Repeal Science Education Act

While the debate rages on over Governor Bobby Jindal’s plan to overhaul education, we know one sure-fire way to improve the quality and credibility of what is taught in Louisiana’s classrooms.

Repeal the 2008 Science Education Act.  It was a bad idea then and it remains a bad idea to allow the introduction of “alternate theories” to prevailing, proven, actionable science.  This ill-advised law has always been part of a not-so-veiled and politically-driven anti-science crusade.  As the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate bluntly states, “in practice the measure pushes a pro-creationist agenda, and gives cover to those looking to teach intelligent design creationism.”

We think religiously-based intelligent design has its place and that is from the pulpit, not in public science classrooms.  It is discredited as scientific theory by virtually every credible scientist.  Look around. Real science makes our local industries and agriculture possible.  No alternate theories needed.

It’s time to put our students first.  Science education in Louisiana is a national and global laughingstock, ironically on the watch of a governor who was a former biology major at Brown University.

There are several attempts underway to repeal the Science Education Act.  We hope one of them succeeds.

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Do you have a comment or reply to this Hot Button Editorial?  Please send it to hotbutton@kplctv.com.  We may post it here in the comments thread and/or use it in a Hot Button Rebuttal.

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Comments

[Cindy Rogers]

Wow! I am stunned by your Hot button on the LA Science Act. There IS NO "proven actionable science" to explain the earth's and man's origins. Every explanation is an "alternate theory", including the scientific view and creationism. Neither can be completely proven, so both should be presented for examination.

In fact, over the years, many scientists have set out to disprove creationism and have been unable to do so. There are many published accounts by those scientists indicating they found more evidence that supported the creationist view instead of being able to disprove it.

Louisiana should continue to teach a balanced lesson on each of the "alternative theories" because neither is completely proven.

[Laci Buller]

I wholeheartedly agree that the slippery slope it creates could snowball out of control. Institutes designed by man for the purposes of educating our youth, must remain neutral. The word secular has has an undeserved stigma attached to it by those who choose to practice any of the numerous religions available. When in essence, it simply means neutrality prevails. Creationism and intelligent design are believes held by many, yes, but to insist that it be taught to all, is discriminatory. Separation of church and state, is not verbiage used in the constitution, though many present it as though it is. However, the constitution is clear on making certain that the government must not show favoritism to a particular sect over another. Unfortunately, many feel as though their personal believes somehow have more merit than others. This is a fallacy. We must be mindful of the past mistakes made. At one time, a man faced punishment for the crime of heresy for saying that the sun, not the earth, was the center of our universe. 
Religious institutions are given tax exemption with the stipulation that they do not fuel political bias in their favor. If those same religious institutions insist on mandating their believes through law, then they should be subjected to the same taxation as other groups who do the same. It is not a matter of believe vs nonbeliever, but instead, a matter of adherence to the constitution. Some fragrantly disregard some constitutional principals,(ie the first amendment) then turn around and scream foul if other constitutional principles are threatened. ( ie the second amendment) It is hypocrisy at its finest. 

[Paul Day]

To say I was shocked and saddened by the Hot Button commentary regarding efforts to repeal the Science Education Act is an understatement. It seemed to be an all out assault on Christianity & people of faith, presented in a way that implied if you believe in creationism you're just not that smart.

While you did state "We think religiously-based intelligent design has its place and its from the pulpit...", the flaw with this line of thinking is the confusion it creates for young people who are taught creationism at home but have it dismissed or ignored at school, at times by the same person who taught them creationism in Sunday School.

Rather than dismiss creationism totally, present it along with the Big Bang and allow the students to make up their own mind. One of the things I learned in high school, college and grad school was a lot of times the purpose of school is teaching critical thinking skills as much as or more than the specific material covered.

In a state that teaches and encourages creative spelling, "kat" rather than "cat" as an example, a society that accepts 2+2=5, and gives trophies and ribbons to everyone because we don't want to classify people as winners and losers, I don't see how arguing to exclude creationism is anything but an assault on Christianity.

While I don't always agree with the views expressed in Hot Button, I accept them as an alternate view on current issues and go on, this time however, I'm extremely disappointed in KPLC.

[Michael Breaux]

Jim - another GREAT editorial this morning. Thanks for having the courage to confront such a controversial topic. I think the wisdom of our forefathers in separating church and state was partly due to the fact that religion and spiritually are intensely personal in their nature as opposed to scientific fact, which is objective. I agree with you wholeheartedly; let's teach science in the classrooms and save the subjective personal beliefs for the pulpit. Thanks for being such a vital part of our community!

[REB]

I know a few children in our schools who are ostracized and belittled for believing in evolution. They are ridiculed even after saying that they're not against creationism, but that it should be taught at church or home-;even after saying that, as your pic states, maybe God put evolution in motion. I am positive that when I show them this tomorrow, it's going to help them feel better-not so alone. You don't know how much this means to me!

[Darrell Driskell]

Jim, Your commentary was right on the money..  It's sad that we still have so many people today that want the public school system to dismiss evolution in favor of their own baseless religious beliefs, however you disguise it.. Evolution is not a theory. It is a fact based on actual physical evidence that grows stronger every day with each new discovery.. The critical thinking language is simply another way of trying to force creationism down impressionable minds instead of legitimate scientific fact.  There is simply no evidence to support creationism other than a vague book written about 2,000 years ago, more than 20,000 years after primates first walked upright and written by people who knew far less about how the universe works than we now know today...  This is why the U.S. is so far behind many other countries in academics as we continue to have a core of people who are more concerned with their religious beliefs being promoted than teaching kid s how the world really works and giving them the tools to succeed in it...  Science proves evolution, just like it cures diseases that keep us alive.. You cannot pick and choose which laws of nature you want to believe in, because you cannot change the laws of nature..