The best science classes and, by extension, the best science teachers are those that require students to systematically pursue knowledge in the form of empirical observations and testable explanations.
This is, however, not a view shared by Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Rhodes Scholar and graduate of Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in biology.
Ironically enough, Jindal signed into law and is a vehement supporter of the Louisiana Science Education Act. The LSEA is legislation that allows public funding to go toward privately chartered schools that teach creationism, either alongside or in place of, evolution in science classrooms.
In spite of his biology background, Jindal’s passage of this law demonstrates an inability to acknowledge scientific evidence, which speaks to the irrational mindset that has taken over his party.
Creationism, creation science and intelligent design are theological explanations arguing that matter, the various forms of life and the world were created six thousand years ago by God in seven days.
Indeed, the issue of whether to teach creationism or evolution in public schools has enjoyed an extensive history in the United States, with the theory of evolution gaining overwhelming public support after the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial.
Why did evolution gain the upper hand? Put simply, because creationism is purely faith-based — thereby inherently non-scientific.
How can someone prove or disprove by observation or experimentation the existence of God? You certainly can’t prove God’s existence through science.
Science is a strict and rigorous process. For any idea or belief to pass as scientific, you have to formulate a valid hypothesis and then support it with repeated testing.
Creationism extends beyond science’s realm, therefore, it should not be considered a legitimate science and be left out of public high schools.
Nevertheless, Louisiana, along with several other states, is increasingly allowing public funding to be given to schools that teach creationism.
Thankfully, Baton Rouge native Zack Kopplin, who is currently a history major at Rice University, has launched a campaign to repeal the LSEA. Kopplin partnered with Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, to sponsor bills intended to repeal LSEA.
More notably, Kopplin was able to garner 78 Nobel laureate scientists who support his repeal efforts.
Kopplin, through his website, put the watering down of science education in concrete terms.
His analysis of Jindal’s voucher program found at least 20 schools in Louisiana that use a creationist curriculum. These 20 schools are allowed 1,365 voucher slots and can expect to receive as much as $11,602,500 in taxpayer money annually, according to Kopplin.
To give you an example of what a creationist curriculum might consist of, let’s take a look at Claiborne Christian School in West Monroe, LA.
First off, its handbook explicitly states that students are taught, “to discern and refute lies commonly found in [secular] textbooks, college classes and in the media.”
Additionally, in the January 2010 school newsletter, the principal of CCS declared, “Our position at CCS on the age of the Earth and other issues is that any theory that goes against God’s word is an error.” CCS has 28 voucher slots and can receive up to $238,000 in taxpayer money, according to Kopplin’s website.
And Louisiana isn’t the only state dealing with ridiculous creationist high school curriculums. Kopplin said there are hundreds of more voucher schools across the nation that are similar in both form and function to CCS.
The U.S. is the most technologically advanced nation in the world, and we owe a large part of that to scientific innovations.
Let’s keep it that way by educating students with actual, fact-based science, not religious dogma.
