US states mull laws allowing religion in science class

[Somerville]

Laws of this nature will not help in keeping America as a world leader in the technology and science which is necessary for advancement.

US states mull laws allowing religion in science class

Angela Garlington feels alone in the way she teaches science at a high school in Odessa, a Texas city populated by oil field workers. When she teaches evolution, the science of how Earth's creatures evolved over billions of years, Garlington approaches it as a theory on par with creationism, the belief that life on Earth was created by God as described in the Bible.
"I simply tell my students (that) as educated young adults they have a right... to choose what they believe," said the teacher in her late 40s. "I don't have any idea if my colleagues will teach both sides of a controversial issue, but I always have and probably always will."

Texas state legislators are now considering a bill introduced in February that would offer teachers like Garlington some legal protection, by giving them latitude to present science "that may cause controversy" as a debatable theory.

Texas is one of eight US states where such laws have been proposed since the beginning of the year. South Dakota, Oklahoma, Iowa, Alabama, Indiana, Florida and Arkansas are the others.

 

[Dittohead not!]

Laws of this nature will not help in keeping America as a world leader in the technology and science which is necessary for advancement.

The Scopes Monkey Trial still isn't over. What's next, teaching the Earth centered universe idea alongside the heliocentric solar system?

 

[Excon]

Laws of this nature will not help in keeping America as a world leader in the technology and science which is necessary for advancement.

This is just one reason why we need standardized education.

If you want to teach creationism in Sunday schools, great, but it does not belong in primary or secondary education.

 

[Somerville]

from the OP's linked article

Forty-two percent of Americans believe that God created humans in their present form some 10,000 years ago, according to a 2014 Gallup poll that showed little change since the study was launched three decades earlier.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-03-states-mull-laws-religion-science.html#jCp

Evolution Less Accepted in U.S. Than Other Western Countries
People in the United States are much less likely to accept Darwin's idea that humans and apes share a common ancestor than adults in other Western nations, a number of surveys show. A new study of those surveys suggests that the main reason for this lies in a unique confluence of religion, politics, and the public understanding of biological science in the United States.

Researchers compared the results of past surveys of attitudes toward evolution taken in the U.S. since 1985 and similar surveys in Japan and 32 European countries. In the U.S., only 14 percent of adults thought that evolution was "definitely true," while about a third firmly rejected the idea.

 

[Deuce]

Dear stupid teacher lady:

There are not two sides to a fact.

 

[Moot]

Separation of church and state....let the lawsuits begin.

 

[Moot]

Angela Garlington feels alone in the way she teaches science at a high school in Odessa, a Texas city populated by oil field workers. When she teaches evolution, the science of how Earth's creatures evolved over billions of years, Garlington approaches it as a theory on par with creationism, the belief that life on Earth was created by God as described in the Bible.
"I simply tell my students (that) as educated young adults they have a right... to choose what they believe," said the teacher in her late 40s. "I don't have any idea if my colleagues will teach both sides of a controversial issue, but I always have and probably always will."

Garlington has no business teaching science...period.

 

[ocean515]

Garlington has no business teaching science...period.

Why not? She might be the best science teacher in Texas. Let's not get too Fascist here.

She shouldn't be teaching anything about religious views on issues. There should be no time spent at all in public education on any religious issues. Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, etc..

I would add, teachers shouldn't be teaching cultural values. Teachers shouldn't be teaching social justice. There are lots of things teachers shouldn't be teaching.

Certainly religion is one of them. It's fairly well identified in the Constitution. Of course, Private Schools are a whole different thing.

 

[Deuce]

Why not? She might be the best science teacher in Texas. Let's not get too Fascist here.

If the best is still fundamentally unqualified, then new people need to be brought in.

It's not fascist to insist that people teaching non-science in a science classroom shouldn't hold that position anymore. They're public employees and need to do the job they were hired to do.

 

[ocean515]

If the best is still fundamentally unqualified, then new people need to be brought in.

It's not fascist to insist that people teaching non-science in a science classroom shouldn't hold that position anymore. They're public employees and need to do the job they were hired to do.

Of course it's a Fascist response. As I wrote, she could be an exceptional science teacher. Instructing her to follow the district guidelines seems a simple remedy.

Of course, if the District allows the teacher to include religious perspectives, then she is free to do so.

I've already expressed my view on religion in public school classrooms. It should never take place. No religious activities, recognitions, or celebrations should take place.

 

[Somerville]

Of course it's a Fascist response. As I wrote, she could be an exceptional science teacher. Instructing her to follow the district guidelines seems a simple remedy.

Of course, if the District allows the teacher to include religious perspectives, then she is free to do so.

I've already expressed my view on religion in public school classrooms. It should never take place. No religious activities, recognitions, or celebrations should take place.

How can she be an "exceptional science teacher" when she is introducing the religious views of her faith in that class? The school district may allow her actions but it is not legal to do so. Creationism Left Out of Science Education for Valid Reasons

 

[ocean515]

How can she be an "exceptional science teacher" when she is introducing the religious views of her faith in that class? The school district may allow her actions but it is not legal to do so. Creationism Left Out of Science Education for Valid Reasons

Operating under a school districts guidelines does not disqualify someone. Emotional reactions shouldn't be a standard to judge someone's fitness to do the job.

You're demanding she loose her ability to make a living simply for not following your rules. If she broke district rules, she should be dismissed. If she didn't, she shouldn't lose her job.

Again, I prefer no religious recognition of any kind in any public school classroom. If a school district allows it, then that is their decision.

 

[Deuce]

Of course it's a Fascist response. As I wrote, she could be an exceptional science teacher. Instructing her to follow the district guidelines seems a simple remedy.

Oh, right. Everyone else was suggesting she just be fired outright and no attempt whatsoever be made to inform her to stop teaching religion in a science classroom. :roll: Really? That was your interpretation?

And guess what? There's no way you can be an exceptional science teacher and teach creationism. That's like saying you can be an exceptional driver who has crashed six times due to texting and drinking while driving.

 

[ocean515]

Oh, right. Everyone else was suggesting she just be fired outright and no attempt whatsoever be made to inform her to stop teaching religion in a science classroom. :roll: Really? That was your interpretation?

And guess what? There's no way you can be an exceptional science teacher and teach creationism. That's like saying you can be an exceptional driver who has crashed six times due to texting and drinking while driving.

Emotional outrage is usually not a standard that should be applied in employment situations. Equally invalid are conclusions stemming from the same type of reaction.

If such teaching is allowed under district rules, it doesn't matter how emotional one gets about it.

 

[EMNofSeattle]

This is just one reason why we need standardized education.

If you want to teach creationism in Sunday schools, great, but it does not belong in primary or secondary education.

The real issue is many conservatives are feeling as though they have finally won a victory in the culture wars. this stuff is a predictable consequence of educated leftist elites living in a bubble. they've spent so long maligning religion and insulting people and are now shocked there's a pushback.

 

[cuban smokes]

Laws of this nature will not help in keeping America as a world leader in the technology and science which is necessary for advancement.

the Earth = flat & the American Taliban are in The White House ...............

 

[Deuce]

Emotional outrage is usually not a standard that should be applied in employment situations. Equally invalid are conclusions stemming from the same type of reaction.

If such teaching is allowed under district rules, it doesn't matter how emotional one gets about it.

It's not "emotional outrage" to suggest someone who does their job poorly shouldn't do that job.

Even if such teaching is technically allowed, it's still terrible practice. I'm sorry you're just so triggered by someone getting criticized for doing a bad job, but that's the world, bro.

 

[ocean515]

It's not "emotional outrage" to suggest someone who does their job poorly shouldn't do that job.

Even if such teaching is technically allowed, it's still terrible practice. I'm sorry you're just so triggered by someone getting criticized for doing a bad job, but that's the world, bro.

LOL

Triggered? I know there are some who have a limited ability to communicate, so I have become accustomed to seeing such claims.

It seems to me, you're the one triggered. By the simple act of including concepts of creation, along with evolution, you would demand the teachers career be ended.

If that's not evidence of being triggered, I need to rethink what it means.

 

[Deuce]

LOL

Triggered? I know there are some who have a limited ability to communicate, so I have become accustomed to seeing such claims.

It seems to me, you're the one triggered. By the simple act of including concepts of creation, along with evolution, you would demand the teachers career be ended.

If that's not evidence of being triggered, I need to rethink what it means.

Yes, I think teachers should be fired for giving false information to students. I'm just so emotional like that. For example, if a math teacher tells students that 1+1=6, I think they shouldn't be math teachers anymore. How fascist of me.

:lamo

 

[ocean515]

Yes, I think teachers should be fired for giving false information to students. I'm just so emotional like that. For example, if a math teacher tells students that 1+1=6, I think they shouldn't be math teachers anymore. How fascist of me.

:lamo

If your standard were adopted, it's quite clear there would be few liberal teachers left in education.

 

[countryboy]

Allowing both sides of a coin to be presented is, "allowing religion in schools"?

 

[maquiscat]

There's no way you can be an exceptional science teacher and teach creationism.

Since exceptional is a subjective value, and your statement lack any qualifiers, the statement itself is absolutely false.

That's like saying you can be an exceptional driver who has crashed six times due to texting and drinking while driving.

Even within the realm of the subjective one can be an exceptional driver regardless of how many times they have crashed for whatever reason. If the individual can do all kinds of stunts and spectacular moves with a car, then they are exceptional.

 

[Somerville]

Allowing both sides of a coin to be presented is, "allowing religion in schools"?

This statement shows the discerning exactly why a teacher should not be presenting an 'alternative' in science class discussions. For the Americans advocating creationism or intelligent design as alternatives to the Darwinian Theory of Evolution apparently believe that their specific (Christian) religious beliefs are the only alternatives. There are not two sides to the coin when discussing creation of life, for it is more like the twenty-sided dice found in role-playing games.

I do not believe the mom who wants her Biblical creation story taught as an alternative to evolution would be very happy if the teacher were Hindu and provided students with words from the Chandogya Upanishad or the Rig Veda. Or what if the science teacher was Native American, Navaho specifically, and told the students of the Diné Bahaneʼ and how the Dine'é Diyin (The Four People) traveled thru three worlds before reaching the one on which people live today.

 

[Somerville]

Since exceptional is a subjective value, and your statement lack any qualifiers, the statement itself is absolutely false.



Even within the realm of the subjective one can be an exceptional driver regardless of how many times they have crashed for whatever reason. If the individual can do all kinds of stunts and spectacular moves with a car, then they are exceptional.

A teacher who teaches falsehoods can never be exceptional.

A driver who crashes multiple times while performing stunts may be exceptional in the arena but not if they try the same stunts on public roadways.

 

[jimbo]

Why not? She might be the best science teacher in Texas. Let's not get too Fascist here.

She shouldn't be teaching anything about religious views on issues. There should be no time spent at all in public education on any religious issues. Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, etc..

I would add, teachers shouldn't be teaching cultural values. Teachers shouldn't be teaching social justice. There are lots of things teachers shouldn't be teaching.

Certainly religion is one of them. It's fairly well identified in the Constitution. Of course, Private Schools are a whole different thing.

If she believes in creationism and teaches it as a science teacher in science class, she is not the best science teacher in Texas.

I disagree that religion as a general subject should not be taught in school. Not individual religions, but religion in an objective sense. Much of the world runs on religion. Kids should understand that.

The key is how to teach religion without advocating a specific religion. I don't have an answer for that.