Comments on: Rick Perry Admits That Texas Schools Teach Creationism

By: Sarcasticus

Sarcasticus — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 09:14:28 +0000

Why stop at “teaching creation alongside of evolution”. Why not just ban the teaching
of evolution altogether and make it a felony crime. And also lets ban the teaching of
the idea that the Universe is 13.7 billion years old and the Earth 4.5 billion years old
when every fundie knows that everything was created 6000 years ago in 6-24 hour
days “with the appearance of age”. And last, but certainly not least, lets ban the teaching
of the idea that the Earth turns on its axis and revolves around the Sun when every fundie
knows that the Earth is fixed and stationary at the center of the Universe and all heavenly
bodies revolve around the Earth.

P.S. Lets also change the value of Pi from 3.14159… to 3.0; because the Bible mentions
a circular tank 10 cubits in diameter and 30 cubits in circumference.

By: Curious Wavefunction

Curious Wavefunction — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 20:07:09 +0000

Are you saying mistrust of claimants to scientific authority is wrong? I thought that’s what science was founded on and that’s what your nom de plume (and the Royal Society’s motto) meant.

By: Nullius in Verba

Nullius in Verba — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:38:47 +0000

#45,

Wouldn’t work. As soon as the kids hear that there’s a controversy (and it’s virtually impossible to avoid knowing in modern society), their next step would be to check the evidence against other sources, as they’d been taught. The moment they found a valid rebuttal, the teacher’s efforts would go out the window. Rather than leading to distrust of the science, it would lead to distrust of claimants to scientific authority.

By: Sean McCorkle

Sean McCorkle — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:06:16 +0000

@44
Some kids might say that, others maybe not so much. For those that do, in a case where a teacher is pushing creationism as though it were really science, the teacher can (1) provide quite a large number of so-called “evidences against evolution” which creationists have amassed over the years, and 2) withhold the bulk of evidence for evolution, as well as the rebuttals to to (1). Remember, we’re not talking about people who are interested in presenting controversies in the classroom as didactic participatory exercises in which all arguments/points/pros-and-cons are examined to sharpen students reasoning skills. We’re talking about con artists. Their goal is to convince the students of what they believe , or barring that, instill distrust in the science of evolution, by presenting a one-sided case.

By: Nullius in Verba

Nullius in Verba — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 06:03:03 +0000

#43,

The kids say: “Show me the evidence.”

By: Curious Wavefunction

Curious Wavefunction — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 01:21:22 +0000

As this Salon article says:

Perry then told the boy: “In Texas, we teach both creationism and evolution. I figure you’re smart enough to figure out which one is right.”

Yep, that’s how schools work. You tell kids some things that are true and some things that are made up and you trust that the children will be “smart enough” to figure it out. “America’s first three presidents were George Washington, John Adams and the Green Lantern. Good luck on your AP History test.”

By: Did Rick Perry just admit to violating the US Constitution? | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:22:46 +0000

[...] then something like this comes along, and shows just how far outside of reality he is. In this video, a little boy asks him [...]

By: Sean McCorkle

Sean McCorkle — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:48:02 +0000

Baramos@38 Texas has been one of the hotbeds of creationism in the US and I think its fair to characterize it as a real battleground on this issue. In the early 80s a couple of creationists were in control of science textbook selection for the state, which had a negative impact nationally because publishers were not willing to print two editions, one for Texas, with sections on evolution removed, and the other, with sections on evolution, for the rest of the states. The Institution for Creation Research is now based there. The State Board of Education has been plagued with creationist members. In fact, as governor, Perry appointed a young earth creationist, Don McLeroy, as chair of that state board. The good news is McLeroy is now out and thanks to efforts of concerned citizens and organizations like the NCSE and the Texas Freedom Network, attempts to put creationism into the state education standards were beaten back, for the time being at least. However, creationist beliefs are widespread so quite likely the dust hasn't settled on this by any means.

By: Texas is Writing a New History for Public Education « Texas Public Education

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:45:06 +0000

[...] Rick Perry Admits That Texas Schools Teach Creationism (blogs.discovermagazine.com) [...]

By: Nullius in Verba

Nullius in Verba — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 12:58:36 +0000

#38,

Sean posted this link in an earlier thread. You might find it relevant.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/science/08creationism.html?_r=1

Apparently, ” a large number [of biology teachers] claim that students are free to choose evolution or creationism based on their own beliefs.”

But you ought to note that in this case Perry didn’t make any statement about curriculum standards, Jamie only said he did. Students get taught creationism in contravention of the curriculum standards, and Texas doesn’t encourage it. But I’ll give Jamie the benefit of the doubt.