I was listening to the radio just a few minutes ago, and I was briefed on the subject of Kansas and its science standards discrepencies. Following that, I did some web searches on such things as "teach the controversey" and "intelligent design". I concluded that rightists are afraid of the "heresey" that is taught by supplanting these ideas in public cirriculum. I understand the arguement the opposers fight is that intelligent design, etc. are not science, and that many theologically oriented science organizations back that statement (ie National Academy of Sciences). As a student myself, ideas such as that make classes more interesting. The weak minded are the ones prone to such ideas rubbing off on them most, yet will be equally intrigued by the topic. If they are intrigued, they will pay attention more and actually accomplish something in class. Isn't learning the focus of this whole thing? By not including those topics, schools are only to blame for lower education.

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"I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians."
---Charles de Gaulle---

"The pioneers of a warless world are the youth that refuse military service."
---Albert Einstein---

A village in Texas has lost it's idiot.

http://www.greenpeace.org/

My kids' have been in a private Christian school until we moved from GA to AZ this year. They are in public school for the first time, the private schools here are small and lacking in facilities, school starts August 9, I'll have to get back to you on that.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUHXHRHguj4

Mr. Stockbroker
"As a matter of opinion though possibly retarded WVpeach is still smarter than you. LOL"

TRT14, there has to be a line seperating Science from, let's call it Science Fiction. If not there will come a time when religion that isn't real will filter into the study. We are undergoing a national census in Australia and in the last one it was found that the largest grown religion was Jedi. Yes as in Star Wars, use the force, I am your father Luke. So you can see where I am going. However, you are correct to assume that if a class is interesting the students will pay more attention to it. What would it hurt to use this form of Science Fiction, including true religion to interest students at the Primary age schools as the introduction to Sciences, Theologies and even Literature.

The interest in study has to be spun in the early days of schooling but we know that for a large period of early education, the emphasis on repetitive study quells many imaginations.

Take voting for example. How much study in early schooling is designed around knowing the entire list of Presidents that have been in office. Then you wonder why the population doesn't vote. They have simply been all politicised out. I am forty this year and aside from one or two previous prime ministers I can only name the last four maybe five. It has no value in our society to know that sort of thing. I don't even know who was the Captain of the First Fleet, kinda like your, Mayflower is it that brought out the Pilgrims. History here is like a conglomerate of patchwork similar to a quilt. We would like to add more but really nothing ever happened. A couple of blokes crossed here and ded so we call that place after them. You get my drift.

Speaking of Prime Ministers, what happen to those with a backbone? The Iron Lady (Margaret Thatcher) didn't hesitate to stand up to Bozo Reagan when it came to it's Falkland War with Argentina. Bozo wanted Britain to negotiate with Argentina. Bush's puppy Tony Blair, on the other hand, doesn't even go to the bathroom without an ok from Shrub. Talk about a milk toast wimp!

I am in Australia not England Mate, sorry about that. But if you wanna bag little Johnny Howard, be my guest.

[quote=bloke next door]We are undergoing a national census in Australia and in the last one it was found that the largest grown religion was Jedi. Yes as in Star Wars, use the force, I am your father Luke.QUOTE]

That is almost too funny. Yet very strange.

__________________
"I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians."
---Charles de Gaulle---

"The pioneers of a warless world are the youth that refuse military service."
---Albert Einstein---

A village in Texas has lost it's idiot.

http://www.greenpeace.org/

The thing is American schools are teaching theory as though it is fact and the kids are believing it with out question because they believe anything you tell them. We say that the earth has been around for billions of years yet they never found the billion year old man. They say that every so often all of the matter in the universe gets condensed into a tiny ball no larger than the period on the end of this sentance. They give our students un-proven theories that leave any sort of God out of the question. I don't know about anyone else, but I seem to remember a clause in our bill of rights that keeps the government from telling us that our religion is wrong, of course the folks down at the aclu don't care about that document.

Both should be included but one needs to be taught in the science class and the other needs to be taught in the comparitive religious studies class (and the later we do not offer in public school...big problem I think). I am a very big public school advocate but the problem could have been headed off years ago by allowing a religious studies curriculum in public curriculum. ID is a bad cover for Creationism and it is the same old debate that has been going on for years. The facts are that we would have better school system by teaching more, not less. Look at the problems we are haivng today, it is a lack of knowledge of the other side's beliefs and social interests.