Speaking of science,,,
Not only does replacing science with biblical literalism violate the separation of church and state, it leaves young people massively ill-prepared for higher education. Public universities teach evolution without qualification or apology. A poor understanding of what is considered to be the central organizing principle of science handicaps students from the first day they walk into freshman Biology 101.
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Despite these high stakes, some states, school districts and individual teachers insist on doing students a disservice by promoting scientific illiteracy.
1. Texas: In one of the creationists’ sneakiest moves to date, in 2007 a phalanx of anti-science fundamentalist groups swamped the Texas legislature and lobbied for a law allowing elective courses “about” the Bible in public schools.
2. Louisiana: In the early 1980s, Louisiana legislators decided to pass a law mandating that when evolution was taught in public schools, “creation science” must be as well. Scientists, educators and advocates of church-state separation were appalled and blasted the so-called “balanced treatment” measure, but lawmakers, led by state Sen. Bill Keith, plowed ahead. The bill was soon law.
3. Georgia: Education officials in Cobb County, Georgia have a long and sorry history of trying to undercut instruction about evolution. Any discussion of the “origin of the human species” is banned in elementary and middle schools, and high schools are forbidden to require students to demonstrate an understanding of evolution as a condition of graduation.
4. Pennsylvania: The school board in Dover, PA., a small town south of Harrisburg, thought it would be a good idea in 2004 to introduce “intelligent design” (ID) creationism in public school science classes. (“Intelligent design” holds that human life is so complex that it must have been purposefully designed by some intelligent agency. God and space aliens are the leading contenders, and the IDers aren’t really serious about the space aliens.)
5. Ohio: In 2007, a disturbing incident came to light in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Parents discovered that a science teacher named John Freshwater was secretly teaching creationism to middle-school students.
The aim remains the same: to make evolution appear controversial so public schools will stay away from it. Here, sadly, they’ve had an effect. While it’s difficult to get a handle on what’s going on nationally, educators agree that too many science textbooks don’t give adequate attention to evolution. Some avoid the word entirely, relying on euphemisms like “change over time.”
5 Shocking Ways the Christian Right Has Forced the Bible Into America's Schools | Alternet
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