Won't somebody please think of the children?
You know how it is. Two steps forward and one step back. The Democrats may have won Virginia and New Jersey, but Kansas voted to rewrite the definition of science so that it could teach "intelligent design" in schools.
I could just say "Kansas is stupid," hit Publish and go on to something else, but it's that kind of arrogance that lost us the 2004 election. Besides, Kansas isn't stupid. It's lazy.
An entire generation of Kansasians (is that right?) is going to grow up completely ignorant about one of the most important concepts in science. That's definitely a problem. But a lot of other states have crap science education--I know mine did--so what makes Kansas's actions so cringe-worthy? Maybe it's because there's something very wrong about teaching kids that if you don't know the answer, give up.
posted by Marie Antoinette at 5:21 PM
3 Comments:
The problem is that the "Intelligent Design" curriculum is so lacking in intelligence and design. I'm surprised they aren't teaching kids that santa made the world just in time for Christmas or some other such crap.
I was in the 7th grade when the Russians launched Sputnik. Education was libral arts mostly... very little math and science demanded. The U.S. thought we had it "right." Oh yea, baby.
When Sputnik was launched and was very successful, this country crapped their collective pants. Our enemy had topped us big time. So after they wiped their collective butts, a wide spread "testing/teaching/monitoring" program was put into place to make sure that colleges and K-12 were working on the science part of education. IQ tests twice a year (!) and aptitude tests once a year for everyone.
I feel like I am living in an instant replay. Science deals with reality, Faith deals with heart. To teach ID and shun science is moronic. If people were really serious about this, and insist on ID, then I suggest they do without that which the study of evolution has helped bring forward and are related. Genetics, DNA, drugs, pre-natal testing, etc.
Dorthy, Toto and the Wizard are in charge of Kansas...and they need to leave the poppy field.
Love your blog, btw
And this is going on at the same time Spencer Wells is proving by extensive DNA testing that all human ancestors came from Africa.
But what do geneticists know compared to shamans.
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