I’ve decided after hearing yet another conversation about how we shouldn’t be teaching evolution in schools that the people that promote such censorship should not be allowed to benefit from how evolutionary theory has advanced society and therefore not:
1. Take antibiotics (they can heal themselves in the method used 5,000 years ago since they so believe in this time schedule)
2. Eat any food produced by someone else (pesticide & pest control rely on our understanding of evolution in microorganisms, co-evolution, etc. Plus GMOs, etc.). Or buy any seeds they do not harvest themselves.
3. Have no fertility treatments (and have to implant all the embryos they produce if they do have fertility treatments if they are against embryonic stem cell research).
4. Pump & treat their own water supply.
5. If they are diabetic, they should take pig insulin like in the past instead of human insulin produced through genetic engineering.
6. In fact, really they should use no modern medicines to treat cancer, immunodeficiencies, well really any serious illness.
Maybe living like it is the dark ages will enlighten them.
12 Comments
January 5, 2008 at 10:24 pm
[...] a teacher, says she’s fed up with the idea that teachers shouldn’t be teaching [...]
January 5, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Here’s a thought… teach evolution, and creationism, in parallel. Then require each student to author a paper espousing one view or the other, and why.
Those of us who do believe in Biblical creation don’t object to evolution being taught as much as we object to the lack of teaching of the alternate point of view… sorta like global warming has no counterbalance in academia.
January 6, 2008 at 9:11 am
If it makes you feel any better, Dave, the college freshman that I teach have barely been exposed to evolution in the public school classroom beyond “fossils are remains of dead organisms” and other simple ideas which may explain why our state is doing so dismally in science compared to the rest of the country.
Setting aside issues of separation of church and state, I would not feel comfortable teaching religion in my classroom. And, I know of teachers that do teach creationism in the public school classroom or at least say a disclaimer of “I believe in creationism” when starting an evolution unit.
January 6, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I am a High School Math teacher and a Christian.
I do not have a problem with the THEORY of evolution being taught in the public education system. However, I do have a problem with the fact that most educators teach evolution as a fact, which is false. Evolution is a THEORY and should be taught as such. If it cannot be taught as such, then it should be discarded from the curriculum.
I also agree with Dave. What is the harm in teaching Creationism? An Atheist could easily explain away Creationism as another theory, just as I do evolution. If evolution is good enough to be taught in our public education system, then why isn’t Creationism?
You bring up the issue of the separation of Church and state; however, Christians pay taxes that make up our salaries too, lest we forget. It’s not equal to teach one theory and not the other. When I introduce my students to new mathematical methods, I teach them more than one way to work the problem and let them choose which ever they prefer. We should treat Scientific theories in the same light, pun intended.
Enjoy the rest of your year! Take Care!
Angie
January 6, 2008 at 7:38 pm
All science is theory (gravity, cells, etc) and this should be covered throughout a student’s science education so should not need to be reminded simply because it is evolution.
As a teacher, I am sure you would find it odd if someone asked you to teach creationism in your math class since it is not part of your curriculum. As a science teacher I feel the same way as creationism is NOT a scientific theory and not part of the state curriculum. At some point we may evolve to offer a comparative religion course at the secondary level and thus may find an appropriate venue for the topic.
Hindus, Muslims, Jewish, Sikhs, Buddhists, Scientologists, etc. also pay taxes in America. It is important to remember that we are not a monotheistic culture and public education cannot be expected to play favorites when it comes to religion. Also, there are quite a lot of Christians that study and accept the evidence for evolution.
January 7, 2008 at 10:42 am
Blah.
Religion has no place in publicly-funded schools. Creationism is religion. Evolution, theory or otherwise, is science. Pointing out the flaws in the theory is wise, as with all scientific theory, but filling in the gaps with faith should not be funded by our government.
And the Christian majority argument is bullshit, plain and simple. The reason we have a separation of church and state to begin with is to protect the minority from oppression of a majority. And there are plenty of Christians who also believe in evolution and not literal Creationism, such as myself and who would NOT want creationism taught in school. I would yank my kid out of that classroom in an instant for teaching creationism, the same as I would if seasons were taught using the Persephone myth.
If Christians are so worried about their children being indoctrinated by the state, than they should A) send their children to private school (which are subsidized by taxpayers through their tax-free status) or B) wonder whether their religion makes as much sense as they say it does, if their own children are so easily persuaded to believe otherwise.
January 7, 2008 at 11:39 am
“The college freshman that I teach have barely been exposed to evolution in the public school classroom beyond “fossils are remains of dead organisms” and other simple ideas which may explain why our state is doing so dismally in science compared to the rest of the country.”
That’s unfortunate. I would prefer that those students hear both sides of the debate, and be required to formulate an informed opinion as a result.
This discussion, from both sides, illustrates yet another reason that my wife and I are homeschooling our children. We don’t want a gap in their education, and we want them to comprehend both sides of an argument. Judging from what you and myriad others say about the preparedness of today’s post-secondary students, it’s obvious we made the right choice.
January 7, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Luckily in Britain we don’t have this vicious war going on between the Church and the State. Well, not on the subject of Creationism in any case!
I am not a Christian, although I was raised one. I have a masters in Archaeology so I find it slightly hard to believe the Bishop Usher 4004bc theory – the archaeological record is indicative of many millions indeed billions of years of active planet forming and life; I’m not sure I believe that the higher powers put all that lot there for us to find as some sort of planet-sized joke.
Evolution is indeed a theory. A theory is a postulation that lacks empirical proof. For my money, that makes Creationism a theory too. I have no objection to them being taught parallel to each others as theories – what I object to in the strongest possible terms is the idea that one theory is inherently ‘better’ than the other because God said so. Cobblers.
Dave is homeschooling which shows the right attitude – if you don’t like what’s taught in schools, do a better job yourself! Many of my friends are doing the same thing! However, don’t try and hijack the democratic process by forcing one or another view on a curriculum paid for by taxpayers of all faiths and none. That’s just not cricket! And it’s only the children that lose out.
NB – no-one decided not to become a Christian because they heard about Evolution in school. And if there’s proof to the contrary I’d like to hear it. This isn’t a hearts-and-minds debate, it’s about oppression.
January 7, 2008 at 4:31 pm
I applaud your calm responses to the knee-jerk fundamentalism, MT. And I’m always happy to see RM’s defense missives join rank. Did Dave just refute global warming? mmm I smell a Hucka-wanna-bee.
January 30, 2008 at 7:12 pm
To get back to the point: As an atheist, I don’t expect to go to Heaven, so why to creationists get to take advantage of scientific advances?
I quite agree mamatried, they really should stick to their principles.
February 8, 2008 at 9:39 am
Just found you through my wordpress “fastest growing blogs” link, though I know you through radical mama’s blog.
Found your original post here fabulous. Literal, enerring faith is neither—whether it be in science or in God. That’s the difference, scientists seek whatever is out there through theory. They test themselves and each other–and when the results don’t work out as intended, they ask why and start over.
Fundamentalists of any stripe are stuck in time—as a scientist would be who postulates that Darwin’s word was law and, as such, without contestation.
People question. Even people of faith question. Whethere theory or not, evidence shows we have evolved (some of us more than others) and that we need to continue to evolve in our thinking, in our relationships with each other, in our understanding of the place of both science and faith (and that lovely intersection in the middle that can be expressed as “awe”).
February 8, 2008 at 2:48 pm
I had a prof in grad school who loved to say that if you are seeking a ‘truth’ you will have to turn to religion as science is always uncovering what we thought was truth but now we know something to be more truthful..
Okay, I botched that quote but you get the idea
Sad my posting is so slow these days due to winter lethargy. I have been inspired by reading some ER doctor blogs to try and write more about teaching, though, especially teaching science in the environment I live in..