Now maybe science teachers can teach science.
January 14, 2005
Via Matt, a judge has ruled that textbook disclaimers that caution students against believing evolution are unconstitutional. These are the same disclaimer stickers that inspired the cutting counter-disclaimers from Swarthmore that I have posted on my wall at work. The debate is far from over, but it's a good step.
My favorite comment so far is from Mainstream Baptist:
Theocrats need to stop trying to force their medieval scientific beliefs on public school children and start focusing on sharing the gospel with whoever they can get to voluntarily attend their churches.
Unfortunately, as Swarthmore's Colin Purrington points out, this entire debacle will serve not only to inspire uninformed debate, but also to bring financial strife to the school district:
But it's really too bad the Cobb County school district, the loser in the decision, now has to pay the rather large legal fees, sucking valuable assets away from school budgets. To cover the expected revenue shortfall, and to avoid tax increases in Cobb County, perhaps Marjorie Rogers (the Creationist who started the whole mess) can extract donations from the 2,300 supporters who signed her original petition that objected to evolution instruction. Just an idea.
Something tells me that I'd really like knowing Professor Purrington, whose gift ideas for science teachers include body armor ("Great for making presentations to backwards school boards, but light enough for daily use in the classroom.") and unprotected sex ("If your kid's teacher is single, set him or her up with another clear-thinking breeder and tell them to have lots of kids").
