Teacher Fired After Lesson Linking Evolution and Nazis

Sisters, Ore. - It was Kris Helphinstine's first week teaching at Sisters High School, and he was hoping to encourage some critical thinking in his biology class.

So while discussing evolution, he handed out an essay written by a prominent creationist and put together a PowerPoint presentation linking evolution to eugenics experiments practiced in Nazi Germany. That decision cost Helphinstine his job.

The Sisters School District Board voted to fire Helphinstine after only eight days, making the Central Oregon community the latest flashpoint in the debate over teaching alternatives to evolution in American schools.

"I thought he departed from the accepted curriculum," board President Michael Gould said. "And he exercised poor judgment on some material in a sensitive arena."

Helphinstine said he didn't realize "how sensitive" the issue was in the community. "I thought, `Hey, this is a great chance to get kids thinking,"' he said.

The 27-year-old teacher landed in hot water just a couple of days into the trimester when some parents began complaining to school officials about the materials their children were bringing home from his class.

Helphinstine said in retrospect slides of Nazi death camps weren't appropriate for his freshman and sophomore students.

And given a second chance, he said he wouldn't introduce arguments from Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, a group building a Creation Museum in Cincinnati dedicated to teaching a Bible-centric view of natural history.

"Like I told the school board, I wouldn't go over this again," he said. "Look at the trouble it's caused."