Flutterby™! : Anti-evolution 2004-11-30 18:27:39.827212+00

Anti-evolution

2004-11-30 18:27:39.827212+00 by Dan Lyke 7 comments

S.F. Chronicle: Anti-evolution teachings gain foothold in U.S. schools:

"Evolution -- is that the Darwin theory?" Cashman shook her head. "I don't know just what he was thinking!"

Wow. There's a teacher who needs to be woken up.

That would be "Rebecca Cashman, 16, a sophomore at Dover High." It's still pretty scary that she can't remember what she learned last year, but it's not quite as dire as it appears.

Yes, she would be a high school sophomore. On standard curriculums that should be a semester of biology down, right? To have "I don't know just what he was thinking" as the response indicates that the teacher fell down dramatically, because the whole point of Darwin's story is how he came to his realizations.

On a grander scale it's a shame that she associates evolution with Darwin, because it's come a long way since then, but in my book that's an acceptable misunderstanding. Unacceptable is having heard of Darwin and not having heard how he came to his theories.

No Jerry, reading the rest of that article, and the sidebars indicate the situation is quite dire.

We're well on our way to becoming a nation of idiots who can only work and shop at WalMart

My impression from what you wrote, Dan, was that you somehow thought Cashman was a teacher. So I pointed out that she is in fact a student. It's not, as I said, quite as dire as a teacher saying "I don't know what Darwin was thinking."

Most people already are idiots who can only work and shop, and this has been true for hundreds of years -- for as long as there has been shopping, probably.

okay, we add creation with darwinism...so why is it still wrong to have prayer at school and the 10 commandments hanging around?

there is something wrong if a 16yo does not know about darwin/evolution. students start learning about that in 6th grade.

#Comment Re: made: 2004-12-01 15:45:49.926268+00 by: Shawn [edit history]

I've always been a little confused at the religious conservatives' position on this. I don't recall ever actually being taught about evolution. It was always just... there - understood and given a passing reference during discussions of other things. My school, at least, certainly wasn't pushing it - and we're known as a bastion of liberalism.

As for unacceptable, I guess that's my education then. I know for certain that we never discussed the meat of the theories themselves, much less how Darwin formulated them.

my biggest beef with my experience of organized christian religion, is the basis of it's structure and how it prohibits outside thinkers, questioners, and knowledge seekers. In my experience, you either gulp down the force fed biblical verses, or you are outcast, labeled trouble, or shunned quietly.

The waitress that gave the reporter the note, telling her to read the bible in order to find the truth. Well la-de-da! Does that waitress know how to interrprete it? Does that waitress think the reporter or even myself could interrprete it meaningfully? What was the intention of the biblical writer? Who was the audience? When was it written? What is the background of the writer? His/Her experiences?

I feel the bible has some nice stories in it. The new testiment shows us what it means to be "good people". The old testiment stories have meaning that shadow the same meanings from the grimm fairy tales. Be loyal. Obey your master (whom ever that may be). Look on the bright side, you'll die one day and THEN you'll be really happy.

However, I just don't see how the bible teaches us anything about curing sick people, or protecting endanged habitat, or helping us colonize mars. So.. what truth was that waitress talking about? The truth about death? Thank you, lady, but I'm not ready to die.