September 2019 Equinox Message
Thank you for reading and considering
this Equinox message.
Counteracting Creationist Explanations with Evolutionary Explanations
Brights generally recognize that “creationism” is an explanation for life that many citizens find satisfying.
We would hope that fellow citizens can learn comprehend another explanation – one that is fully free of any supernatural agency whatsoever.
With effective teaching of a naturalistic explanation, the need to draw on supernatural agency can fade away.
… Which brings us to the “Evolution Poster Project”
| Recall this visual? |  |
It’s the splendid “Earth and Life: change over time” image to which The Brights’ Network has sole dissemination rights.
(Due to initial copyright agreements, developers cannot allow the image itself to be made commercially available.)
This unique graphic – billions of years in scope and yet inclusive of pertinent details – blends the biological with the physical. It is an image that teachers who see it yearn to obtain for their own classrooms, and in recent years, The Brights’ Net has been distributing it FREE to high school science teachers so that their students can better see - through the lens of science - how it is that life on earth came about… naturally.
BC has previously surveyed teachers who had applied for and, thanks to “the Brights,” received a poster, along with suggestions for its effective classroom use.
Based on survey results, we know that well over a quarter million students have so far benefited from educators’ use of this poster’s graphic as they are teaching youngsters about evolutionary change.
… Which brings us to Professor Bob Ling
He is the fellow who led the faculty project that created the poster’s multifaceted graphic image.
Just this summer, Bob sent a letter to Brights Central notifying us of his approaching retirement. In the letter, he traced the history of the project and reminisced just a bit about what it had meant to him personally, saying:
“I can’t thank the Brights enough for taking on this project with such enthusiasm. It has been a perfect match. There are some new ideas Mynga is working on that I have granted permission for that will enhance teaching and learning even more. None of this can be done without funding.”
… Which brings us to Bob’s further message
We pass his words along here to all who have supported the poster project so far. (It’s a message directed from the developers to Brights who have been poster sponsors):
“The real heroes of this project are the donors! (emphasis added)
You are the ones who have made this all happen and we can never thank you enough.”
About that, we at BC must fully agree! Professor Ling closed his lengthy letter by offering some final words, speaking directly to all Brights about this education project focused on youth at a pivotal time. In justifying this September’s Equinox funding appeal, we pass his words along, word-for-word, as our own entreaty:
“If you have given before, please consider giving again. If you have never given, then please help us out. Remember this money goes straight to the students and teachers in the form of the poster with some curriculum for their immediate use. I will soon be retiring and will do so knowing that I made a small contribution to this world. You can too by simply sending in a few bucks to help get this poster into every high school for free. Teachers need good resources and we need to help whenever and wherever we can.”
Packing Your Personal Educational Punch
Regarding Professor Ling’s “a few bucks” mention above, we can be more specific:
Thanks to negotiations with the selected printing company, you can even supply a whole classroom poster for not much more than that.
In fact, the exact number for printing is $12.50, which is the lowest per-poster price Brights Central has obtained to date. Recognizing our nonprofit status and educational mission, this printer placed a reasonable bid for office delivery of such an expansive item with suitable paper, while the range on prior bids ran up to $45 per!!)
This gives you an opportunity to know, that for each $12.50 you donate to sponsor a poster printing, another 100+ students a year will be able to really grasp evolutionary reality! (Of course, we’re ignoring postage and fulfillment costs here.)
Contribute twice that amount, and you personally can reach over 600 students in 3 years.
(Note: Our previous survey indicated that most teachers go out to professionally laminate the poster immediately upon receipt, and so it will likely last more than the 3 years projected for usage with wear and tear.)
We’re simply saying that, by selecting your donation amount, you can weigh your educational punch.
