July 23, 2011 (Kearny, NJ) A video excerpt, from the documentary film by Vic Losick which has now been removed from You Tube by its poster, has sparked a heated discussion about the Big Bang Theory on KearnyOnTheWeb's Discussion Board. It isn't clear why the original video was removed from You Tube but KOTW was able to locate an updated version of the original video on You Tube.



Here is a sample of the posts to the Kearny Discussion Board "In God We Teach documentary excerpt" discussion thread:

"While Mr. P. or any other teacher should not be teaching their religious beliefs in the Kearny Public Schools, the Big Bang theory could not have existed with the elements to make the Big Bang happen. Like where did the matter come from? Whether you like it or not everything has to have come from somewhere.

Now, when it comes to teaching the youth of America, the Big Bang theory seems to be the scientific thought of choice. I think educators should explore the theory of: "How could there be a Big Bang just like that?" Science does not have the answer to where the matter came from for the Big Bang. If you are going to preach the Big Bang theory, why not preach the other non-scientific beliefs as well? As no human was around when the supposed the Big Bang happened, why could that be just what it is said to be, just a possibility."

There are those who feel strongly that Kearny High School Teacher David Paczkiewicz should not be teaching and point out why they hold that belief: "Paszkiewicz violated those basic rules. His arguments were illogical, deceptive and not based on facts or reason. He misused his authority to browbeat the students into agreeing with him, and when one student did not agree, instead of backing away, P told the students that if they did not agree with him, they belonged in hell. When confronted, he lied about it, not realizing that his words were recorded.

What does that tell you about the man? You can argue that he could get away with that statement in a religious school but that misses the point. He wasn't in a religious school and he lied about it when confronted. As you point out, he was in a public school where he should not saying such things in the first place, much less lying about it. He also told one Christian student to ignore his parents and his pastor on a religious point and listen to him. He told Matthew that if he was sincere, he would put his finger in Jesus' side, even though he obviously knew by then that this was completely contrary to Matthew's religious beliefs and upbringing.

The point is that Paszkiewicz cannot control himself. He is on a one-man crusade to save the world by any means necessary, even if it "requires" him to lie, intimidate, bully and deceive. He is arrogant to the point of telling students to ignore their parents and listen to him on matters of religion. And he will break basic rules of pedagogy (accepted educational methods) to do it. Even if he was in a religious school and some student had a different view of the same religion than he has, you couldn't trust him as a parent not to browbeat the kid. Now come on, you really think that someone like that belongs in a classroom where students have to learn something besides religion? I don't."

The above excerpts are only two examples of the Discussion surrounding the controversy sparked by then Kearny High School Student Matthew LaClair's recording and confrontation of David Paczkiewicz about in classroom statements which he felt crossed the line into preaching personal religious beliefs.

Join the Discussion by visiting and posting on our Discussion Board.