Is the KSB censoring evolution?

I was reminded of stories out of backwoods — and backwards — towns in the southern U.S. when I heard CBC’s coverage and later read in Nunatsiaq News of the hurdles faced by a Nunavik teacher trying to teach about evolution. This is Canada and this is scary.

Evolution was not a traditional belief in any culture. Darwin, a Christian man himself, was deeply troubled at the implications of his findings. But the evidence just kept building and still does – from the fossil record to animal observations to DNA analysis.

The latest attempt to debunk evolution is the entirely bogus “intelligent design” explanation. Why don’t we instead respect the intelligence of our kids who, after being offered up the evidence, can choose to believe whatever they want to?

There should be room to learn about religion (all religions) and alternative theories in social studies classes but, please, leave science alone.

A topic that arose in the same article is the school’s systematic obstruction of support for youth struggling with sexuality issues. Those that took down the signs for helplines have themselves been partially to blame for our high northern suicide rate. It is known that gay, lesbian and bisexual young people kill themselves at up to seven times the rate of heterosexuals — thanks to rejection and social ostracization among other factors.

Despite the Kativik School Board’s explanation as to why they discourage teaching about the theory of evolution (found on their website posting on May 23 at www.kativik.qc.ca); discrimination, teaching of only one religion (as per Nunatsiaq News) and discouraging a teacher’s prerogative to teach evolution sounds an awful lot like censorship to me.

I had understood traditional Inuit culture to be inclusive and non-judgmental. Is it not so for some people in Salluit?

Madeleine Cole
Iqaluit