Apparently now that Louisiana is allowing some of its state sponsored schools to "teach the controversy" below are the
science textbooks now available to Louisiana students in some of these schools.
This courtesy of
Buzzfeed:
"Most evolutionists do not believe that that there was a great Flood. So they look for other ways to how fossils are formed." Easily one of the most ridiculous arguments ever put forth.
First of all scientists examine the evidence and then look for a cause. They don't already have a cause in mind and then look for the evidence to support it. No scientist that I am aware of ever thought of the Flood as the first possibility to explain the fossil record and then went about trying to disprove it.
They instead dated the strata that the fossils was trapped within and used that to date the fossil, a process that has only become
more accurate over time.
I find it especially frustrating that the people who created this "textbook" assigned designations of "right" and "wrong," in this case clearly standing in for "moral and "immoral," to guide the student toward discerning which competing point of view is correct. Obviously with the increased stress of possibly choosing the one that is "against God."
There is NOTHING scientific in this approach.
It should be pointed out that not only does the Bible mention "Behemoths" it also discusses unicorns as if they were as prevalent and donkeys. So clearly when it comes to an accurate description of animal life is quite accurate don't you know.
In short if you currently living in Louisiana chances are your kid will NOT be the next Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan, or Neil deGrasse Tyson.
And thier govenor wants to run for president. He will not get as far as Romney did. Thankfully.
ReplyDeleteI feel so sorry for the bright students who will inevitably question these unsound, un-factual and disproven textbook claims. The authors and the state education leadership should be ashamed of themselves. They are setting students back a century!
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
"[Scientists] don't already have a cause in mind and then look for the evidence to support it."
ReplyDeleteYou should apply this commendable approach to your writings about the Palins. Unfortunately, no failure of your endless, maliciously-hopeful predictions (divorce, arrest, pregnancy, land purchase) has ever led to any self-doubt about your toxic mania.
LOL Great snark!
DeleteAnonymous4:53 AM
DeleteSTFU troll...this is about SCIENCE...not those dumb bumpkins from the swamps of Wasilla!
"toxic"...thy name is Baldy Palin! Look it up troll!
Well, fine the Bible says Christians should be discerning and should know right from wrong. This is true, which is why so many Christians have no problem with evolution, or science, or an earth that is millions of years old.
ReplyDeleteMillions of Christians do not think the bible, a collection of books written over a long period of time by different people, should be twisted and contorted into a science textbook.
These clowns are young-earth creationists, one noisy subset of Christiandom.
What a tiny,stunted, ineffectual god they have created and worship, one *they* have created in *their* image.
Yes, Nefer
DeleteWell said
… an earth that is millions of years old.
DeleteBillions of years, actually. Specifically 4.54 ± 0.05 billion.
@Ted Powell 10:10 AM
DeleteYou are absolutely correct, of course. Foolish typo on my part; I had been reading a financial story which featured "millions" several times! :)
Now, if the story had been about the U.S. budget … :-)
DeleteUh oh. Sarah's wearing long scarves again...do you suppose she's 'pregnant'?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=446562202069904&set=a.110796025646525.13741.109696302423164&type=1&theater
My husband went to Catholic school for 12 years, my son for 6. They had religion class, where they were taught religious principles (comparative religion too). Then they had science class, where they learned actual science (like "theory does not mean 'guess'.") Neither ever heard of creationism in school. But then xtians don't consider Catholics to be Christian.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
DeleteI completely agree that Creationists are Xtions ! They are exclusive of ANY Christians.
Yes, Catholic schools teach critical thinking and the scientific method.
I do know from experience that that critical thought and the scientific method is frowned on by many fundamentalist right Xtians who seem to consider deciding,restricting,and subverting thought and personal intellectualism a satisfying life goal. Education of their audience may reduce their personal hold and power.
Gryphen, this little one will steal your heart!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLGNcO1U5o0&feature=fvwrel
Judge stops school from expelling girl who refused to wear tracking device
ReplyDeletehttp://rt.com/usa/news/school-hernandez-rfid-student-449/
How does a propaganda book become a text book for schools! It has so many factual errors that any intelligent person can see them. To treat and force this slanted and represented presentation as science on impressionable children is a crime.
ReplyDeleteReal science never excludes the possibility of a God. Fundamentalist religion ( pick and choose what ever "facts" suit your purpose)defies any logic... scientific or religious.
This is just pathetic. I was taught evolutionary science in a Catholic high school nearly 50 years ago. I still remember the nun saying that the 7 days of creation referred to epochs, each of which could have been millions of years, and that the millions of years that evolution takes showed God's care and love of his creation. He took a long time to get it just right.
ReplyDeleteLiteralists of all kinds drive me crazy. Especially biblical literalists!
Just to be clear,this is a textbook that is allowed in schools that parents choose to send their child to.My grandsons go to an environmental science magnet school.
ReplyDeleteI live in a university town, and the flood is not the problem. Most social scientists like anthropologists believe there is something to it since it's found in so many diverse cultures. Similarly, marine fossils have been found between strata on mountain ranges, indicating they were once covered by ocean. The dispute lies in the Biblical version of events.
ReplyDeleteThe Bible story borrows from the much older tale of Gilgamesh--although if you believed the Bible literally, there were no other humans on earth until Adam & Eve. There's no way that 40 days of rain could possibly flood the entire earth. But it could do some major damage to local rivers, lakes and even inland seas.
Smart kids will find a way to educate themselves despite idiotic adults. They don't look stuff up in the encyclopedia--they hit the Google or Wiki.
And teachers are getting the blame when students do poorly on standardized tests and aren't becoming scientists.
ReplyDeleteReally?
Teachers being treated like Walmart employees. You do what you're told exactly as you're told or you get disciplined. That's what all that value added salary crap is about.
Teach what we tell you. Do it the way we tell you. If your students don't score high, we're going to dock your pay.
I'm curious to see how this kind of curriculum will align with the new common core standards that are being written in all states.
DeleteAs I understand it, there are certain standards which are expected to be taught nation-wide, and the new emphasis, at least in my state, is to use more non-fiction materials in teaching reading and writing. Science and social studies materials will, therefore, be used in place of many of the old reading textbooks.
Of course, in many states like LA and TX, even their science and social studies materials would be considered 'fiction' in most other places!
The linked textbook site is pure, unabashed Xtian propaganda, they don't even try to hide their biased bullshit.
ReplyDeleteThe "explanation" for the existence of dinosaurs after the flood was the funniest. God told Noah to take two of each animal on the ark...so of course he took two dinosaurs!