Where tax money funds public schools teaching creationism as science

[dyanaprajna2011]

Creationism in public schools, mapped. Where tax money supports alternatives to evolution. (Religious Right Watch)

It's worse than I thought. And people wonder why our kids don't fare well worldwide in education and intelligence.

 

[outhouse]

Sad that mythology replaces known credible science in this modern age.

It wont last too much longer though. The roots of science has taken hold in much of the new generation. We juts have to wait out all the old people who will never change their minds no matter how solid the evidence is. They will die soon.

 

[Skwim]

The map

 

[Revoltingest]

Woo hoo....go Michiganistan!

But back to the OP, I think our educational problems are far greater than creationism
being taught here & there. We just don't handle science & math as well as we could.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

Woo hoo....go Michiganistan!

But back to the OP, I think our educational problems are far greater than creationism
being taught here & there. We just don't handle science & math as well as we could.

I agree, but it's still not something to be proud of.

 

[Revoltingest]

I agree, but it's still not something to be proud of.

We Michiganistanians must find whatever source of pride we can, buster!
And the lack of taxpayer funded teaching of creationism works for me.
The entire country needs better teaching of STEM fields. Even in the
best schools, the programs often suck, & fail to make them interesting.

 

[ChristineES]

I remember when I was in high school, we were studying about evolution and all that. In the textbook, they had a one paragraph note about creationism- actually, it was only 2 or so sentences long. That was the extent of it. I mean, just how much study would even go into creationism? I wasn't a Christian when I was in high school, but an agnostic (I think, I never put much thought into religion or faith at all- either for it or against it).

Do those schools teach both or just creationism?

 

[ChristineES]

About our scores , I doubt teaching creationism causes us to fail too much in tests (I doubt that has much to do with it), which deal with language, Mathematics, History, etc as well as science.

In one instance, I was telling my daughter that in the fifth grade, I had to memorize where all 50 states were located and what the capitals of each state are, and fill them in on a blank USA map. My daughter never did this, and this is just one example. I just wonder what they are teaching my kids in school.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

The UK still has some excellent schools, but we are miles away from what the far eastern countries are achieving.
test results don't lie but they are not everything.


At least we are not troubled by the creationist blight. Though some American outfits have tried to introduce it.

 

[Revoltingest]

About our scores , I doubt teaching creationism causes us to fail too much in tests (I doubt that has much to do with it), which deal with language, Mathematics, History, etc as well as science.

In one instance, I was telling my daughter that in the fifth grade, I had to memorize where all 50 states were located and what the capitals of each state are, and fill them in on a blank USA map. My daughter never did this, and this is just one example. I just wonder what they are teaching my kids in school.

I'm OK with getting rid of rote memorization. It doesn't help anyone solve problems.
Note: When I studied engineering at U of M, all tests were open book, so you had to
learn to use the material, not memorize it....just as in the real world. It was great!

Another problem with education:
We have a great community college in our county, with a wide variety of great courses (including the trades), & fantastic facilities. It's a large percentage of our property taxes. But they have so many hurdles that many people don't take advantage of it. Want to take a welding course, my son did, but didn't want to take the English class required for it. When my father wanted to take a CAD/CAM course, he faced a bureaucratic delay because he was born before the allowable birth years on their computer system.

 

[psychoslice]

And they wonder why atheist jump up and down.

 

[nilsz]

I think it is reasonable to suspect that one factor could be both the cause of creationism in school and low test scores.

I am not a pedagogue of any sort, but I am sceptical of the negativity towards rote learning of facts. Today there exist an effective computer-assisted method for it, called spaced repetition. Giving students a comprehensive mental map of their subject allow a learning based on show, and not merely tell.

 

[Monk Of Reason]

should be fought on all fronts. The national regulation and state regulation all support evolution and no creationism.

 

[shawn001]

Creationism in public schools, mapped. Where tax money supports alternatives to evolution. (Religious Right Watch)

It's worse than I thought. And people wonder why our kids don't fare well worldwide in education and intelligence.

Thanks for posting this information.

It would be interesting to know how much total tax payer money in total goes toward it.

Hopefully they also teach them how deceitful and dishonest the Discovery institute really is and how they got their butts kicked in the Dover trial.

 

[shawn001]

A Crystal Anniversary for the Wedge Document

A Crystal Anniversary for the Wedge Document | NCSE

15 years ago

"No state science standards cover creationism, not even in the deracinated form of ID creationism, nor does any textbook from a major publisher. Coverage of evolution has increased since the ‘90s."

 

[Quirkybird]

Only scam merchants or the unintelligent would view the creationism myth as science!

 

[MysticSang'ha]

We Michiganistanians must find whatever source of pride we can, buster!
And the lack of taxpayer funded teaching of creationism works for me.
The entire country needs better teaching of STEM fields. Even in the
best schools, the programs often suck, & fail to make them interesting.

I'm with you.

Though I'm also of the opinion that education doesn't start and stop with STEM. Add the arts in there, along with ensuring adequate physical activity, and then we've got something.

Also, to address another post of yours, my university students have the occasional quiz to boost their memorization of notation and terminology, but they don't account for the majority of their grade. I'm about ready to give them their first exam (they'll have four for the semester), and it's a take-home essay exam which will be graded on their content and usage of the terminology in their understanding of the material. I'm a HUGE believer in take-home exams. Mostly because that really is how it works in the real world. The exams make up 50% of their grade, while quizzes, papers, attendance, and projects make up 25% of their grade, and their final semester project takes up the last 25% of their grade.

Where I think creationism fails when it comes to education is the lack of opportunity to utilize critical thinking. My students are told repeatedly that this is not a trade school, not a conservatory for dance. I tell them they are expected to approach the material through scholarship and through beginning to develop an argument after research and study. Creationism only offers students the room to absorb material from an Information Dictator, who feeds them that to challenge the God of creation is to be a bad and immoral person. They are not allowed to challenge the status quo.

I expect my students to challenge the status quo. I expect them to critique and examine the class material, their peers, and their own arguments. In so doing, they consistently train their brain muscle to always search for more answers by always asking more questions.

 

[Revoltingest]

I'm with you.
Though I'm also of the opinion that education doesn't start and stop with STEM. Add the arts in there, along with ensuring adequate physical activity, and then we've got something.

Of course, I agree. I just addressed STEM cuz it more closely relates to the creation v evolution/abiogenesis controversy. Btw, I recall reading of a study which found that physical activity strongly correlated with improved brain function...more so than brain training games.

Also, to address another post of yours, my university students have the occasional quiz to boost their memorization of notation and terminology, but they don't account for the majority of their grade. I'm about ready to give them their first exam (they'll have four for the semester), and it's a take-home essay exam which will be graded on their content and usage of the terminology in their understanding of the material. I'm a HUGE believer in take-home exams. Mostly because that really is how it works in the real world. The exams make up 50% of their grade, while quizzes, papers, attendance, and projects make up 25% of their grade, and their final semester project takes up the last 25% of their grade.

This sounds very practical. The best way to learn info is to use it in applications.

Where I think creationism fails when it comes to education is the lack of opportunity to utilize critical thinking. My students are told repeatedly that this is not a trade school, not a conservatory for dance. I tell them they are expected to approach the material through scholarship and through beginning to develop an argument after research and study. Creationism only offers students the room to absorb material from an Information Dictator, who feeds them that to challenge the God of creation is to be a bad and immoral person. They are not allowed to challenge the status quo.
I expect my students to challenge the status quo. I expect them to critique and examine the class material, their peers, and their own arguments. In so doing, they consistently train their brain muscle to always search for more answers by always asking more questions.

Gawd, it's like we share one brain!
But you hog it all the time, leaving me to post without the use of one.
You would'a been a good engineering prof.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Of course, I agree. I just addressed STEM cuz it more closely relates to the creation v evolution/abiogenesis controversy. Btw, I recall reading of a study which found that physical activity strongly correlated with improved brain function...more so than brain training games.

I seem to recall a study where dancing help to reverse symptoms of alzheimers in the elderly. Music was also given to alzheimers patients who suddenly began remembering people and places and were making conversations when hearing their favorite piece of music. There's a video of a man who was completely unresponsive to any stimulus until a set of earbuds were put in his ears and some old blues music began playing, and his face lit up and he began talking about how he used to attend various concerts in his youth.

It was an extremely emotional video clip. Just beautiful.

Anyway, I'm a big believer in the arts improving brain function in a way that tech, mathematics, logic, and science don't. Not to say that STEM doesn't improve brain function, but it doesn't do everything.

This sounds very practical. The best way to learn info is to use it in applications.

:yes:

Just last Thursday, we had a review class where they took part in a "charades" style team competition where each team had 1 minute to have each of their teammates go in front of them and demonstrate silently some of the class terminology. It got extremely competitive, but by the end, they all were retaining the material well.

Only bad thing was they got so competitive, that their cheering disrupted the class next door. Oops.

Gawd, it's like we share one brain!
But you hog it all the time, leaving me to post without the use of one.

You sure you want to claim that, Rev? I am a woman, after all. And a feminist. This brain might make you C-R-A-Z-Y.

You would'a been a good engineering prof.

Thanks! That's quite a compliment!

 

[Revoltingest]

You sure you want to claim that, Rev? I am a woman, after all. And a feminist. This brain might make you C-R-A-Z-Y.

Would that be worse than your being saddled with a male Asperger's gearhead brain?
It seems clear that we're both abnormal. OK, I'm more so.