Friday, October 30, 2009

Should We Teach Creationism in Schools?

If any of you have picked up the latest issue of Skeptic Magazine, you'll notice the article "Its Time To Teach the Controversey" by Christopher Baum. Baum argues that it is time that we start seriously teaching what is wrong with creationism and what is right with evolution in the schools. Although some folks may liken that to mentioning Holocaust Denial in the classroom, Baum makes the point that about half of the U.S. population believes in Creationism, and so spending time talking about it is not like giving air time to a lunatic fringe position like Holocaust Denial.

I think Baum has a point. Public Schools ought to include in the curriculum explanations for what a "theory" is in the scientific context. They ought to include some of the massive amounts of evidence for Evolution, and explain why Evolution is the only known valid explanation for that evidence. They ought to explain what's wrong with creationism. They also ought to have a class or two in "Critical Thinking" which is something that one too many people lack these days.

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