Uncommon Descent Serving The Intelligent Design Community

Lobby group ratchets up the momentum to repeal Louisiana’s “critical thinking in science” bill

Denyse O'Leary
May 7, 2011
science education
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LA governor Bobby Jindal signed 2008 Act

… via Important NameTM endorsements to repeal the 2008 Louisiana Science Education Act ( critical thinking in science education) not to be confused with the 42 Nobel laureates a couple of weeks ago. Repeal would be via SB70.

Here’s Barbara Forrest’s op-ed in support of repeal. UD readers will remember Forrest as the “ID expert” prof who mistakenly slagged Baylor’s Frank Beckwith – in a professional philosophy journal – as an ID supporter. (He isn’t, and the journal’s editors disowned the article.)

Back in the expert’s chair again at Houma Today (April 26, 2011), Forrest offers a similar level of evidence for creationism being taught in Louisiana schools:

Fourth, the Livingston Parish and Tangipahoa Parish school board members have discussed using the LSEA to teach creationism. In July 2010, the Livingston Parish School Board instructed staff to study this for the 2011-2012 academic year. The March 15 Tangipahoa Parish School Board minutes show that LFF operative Darrell White approached the Curriculum Committee about the law. School boards are being tempted to risk lawsuits when teachers face layoffs because of budget cuts!

Forrest may be counting on readers not to know that “approached” means that the Curriculum Committee must consider what the person says, so long as he either is or represents a ratepayer, even if they think him a walking wingding.

Also:

The Darwin lobby continues its efforts to make the journal Synthese re-accept Forrest’s erroneous paper about Beckwith.

Sources have suggested that campaign fever relates to Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal’s possible 2012 Republican nomination bid. (He signed the act.) Can’t be discounted.

Louisiana has some of the worst performing school districts in the United States, though local charter schools do better.

The Louisiana Coalition or Science folk really do recognize Kitmas, not Christmas. A joke? Maybe …

Comments
Mrs O'Leary: I think the survey of the underlying epistemological issues on origins science here will help, as will an examination of the commonplace a priori imposition of materialism on origins science as cited on here. This is a patent case of red herring distractors --
1: students should be taught to be critically aware and 2: should learn reasonable in standards of warrant in ALL areas, including science, which 3: implies assessing the strengths and weaknesses of science [cf Newton's remarks in Opticks Query 31 in the first linked] --
led away to strawman caricature and soaked in turnabout false accusations, then ignited to cloud, confuse, polarise and poison the atmosphere, in defense of the existing materialist censorship on science education, down to the sort of materialist redefinitions of science examined here. That, this is very seriously possibly meant to smear a serious potential candidate for President of the USA in the run-up to an election, is even more troubling. Especially given that the candidate is under suspicion because of his Christian faith. (Perhaps, there is mounting reason for the perception that Christians are now beginning to be slandered, willfully falsely accused by ruthless ideologues, who hope to hound Christians out of positions of influence and power. There is a long and bloody record of history of the consequences of that sort of attitude; for Christians, the list of peaceful martyrs and confessors who suffered unflinchingly for what they believed and -- for good reason -- understood to be true and right, is long and distinguished. Indeed, many of the roots of modern liberty and democratic self-government arose in the context of working through the issues of freedom of conscience and religion. Does our civilisation really want to forget those lessons and relive those chapters of history? Those who play with hostility-laced rhetoric matches around slander-soaked strawmen are apt to light a conflagration that they would not believe was possible; some of that happened in living memory, as the ghosts of 100 millions can testify from the Century just past. Please,please, please Ms Forrest et al -- think again.) GEM of TKI kairosfocus

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