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Politics : Evolution -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jlallen who wrote (58500)	9/24/2014 9:22:32 AM
From: Solon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 69300

"School is supposed to be about ideas.......all kinds of ideas.....some better than others.... Its only the very weak of mind that are afraid of ideas to which they do not subscribe...." That is nonsense. Schools purport to give the kids the best factual opinions known to date. The don't teach that 2+2=5 is just as valid as 2+2=4. Nor do they teach it is more valid. Teachers are supposed to be learned authorities. Their job is to nurture young minds by teaching them critical teaching skills that arrive at known conclusions. When the children go off course, it is the duty of teachers to give them guidance toward correct ports of call. All ideas are NOT equally valid--or we would be jumping out of planes without parachutes and eating arsenic for lunch. So let us not be ridiculous. Teaching that the earth and the universe are the same age (see quote) or "nurturing disdain" toward the secular world is not healthy for children and it is not healthy for society. Children deserve to have their shoddy and unexamined ideas looked at critically...and properly assessed by trained and qualified persons. That does not mean they should not examine other ideas such as the biblical idea that one can live in the belly of a great fish or handle poisonous snakes if one simply has "faith" in those things. But it means that irrational and wrong ideas need to be pointed out by the teacher. Otherwise, education is worthless and we are paying teachers for nothing. And we ARE paying teachers. And it is NOT simply to watch the kids reach erroneous conclusions and mangle logic without correction. My post pointed out that LIES WERE BEING PRESENTED AS FACTS. That is NOT education. Not hardly... "A POLITICO review of hundreds of pages of course outlines, textbooks and school websites found that many of these faith-based schools go beyond teaching the biblical story of the six days of creation as literal fact. Their course materials nurture disdain of the secular world, distrust of momentous discoveries and hostility toward mainstream scientists." Secularism is the principle of the separation of government institutions and persons mandated to represent the state from religious institutions.

To: jlallen who wrote (58500)	9/24/2014 12:26:16 PM
From: Greg or e	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 69300

Allan Bloom wrote The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students in 1987. Things have only deteriorated since then and the most closed minded departments include Biology. Evolutionists are not only unwilling to discuss their own assumptions and presuppositions but they actively and aggressively attempt to silence any and everyone who dares challenge or question their established orthodoxy.

To: jlallen who wrote (58500)	9/24/2014 12:32:32 PM
From: Greg or e	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 69300

Evolutionists Fear Academic Freedom Townhall.com ^ \| July 5, 2008 \| Floyd and Mary Beth Brown Posted on ?05?/?07?/?2008? ?6?:?23?:?33? ?AM by Kaslin Celebrate the courage of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal in the fight for freedom. He has shown tremendous courage in signing the Louisiana Science Education Bill, an important blow for academic freedom. "Our freedom to think and consider more than one option is part of what has given America her competitive edge in the international marketplace of ideas,” said biology scientist Caroline Crocker to the Louisiana House Committee on Education. "The current denial of academic freedom rights for those who are judged politically incorrect may put this in jeopardy.” Crocker was testifying on the bill allowing supplemental materials into Louisiana public school science classrooms about evolution, cloning, global warming and other debatable topics. The legislature went on to unanimously (35-0) pass the bill. Now it has become law because of Gov. Jindal’s courage. One would think legislation which allows an environment that promotes “critical thinking” and “objective discussion” in the classroom would please everyone -- it did the bipartisan group of legislators in Louisiana -- but such is not the case. The New York Times felt threatened by the legislation, calling it “retrograde,” naming its editorial on the topic, “Louisiana’s Latest Assault on Darwin.” They were attempting to pressure Gov. Jindal to not sign the law, using a number of tactics including implicit ridicule, subtle belittling insults and untruths. The law is straightforward and clearly restricts any intent to promote a religious doctrine. There is no mention of either intelligent design or creationism. Darwinism is not banned and teachers are required to teach students from standard textbooks. But the Times calls the legislation a “Trojan horse” because the state board of education must, upon request of local school districts, help foster an environment of “critical thinking” and “open discussion” on controversial scientific subjects. This allows teachers to use supplemental materials to analyze evolution and show views other than Darwin’s theory. It allows evolution to be criticized, and the law protects the rights of teachers and students to talk freely about a wide range of ideas without fear of reprisal. The Times’ fear is that objective discussion “would have the pernicious effect of implying that evolution is only weakly supported and that there are valid competing scientific theories when there are not.” They called any school district “foolish” if they “head down this path.” Evolutionists use a variety of methods to silence alternate viewpoints. They say people are trying to “inject religious views into science courses.” Besides calling it a “retrograde step”, the Times used implicit ridicule of Governor Jindal, saying, “As a biology major at Brown University, Mr. Jindal must know that evolution is the unchallenged central organizing principle for modern biology.” Many reputable scientists and scholars disagree with Darwin’s theory of evolution and certainly challenge it. Evolutionists say they don’t want biased religious views forced on students. Ironically, Darwin’s evolutionary theory is based is atheistic naturalism, a religious belief. Dr. William Provine of Cornell University explained his and Darwin’s shared atheistic beliefs in this way: “Let me summarize my views on what modern evolutionary biology tells us loud and clear -- and these are basically Darwin’s views. There are no gods, no purposes, and no goal -- directed forces of any kind. There is no life after death. When I die, I am absolutely certain that I am going to be dead. That’s the end of me. There is no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning in life, and no free will for humans, either. What an unintelligible idea.” Scientist Casey Luskin, a scholar with the Discovery Institute said, "We would like to see evolution taught in an unbiased fashion and also want students to learn how to think like scientists and to weigh the evidence for and against." Academic free speech rights for Louisiana’s public school students and teachers are now guaranteed because of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s signature. Trying to strike a modicum of balance to the scientific discussion in classrooms and allow students to hear more than one view, Gov. Jindal acted wisely.