The new science law in Louisiana is unique in the country:
Louisiana is the only state in the nation that has enacted a law that could change the way evolution is taught in public schools, officials said.
Lawmakers in five other states debated similar bills this year but they failed to pass, said Heather Chikoore, education policy specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver.
“It has definitely been a topic in states,” Chikoore said.
The measure here won final Senate approval 36-0 and cleared the House 94-3. Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed the bill.
I tell ya, I stand tall and proud. Not one senator and only three representatives voted against the bill. Imagine! We are UNIQUE! Yes! Our Rhodes scholar governor and our legislators know their science. Better than the scientists!
But Barbara Forrest of Hammond, a professor and co-founder of the Louisiana Coalition for Science, said the new rules add more infamy than distinction to the state.
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“They pretty well have their way on this type of stuff,” Forrest said of the Louisiana Family Forum. “People who don’t agree with them are afraid to cross them.”
Ha! What does she know? She's just another pointy-headed fanatic who wants real science taught in the science classrooms. What's wrong with exploring other "theories" like Creationism and Intelligent Design in science class? Some say that's introducing religion, but what's wrong with a little faith-based teaching in science class? The plus side is that the schools graduate more students with proper "family values"? What's the harm of a little ignorance of real science in the mix, just so the students are set straight on the "family values" stuff? And for the numbers of young people who don't actually graduate from high school, (the percentage is high) well at least they may have been exposed to right thinking.
The executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union said last month that her group “will do whatever is necessary to keep religion out of our science classrooms.”
The ACLU and cohorts are nothing but spoilers. Why the obsession with teaching real science?
Oh my, Grandmère Mimi what will this do to the French Quarter's family values? My wife and I are seriously thinking of retiring to New Orleans in about two and a half years. We fell in love with the city when our son attended Tulane. We've been back several times since Katrina. Thanks for this. (I've reacted on my blog).
ReplyDeleteDan, do not worry. Family values will not make their way to the decadent French Quarter. You will, as yet, find all sorts of odd folks there - perhaps fewer than before Katrina and the federal flood - but still a presence.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be lovely if you and your wife retire there. I'll visit your blog.
Fear not, Dan. New Orleans may sink beneath the sea, but we will repel the brain-dead invaders from the north.I have never had a good meal in Baton Rouge, and that's what counts.
ReplyDeleteI think there will always be a place in Louisiana to escape from the Family Council types.
ReplyDeleteBesides, Mimi, I just awarded ya a arte y pico trophy, but my link thingie seems to have taken a notion, so stop by.
Science? Oh dear. Next thing I know you will tell me that the earth is round or something.
ReplyDeleteDon't toy with me Mimi!!
Fran, remember Galileo!
ReplyDeleteYa'll realize that Satan planted them fossils in order to make you doubt God's Wunerful Story of Creation (Genesis 1 through 2), right? If you don't teach Intelligent Design, your children might believe that evolution stuff and think they have some thing in common with animals and go Vegan or something, THEN WATCHA GONNA DO, YOU SMARTY-PANTS LIBRULS?
ReplyDeletePadre Mickey, I'm tryin' to tell 'em.
ReplyDeletePreach it, Sister Mimi! Pious ignorance with a heavy splash of Zatarain's will keep 'em livin' holy. Why should they clutter their minds with knowledge of how the world really is and how things work? That's for latte-swilling ponces on the Left Coast.
ReplyDeleteWell, yeah, what does science matter? Since it's not being tested under NCLB, who cares? Let's teach the kids that the world is flat too. (After all, the Bible does mention the four corners of the earth.)
ReplyDeleteAn in-depth exploration of the "theory" of Creationism also helps keep uppity women in their place. After all, Eve was only Adam's rib, plus Eve made Adam eat the apple, and all the sin in the world followed from that.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe this! What rubbish to suggest this is science. Try introducing this in our science lessons and you would have industrial action.
ReplyDeleteDP, I wish that were the case over here. The lawsuit will come when a teacher introduces the nonsense, and a student or parent objects. Then, it's go. Are the governor and the legislators ignorant, or are they weenies in the face of pressure from the likes of the Louisiana Family Forum?
ReplyDelete