYTimes article concludes: "So what’s a heathen to do in 2009? Dr. McCullough’s advice is to try replicating some of the religious mechanisms that seem to improve self-control, like private meditation or public involvement with an organization that has strong ideals.

Religious people, he said, are self-controlled not simply because they fear God’s wrath, but because they’ve absorbed the ideals of their religion into their own system of values, and have thereby given their personal goals an aura of sacredness. He suggested that nonbelievers try a secular version of that strategy.

“People can have sacred values that aren’t religious values,” he said. “Self-reliance might be a sacred value to you that’s relevant to saving money. Concern for others might be a sacred value that’s relevant to taking time to do volunteer work. You can spend time thinking about what values are sacred to you and making New Year’s resolutions that are consistent with them.”

Of course, it requires some self-control to carry out that exercise — and maybe more effort than it takes to go to church.

“Sacred values come prefabricated for religious believers,” Dr. McCullough said. “The belief that God has preferences for how you behave and the goals you set for yourself has to be the granddaddy of all psychological devices for encouraging people to follow through with their goals. That may help to explain why belief in God has been so persistent through the ages.”

2008-12-27T07:41:00.003-06:00

So here is an article about the second Pew poll on religious beliefs in America. The second one was done in August of 08, because people were so righteously indignant about the answers in the first one. It seems Americans are a generous, multi-cultural loving people; much to the chagrin of those few loud mouths among us who aren't. One of the main concerns in the first poll was that people were too stupid to understand the questions they were being asked. For instance, many identified as athiests, yet those same people also said they believed in god. Huh? So this go round, it looks like they asked people to identify as athiests or as "people with no religious faith". And then they asked everyone if athiests or "people with no religious faith" could get to heaven. Check out the graphic in the article. It appears to me to show the word 'athiest' itself carries an inherent negativity to it. More "people with no religious faith" get into heaven than "athiests". I wonder if this poll had been conducted in the 1840's if more "northern europeans" would get in than "irish" or more "coloreds" would get in than "niggers" (or was it the other way around back then?) And I wonder if we athiests should simply stop using our own 'n' word, and go with "I'm a person of no religious faith." It appears our status would improve significantly and immediately.... For those of us interested in our status improving...

2008-12-25T16:27:00.004-06:00

My official determination - the script is 95% done. I started to write 'play' instead of script, but that's not right. The play will be 95% done on May 22, the day before the last show. The script - the words and descriptions of actions - are written. Can't wait to 'get it on it's feet' as we say in theatre. And then things will change.

'Don't you think that scene would work better here?'

'We need a scene where Charlie and the finches...'

'We're singing again already? Maybe we should cut this song.'

Ah, the creative process. On to finish audition notices, and determine who will be saying these things to me.

2008-12-19T19:54:00.000-06:00

There's nothing like writing an audition notice to get my theatre juices flowing. I can't wait to get in a room full of talented people and play! What will happen? Magic, I'm sure - in ways I can't imagine or plan for.

Speaking of not imagining or planning for something: I went to the Texas Freedom Network's holiday party at Donn's Depot. They're a great group of people, and I was having a wonderful time drinking Fireman's Four on them. Then someone came by and pushed the blackjack table they'd scheduled. OK - why not? I joined the already full table as an observer. Everyone was in great spirits. And it didn't take me long to realize the dealer was top notch.

Of course, this was a corporate holiday party, where a lot of people didn't know each other, so they had name tags. I had written my first and last name on mine. What does this have to do with blackjack? All of a sudden, the dealer said "Sharon Sparlin! I'm Russ." (His nametag only said Russ, so I knew this already. What was his point, I thought to myself.) It was Russ Wiseman of the Dougherty Art Center. I had just booked his space for the auditions a few days earlier. Austin is truly a small town.

If anyone needs a good blackjack dealer - hire him (off hours only, of course).

2008-12-05T18:12:00.001-06:00

I ended a wonderful morning having lunch with Kevin Fisher and Joe Lapp.

After a day and a half of conversation on the Bio committee, Kevin was tired, but still committed.

I applaud all the teachers I saw this morning; they all were clearly passionate about teaching their subject, and creating these standards.

2008-12-05T11:38:00.000-06:00

Physics is on 3.b

"b's easy"

If they're looking at Sept, that includes the language "recognize and analyze alternative explanations... based on student -generated data". This language was deleted in Nov draft.

No changes were made.

I'd love to see the E Word Controversy parsed at this detailed a level. What, exactly, are we fighting about? What, exactly are the goals of each side? How many sides are there, anyway? What do we want people on each side to learn, exactly?

2008-12-05T11:27:00.000-06:00

"Because it's F'd" --from Physics.

Don't know what they were referring to...

God is when you solve to the nth decimal point. Just sayin.

Physics is on 3.a.

"We aren't going to touch this one with a 10 foot pole, cos we spent 10 hours doing it with all those other groups." It appears they are using the Sept version without any s&l language.

They are discussing whether to include both analyze and evaluate.

"3a is the big one"

They are focusing on 'evaluate' "causing the trouble".

Yep- they're working off of the Sept version. No s&l language, and it includes " by using emprical scientific data, logical reasoning and experimental evidence based on observational testing."

They just determined to take out 'evaluate'.

2008-12-05T11:24:00.000-06:00

Hey, this play is right up my alley! Spies, Physics and Gaelic... And it's a musical!

2008-12-05T11:07:00.000-06:00

Physics 2.e "Identify and quantify the causes and effects of uncertainties.." Wha...?

This from the Physics table.

Curious- it appears the Nov draft took this entirely out. I wonder if they are intentionally putting it back in, or if they are working off the Sept draft, and don't know the Nov deleted it.

I believe, just like at the Nov 19th SBOE meeting, they don't have the Nov version including comments and changes made from the Sept draft - they can't easily compare what, exactly, changed. Grrr...

2008-12-05T10:46:00.000-06:00

TEKS - Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills

TAKS - Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills

The TEKS is what these committees are reviewing.

There's another Observer here - a biologist from Sherman. Austin College?

Unequal access to technology is clear here; not everyone has a laptop. Those with laptops have an (adaptive?) advantage.

Astronomy just realized they don't need the phrase "during the day" in "Observe the appearance of the sun during the day" Giggle. Though they do need the phrase in "Observe the appearance of the moon during the day"

Bio says in 11.d take "including can" out

"Do stars have genus and species names?" The Astrology - I mean Astronomy table is entertaining!

2008-12-05T10:26:00.000-06:00

Hmmm.. One person at the Astronomy table doesn't know how to pronounce Tycho Brahe's last name, then seems to need some explanation of who he was. But she has a good grammatical point - there's a list of scientists to be familiar with, and they are all last names except for Brahe and 'the girl' Henrietta Leavitt. She argues for last names only for all. Now they're discussing whether to list more women, and which to include.... Wonder if they'll use their first names...

Now there's discussion of language usage - if they use "including" does that mean everyone on their list must be taught? And if they use "such as" does that mean no one on their list must be taught?

Now Bio's getting punchy - they are arguing"work/strive/? to achieve and maintain balance"

The someone says "Bio just rolls that way".

Ken Heydrick, the new Director of Science, just introduced himself to me. I told him I know about this session because of Texas Freedom Network, but that I'm also a science playwright, so I'm loving all the conversation about language.

One of the 'directives' given by the board to the committee is to review the breadth and depth of their items and reduce/conflate when possible.

Bio it taking a 10 minute bathroom/brain break.

2008-12-05T10:14:00.000-06:00

Ok - Bio 4.a A public comment pointed out you can't compare and contrast similarities and differences. You can, however, compare similarities and contrast differences. They changed it to "compare and constrast prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells".

There is always at least one member visiting another table. A very collegial atmosphere.

Physics is talking about 3.a now. One member quoted it without the strengths and limitations phrase. Their conversation regards whether to keep analyze and evaluate together, or separate them as 2 different activities.

All is clear now - it's not the Physics table - It's Astronomy. And their 3.a. has no strengths and limitations phrase. I wonder if they are aware of the Controversy?

2008-12-05T09:52:00.000-06:00

I am impressed that there seems to be only one conversation stream going on at each table. With 4 or more people, there's always a temptation to break off into sub conversations - I haven't seen that happening - kudos to their focus.

Oops - spoke too soon. It seems the Physics table is digressing into sharing cool physics problems.

I don't blame them.

I'm impressed by the Bio table's detailed review of public comments. It makes me feel my submitted comments will actually be considered!

OK - I obviously need to educate myself on the difference between the TEKS (teeks) and the TEK (tech).

Physics is still just jabbering about physics...

Bio just changed the language of 6.b. back to the Sept draft, and I'm not sure they're aware of that.

Sept read "components that make up the genetic code are common to all organisms"

Nov reads "components that make up the genetic code are similar in most organisms"

They just changed it back to "common to all".

Physics is finally back to parsing hypothesis processing language.

2008-12-05T09:26:00.000-06:00

Ah.. I believe the table nearest me is Chemistry? But now they're talking about frames of reference and how to determine the relative speed of objects. Sounds like Physics to me...

I can see why a teacher would want to be on this panel - they get to talk in depth about their subject area with their colleagues. They get to talk about how, exactly, to teach what their standards language says, and how, exactly, to test for it as well.

There's a fascinating conversation about "equilibrium" vs "homeostasis" at the Bio table now. What's disturbing is that it appears some of the comments they are reviewing are based on the Sept draft, and so they waste time talking about changes that were already made in the Nov draft.

example of conversation: Bio 4.c should we change "energy transformations" to "energy conversions" or "energy transfer"?

What language do other bio grades use? And what about other science areas - what language does Chem use?

And does the language change the science concept? i.e. 4 is about structure. 9 is about processes. Perhaps we should move 4.c to 9, since it talks more about processes than structures.

Bio seems to be the most structured conversation. But I could also feel that because they're closest to me and loudest...

TEKS review committee

2008-12-05T09:12:00.000-06:00

I'm here at the Austin Airport Hilton observing the Texas Education Agency review committees for high school science TEKS standards.

It's a generally jovial atmosphere this morning. Three or 4 tables of committees are engaged in lively discussion - everyone is participating; no one is silent. Most don't wear nametags, though all had them available. As an Observer, I'm anonymous. I was asked to sign in with my name, but I wear a nametag called "Observer". And not even the staff at the registration desk are supposed to talk to me. We laughed together about that - we were both curious about each other, so I talked about why I was here in her general direction.

These are obviously teachers, they are all truly engaged in this process; there is a lot of parsing very specific language. This is heaven for a science geek! At what I'm assuming is the Physics table, words like "mass" "energy conservation" "laboratory processes" "testable hypothesis" are flying about.

Closer to me, a table is parsing "theory" "hypothesis" "testable hypothesis" "I don't want to get into that". Too general to tell what their subject area is.

The first order of business (on paper) was to review public and expert comment on the latest version. I saw someone passing out the comments on a stick drive, and asking someone at the table to download the public comments from it; interesting that wasn't given to them more formally, and before now.

Conversation turns to how to best review the comments, and incorporate them (or not) into the existing standards. There is some confusion over what, exactly, the scope of their job is. "Are we supposed to....?"

Each table seems to be approaching their task in different ways - there doesn't seem to be specific direction/instructions about how to go about this.

2008-12-05T07:27:00.000-06:00

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.

What's in a Name?

2008-12-04T07:52:00.000-06:00

I need a title for this play.

How does one make a title? Well, I've done an adaptation of Beowulf (though I added the subitle Igniting the Struggle for Joy), so that one was done for me. And I did an adaptation of Troilus and Cressida, and that one was already done as well. My Frontera Fest titles came to me very easily, at least if there was a struggle, I've blocked it from my memory. And Curieosity came to me in a flash and I never questioned it.

The only thing to compare is coming up with the name of a theatre company with Rebecca Robertson. We knew we wanted it to be about strong, wise women.

She emailed me a bunch of words one day - and within an hour of juggling them around, we found iron belly muses. Not much struggle there, either.

This time, I ignited a struggle for a title, and it was a long, hard one. One reason was that the play kept changing significantly, and the title became archaic.

I started with G.O.D. Generation of Diversity. Then I got rid of all references to this in the script, so this had to go. I then spent about 6 weeks without a title.

So I emailed a list of random words to my Lids.

Who and what are my Lids, you ask? They are the things you put on the pot of hot playwriting to make it boil and get done faster. My lids are Eliot Haynes, Carra Martinez, Caitlin Uzzell and Sarah Saltwick.

Here are the words:

Title Ideas

The E Word

Playground Diplomacy

The E Word

A Playground Poem

An E Word Poem

The E Word

A Playground Adaptation

The E Word: An Adaptation

Adapting The E Word

The E Word

A Generation’s Grace

A Generation of Grace

E Word: The Generation of Grace

The E Word

Saying Grace

The E Word

Fighting for Grace

E Word

The Grace of the Garden

Discovering the E Word

In a Playground jungle

Gracing The E Word

In a Child’s Garden

Wrestling with The E Word

Playing with the E Word

The E Word

Suspend Your Belief

E Word

The adaptation of design

The E Word

In a Child’s Garden

The E Word

Road to Grace

The E Word

Controversy in a Child’s Garden

A Crooked Way to Heaven

Saving Grace

Playground Stories

Flock together

A Crooked Way/Road to Grace

The Darndest Questions

A Suspension of Disbelief

A Meditation

A Poem

The E Word

A Playground Poem

E Word: The Musical

E Word

A Musical Comedy

E Word

Adapting Grace

E Word

Detecting Design

The E Word Controversy

E Word Diplomacy

The E Word

A Sanctuary

The E Word

Random Thoughts

The Darndest Questions

A Willing Suspension

Suspend Your Disbelief

A suspension of finches

A grace of finches

Finches of grace

Smart ass finch

Not friends yet

Speared by cactus when we fell

Where we fell

A grace of finches where we fell.

A fall from grace

The weakness of finches

Disbelief

Everything you need to know…

Poetrees

Irreducibly Complex

Seedling

Idea

The Tree of Lives

The Idea Tree

What’s in your treasure box?

The forest for the trees

The trees for the forest

Unplanned branches

All trees allowed

Wrestling with trees

Branch Darwinians

Trunk

Poetree

Sanctuary

Diplomacy

Deciding for yourself

The weakness of it

The Growing Idea

The Controversy

Generation of Diversity

Diverse Controversy

Idea

Tree

Seedling

Strengths

Weaknesses

Irreducible Controversy

Planting ideas

Planting seedlings

Growing up green

Nurturing controversy

Class warfare

Kindergarten gedanken experimenten

Garden verses

Garden versus Garden

Tree vs. Tree

Intelligent design

Omnipotent design

Designing controversy

Prodigal sons

Forestry

husbandry

Poem of …

Poetry of ….

… Poem

The Seedling

The Poetry of Questions

The most dangerous seedling

This revolution was not televised

The seedling revolution

Talking with trees

Climbing trees

Tree poems

Prodigal Trees

Prodigal Garden

Amazing Grace

Gracefully Amazing

Magically Delicious

Sanctuary

The Sand box

Playing god

Playing sand box

Playing in the big sandbox

The big sand box

The big bang

Recess

Playground

Recessed knowledge

Lame duck

Lame finch

In which Darwin’s finches sing amazing grace

Finch you

Why can’t we all just get along

One must eat the other

Eve’s addiction

Kid

Play

Stolen knowledge

Snakes and ladders

Tree-rific

The graceful war

War of grace

War for grace

Figthing for grace

Grace sleeps tonight

Sleeping grace

The grace of children

Sleeping children

Stealing knowledge

Children of grace

Seedling story

Crooked beak of heaven

Crooked way to heaven

Crooked wind

Ornithomorphizing

Graceful wings

Children and birds

Children of the birds

Children of a feather

Flock together; right now over me

Grace flock

The grace flock

Flock of grace

Grace of knowledge

Knowledge of grace

Saying grace with trees

Saying grace

Time

Time and tortoises

Witness to time

Time’s shepard

The second coming

The rapture

Playground stories

Field Trip

Field of Time

Tortoise

Grace of Tiem

Time of Grace

A time of grace

>>Birds of a feather

Grace together

Playing with time and space

Space cadets

Playground

True believer

Truth

Dream weaver

Learning

Of a feather

Shell game

Intelligent mafia

Seeds

Harvest time

Stupid thoughts

Fully grown trees

Old growth forests

Old growth finches

The big sand box theory

My god can beat up your god

Fish Wars

The noodly appendage

Renewable resources

2008-12-04T07:43:00.000-06:00

I participated in a guided meditation. She asked us to envision a tree, and all the details of that tree: the season, the landscape, the bark, the limbs, the leaves, the wind through the leaves.

When the meditation was over, she said the tree represented our selves, our soul.

I had envisioned the stark, bare branches of a long dead tree in a barren, windswept western landscape. One of the most beautiful things in the world to me.

2008-11-29T09:40:00.000-06:00

I think... The most dangerous words, from the most dangerous man in England.

Burning

2008-10-15T08:50:00.000-05:00

I went to a play Sunday night. A duchess asked who wanted to burn a bible and a flag. I raised my hand. I passed through a blood red curtain. I left with a performer I knew. We got a six pack. We went to his house. We burned his boyhood bible, and his scouthood flag. The flag went almost immediately. The bible took longer. A book is dense stuff. I took home the remnants that didn't burn - that only charred.

A collage perhaps? If so, what to put it on?

A poem from bible bits? If so, what about?

Full Grown Poet

2008-10-15T08:43:00.000-05:00

Diplomat. Moderator. Poet.

Who do they belong to?

Where do I stand as playwright in the scirel war? Who claims me? Who do I try to unite and blend?

When the Full-Grown Poet Came

When the full-grown poet came

Out spake pleased Nature (the round impassive glove, with all its shows of day and night) saying,

He is mine.

But out spake the Soul of man, proud, jealous and unreconciled

Nay, he is mine alone.

--Then the full-grown poet stood between the two, and took each by the hand;

And to-day and ever so stands, as blender, uniter, tightly holding hands,

Which he will never release until he reconciles the two,

And wholly and joyously blends them.

--Walt Whitman

Is it war, then?

2008-10-06T20:43:00.000-05:00

So, if this is really war, let's study it.

I turn to Chris Hedges, the war correspondent who laid down his sword and shield and walked away from war in 2002. He wrote War is a force that give us meaning to tell us about it. To ask for our forgiveness, and make sure we ask as well.

Some things he says about war:

"...war forms it's own culture. The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug.... It is peddled by mythmakers- historians, war correspondents, filmmakers, novelists, and the state--- all of whom endow it with qualities it often does possess: excitement, exoticism, power, chances to rise above our small stations in life, and a bizarre and fantastic universe that has a grotesque and dark beauty. It... infects everything around it, even humor, which becomes preoccupied with the grim perversities of smut and death. Fundamental questions about the meaning, or meaninglessness, of our place on the planet are laid bare when we watch those around us sink to the lowest depths..... War can give us purpose, meaning, a reason for living."

I recognize that addiction I feel when I join the frontlines of the scirel war. The excitement, the heady power. I see it in others on both sides. The battle cry of self-righteous anger. I recognize that cry in myself. Yes, we are at war.

"Armed movements seek divine sanction and the messianic certitude of absolute truth. They do not need to get this from religion, as we usually think of religion, but a type of religion: Patriotism provides the blessing.... Dissension, questioning of purpose,... war crimes carried out by those fighting on our behalf are dangerous to such beliefs. Dissendents who challenge the goodness of our cause, who question the gods of war, who pull back the curtain to expose the lie are usually silenced or ignored."

I recognize that I am a scientific patriot at times. But I'm trying hard not to be. I'm trying to be the one who pulls back the curtain - And not be ignored. Dorothy did have a whole book written about her, right?

And yet, Hedges doesn't call for an end to all war. He says "I am not a pacifist.... The poison that war is does not free us from the ethics of responsibility. There are times when we must take this poison - just as a person with cancer accepts chemotherapy to live.... The only antidote to ward off self-destruction and the indiscriminate use of force is humility and, ultimately, compassion. Reinhold Niebuhr aptly reminded us that we must all act and then ask for forgiveness."

What the scirel soldiers must ask themselves is, Do we have cancer? Are we at war within our own body politic?

The answer seems to be yes. On that, we agree. But do we have to be so damned smug and excited about it? We're like plebs excitedly dreaming of counting our kills. And if that's so, that means we haven't yet begun to fight. We certainly haven't yet begun to ask for forgiveness.

Arboreal Slam

2008-10-05T15:16:00.000-05:00

So my hike made me ask this question: If the Tree of Life, The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the Christmas Tree were Slam Poets, what would their poems be about, and who would the audience judge as the winner?

Nature Walk to talk with the Trees of Life

2008-10-05T07:46:00.000-05:00

I'll be taking a 3 hour hike this morning to talk with the trees and get their feedback on what is the most fruitful direction to take, if I want to be a scirel diplomat. I'm assuming there is a massive amount of wisdom in their veins - I'm hoping I can be quiet and still enough to hear it.

Diplomacy is mostly about listening, right? And not getting angry. And tolerating - I mean respecting - the other side. Or maybe, it's about not even seeing 'sides' - Maybe I need to go out there this morning and say:

"Hello, fellow trees. Yes, that's right. I'm one of you. See? I have veins, too. I move liquids up and down my body, too. I feel the wind, too. I reach for the sun, too."

Perhaps I will discover we are the same in so many ways, it's hardly possible to see two different beings, two sides.

SciRel Diplomacy

2008-10-03T15:28:00.000-05:00

I want to be one of the seminal thinkers responsible for a shift in the dominant paradigm of Western culture: A Diplomat in the Science/Religion War.