Latest Challenges to the Teaching of Evolution

Science Education Act challenge fails
(Mike Hasten, Shreveport Times, May 27, 2011)

BATON ROUGE — Dozens of students, teachers and college professors pushing for the repeal of the Louisiana Science Education Act went away disappointed Thursday.

Arguments that the law adopted in 2008 is leading some school systems to consider teaching creationism in science classes and that students would receive an inadequate education were rebuffed by the Senate Education Committee chaired by Sen. Ben Nevers, D-Bogalusa, the author of the LSEA.

"Creationism is not science," said Baton Rouge High School graduating senior Zack Kopplin, the leader of the repeal effort. "It does not belong in a public school science classroom. Put it in a religion class, a philosophy class, but not in a science class."

The committee said the law's language is sufficient to block the teaching of creationism and voted 5-1 to reject SB70 by Sen. Karen Peterson, D-New Orleans.

Nevers said his legislation "requires empirical evidence" for something to be taught and he doesn't believe a teacher could do what the opponents contend. Gov. Bobby Jindal opposed the repeal.

Stafford Palmieri, the governor's education advisor, told the committee "This bill is seeking to remove protections for teachers that give them the ability to teach the full breadth of scientific teaching."

Other opponents of the repeal argued that the law was not about evolution but is needed to assure teachers that they can introduce other materials to present competing arguments and stimulate "critical thinking," as spelled out in the law.

"They don't need a law to teach critical thinking in a science class," Kopplin said. "Science is critical thinking."

Kopplin's effort was supported by numerous national science associations, representatives of Louisiana science teachers and college professors and several student who attended the hearing. Also, 43 Nobel laureates sent letters supporting his effort.

One of the repeal supporters read a letter from the Rev. Welton Gaddy, a Baptist minister from Monroe and president of the Interfaith Alliance, a national organization, urging the committee to approve Peterson's bill.

"They don't need a law to teach science," said Bryn Mawr student Hannah Smith of Baton Rouge. "They need a law to teach creationism."

Patsy Peebles, a former high school and LSU science teacher, said the LSEA "opens the door to teaching non-science in science classes." She said numerous attempts to pass similar legislation were rejected in other states and Louisiana was the only state to approve a bill to "open the back door for teaching creationism."

Peebles said she personally believes that "God is why" there is life on earth "but that does not belong in the classroom." She said it would be unfair to teach only one of the many different religions' creation stories. Although school boards in Livingston and Tangipahoa parishes have discussed using the act to support teaching creationism in classrooms, Nancy Beben of the state Department of Education official said no school system has requested approval of curriculum changes.

She said teachers have requested "supplemental materials" approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to use in their classrooms.

Lennie Ditoro of the Louisiana Family Forum Research Council said teaching creationism "has been banned from the classroom." Instead, "We do want intellectual honesty" and "teachers need protection" to introduce other ideas.

Darrell White, one of the founders of the Family Forum, said the "basic purpose (of the law) is to teach the controversy." He said the Ouachita Parish School Board has adopted a curriculum that allows teachers to use alternative materials and it has not been challenged.

Sen. Yvonne Dorsey, D-Baton Rouge, was the only committee member to support SB70. Voting against the repeal were Nevers and Sens. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, Julie Quinn, R-Metairie, Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville, Gerald Long, R-Winnfield.

The Office of the Inquisition was particularly charming.

But texts mouldering in some monastic library, and texts eagerly passed from hand to hand and avidly consumed are two quite different kettles of fish.

Senate Education Committee

Gov. Bobby Jindal opposed the repeal.

Go to Google and punch in SANTORUM, itll crack a gut.

Im sure that the 5th district will find just as the 3rd did in Kitzmiller v Dover.

ANUS , puhleeeze. Youre acting like youre making sense and we all know that youre just a bluff with no stuff. I have no idea from where you gather your history (especially about the US) but if Ize you, Id try to get my money back .

gay sex

farmerman wrote:

Go to Google and punch in SANTORUM, itll crack a gut.

Well, that was truly disgusting . . . and it was pretty damned hilarious, too.

I couldn't avoid it. And anyway the ecstatic shrieks of the perps were a good lesson in basic psychology. There were about two hundred women in the room at the time. I was too senior for them to touch me. They knew their place.

He had done something they disapproved of.