In 2009, Republican legislators in Kentucky passed a law that required testing of high school students to evaluate if those students are ready for college. That sounds very good!
But now the results have come back, and some members of the GOP are upset because the test requires the students to have a good knowledge of evolution in order to do well in college biology courses. Well, duh.
But the GOP doesn’t see it that way:
The theory of evolution is a theory, and essentially the theory of evolution is not science — Darwin made it up. My objection is they should ensure whatever scientific material is being put forth as a standard should at least stand up to scientific method. Under the most rudimentary, basic scientific examination, the theory of evolution has never stood up to scientific scrutiny.
This despite the fact that the chairman of the University of Kentucky biology department, who served on the committee that developed the standards, pointed out:
The theory of evolution is the fundamental backbone of all biological research. There is more evidence for evolution than there is for the theory of gravity, than the idea that things are made up of atoms, or Einstein’s theory of relativity. It is the finest scientific theory ever devised.
In a stunning statement, one state senator claimed “we don’t want what is a theory to be taught as a fact in such a way it may damage students’ ability to do critical thinking.” They want creationism to be taught so that the kids can be “critical thinkers to be able to reason between the two.”
But wait, it gets better. Their solution is to have the testing company develop a test personalized for Kentucky. I’m just trying to imagine that.
12 Comments
A proper response would be, I guess you don’t want them to learn about the theory of gravity either?
I like how they want them to be critical thinkers when it comes to evolution, but I could only imagine what would happen to a kid who used critical thinking when it came to history.
funny how evolution, a ‘theory’ that has been relentlessly critiqued and scrutinized for the past 150 years to no avail and, as mentioned, really can’t have much stronger scientific support is called into question, and yet ‘trickle down’ economics is more or less accepted as fact probably by these same people
That second quote is killer good.
LOL. Teaching creationism next door to actual science will only serve to illustrate how absolutely retarded creationism is.
This is if the hypothetical college courses actually teach creationist theory and provide all possible sources of information and background on those sources and emphasize the limitations of those sources.
Or, the students can just read about where each book of the Bible actually comes from on Wiki-fucking-pedia.
As Neil deGrasse Tyson so aptly said, “The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.”
Ansd he also said, “People cited violation of the First Amendment when a New Jersey schoolteacher asserted that evolution and the Big Bang are not scientific and that Noah’s ark carried dinosaurs. This case is not about the need to separate church and state; it’s about the need to separate ignorant, scientifically illiterate people from the ranks of teachers.”
Wow. Just, wow.
Is there any evidence that main stream Republicans and/or conservative parts of the media are repudiating this spectacular exhibition of ignorance and its association with the Republican party at large?
Creationism is not ignorance. Creationism is justification that some races are more intelligent than others (Obviously not the Republicans in Kentucky) How else can you take a Doctor/Iman/educator from Africa and put him/her to work in the fields? They are still justifying slavery in Kentucky.
Eva, I don’t follow your reasoning.
Wait. I’m confused. Kentucky R’s want critical thinking taught and Texas R’s feel threatened by critical thinking and want schools to cease teaching those skills.
IK, Possibly, just possibly, I can explain the reasoning for comment #8. I grew up in Texas surrounded by people who believed some pretty strange things. Creationism is linked to using the Bible as a history book (but not the real history it represents — just the history that some folks like to justify!) I was told by my fundamentalist grandfather that “the reason black people were slaves was because one of Noah’s sons was black and he saw his father naked — therefore black people are punished by being slaves.” Until we shake some of the cobwebs (like this particular lie) out of the racism closet, EBD’s statement will seem strange; but sadly, it isn’t!
“The Last Slave Ship from Africa” or something like that. These are educated (not literate) Africans. Slavery in Africa was not a bad thing. You were abducted and made part of the family. In this country Africans were considered less intelligent-a different breed, not the same as what we evolved from. We can then turn them into slaves to do bidding as a horse does if they aren’t the same species that we are. White men do not vote for Obama. White Democratic men do not vote for Obama because there is no such thing as an intelligent slave person otherwise we could not have enslaved them. Rational for slavery which continues to this day. Two whites came from one of the Carolinas to work in a factory up here and was surprised to find white people talking to black people “You are talking to those two black people.” The Republican party in the south is what the Democratic party used to be. I listen to an ad on the radio funding by BC. “Come to Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana et” Not a sonorous black voice on the ad. Go to the home site of Alabama. “Move to Alabama” No “of color” in any pictures. Also, of course, there can’t be intermarriage as they are a different species. And certainly can’t get married in our White Church as we can bring our dogs to church and blacks can come but they aren’t our species.
As a descendant of Abolionists, I get very het up about this. As as a descendent from Africans.
Then again you may be referring to the Republicans wiping out anyone who isn’t white. Hitler didn’t show his hand right away. These people come up with no plans so we don’t know. No 500 promises as Obama said in his first campaign.
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