Religion & Law

Improving Education

By John Pieret

Here is some stuff on the latest entry in the Our State Is the Stupidest Sweepstakes: Michigan.

First, the background:

State Sen. Bill Hardiman (R., Grand Rapids) and State Rep. John Moolenaar (R., Midland) have introduced so-called "academic freedom" legislation that would require teachers and students to explore the "strengths and weakness" of evolutionary theory.

"This is about science and helping prepare the best scientists of the future for our state and country," said Mr. Moolenaar. He added that he wants students to have the "academic freedom to explore and critically examine scientific theories."

What is really going on is one more attempt by the religious right to drag in "intelligent design" as an alternative to evolution. Nor is this something limited to Michigan. The bills introduced in Lansing are very similar to those introduced in half-a-dozen other states.

All of them closely follow a template prepared by the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, the leading center for anti-evolution strategy. ...

You don't have to be a rocket scientist, or even an evolutionary biologist, to know that positioning Michigan as America's leading anti-science state isn't exactly likely to be good for business.

History shows that lawmakers meddling with school curricula is almost never a good idea. Which raises the question: Don't these legislators have better things to do?

Dr. Ryan Kelly is the head of curriculum at Rockford Public Schools. ...

"It's a theory, there are other theories and if you want to discuss that as a class, as a whole [teachers at Rockford are] open to do that," said Kelly.

[Dr. Kelly is] a former biology teacher.

Full post as published by Thoughts in a Haystack on June 06, 2008 (boomark / email).